"Midnight Lovers" (1926) is a recent restoration by the Library of Congress. I caught it tonight at the George Eastman Museum's Dryden Theater with the invaluable Dr. Philip C. Carli on the piano -- always a great way to watch a silent movie.
The film's title might suggest some sort of passionate romance of forbidden love, a sub-genre in which the silents often wallowed. With Lewis Stone and Anna Q. Nilsson in the cast, the evidence mounts but, no, under John Francis Dillon's direction of Carey Wilson's story and scenario, what we have here might best be described as a sort of prehistoric screwball comedy -- a decade before it burst forth on Depression-era movie screens.
Film buffs, of course, know that from about 1934 through about 1942 or so, a variation of the romantic comedy film emerged that was dubbed "screwball". Plotting often had the male lead's masculinity challenged by a female who if not outright dominant was hardly meek and mild. The battle of the sexes often got physical amid pratfalls and thrown objects with farcical marital or romantic situations abounding.
"Midnight Lovers" opens with a very nervous bride (Nilsson) and groom (Stone), married largely because of their friends' persistence than any evident romantic attraction. He is a famous British WWI flyer, destined for burial in Westminster Abbey -- just the assurance this bride needs. She is terrified of flying so naturally he takes her on a flying honeymoon in his plane before returning to the war. (I didn't mention the home he brings his new wife to -- you'll have to see that for yourself!) In France, some of Stone's buddies play a joke on him involving a barmaid which is seen by Anna's mother who happens to be there. Of course, she reports it to her daughter as clear evidence of infidelity. Eventually Stone has to prove he loves Anna (who is being escorted about by her male interior decorator) -- but not before appearing in his wife's nightgown while drunk. Definite traces of screwball elements, wouldn't you say?
Miss Nilsson (at 38) and Mr. Stone (at 47) are no spring chickens here but they bring an appealing maturity to their roles which helps to ground the proceedings. While no one will ever accuse Stone of imitating Cary Grant in this flick, I was easily reminded of Irene Dunne with Nilsson's beauty and subtle performance. "Midnight Lovers" while not "The Awful Truth" shows glimmers of that film and the whole genre to come. It's a mildly amusing film for its time but even more a fascinating relic of what would evolve into a beloved sub-genre less than a decade later. By all means, give "Midnight Lovers" a look if you can find it.
The film's title might suggest some sort of passionate romance of forbidden love, a sub-genre in which the silents often wallowed. With Lewis Stone and Anna Q. Nilsson in the cast, the evidence mounts but, no, under John Francis Dillon's direction of Carey Wilson's story and scenario, what we have here might best be described as a sort of prehistoric screwball comedy -- a decade before it burst forth on Depression-era movie screens.
Film buffs, of course, know that from about 1934 through about 1942 or so, a variation of the romantic comedy film emerged that was dubbed "screwball". Plotting often had the male lead's masculinity challenged by a female who if not outright dominant was hardly meek and mild. The battle of the sexes often got physical amid pratfalls and thrown objects with farcical marital or romantic situations abounding.
"Midnight Lovers" opens with a very nervous bride (Nilsson) and groom (Stone), married largely because of their friends' persistence than any evident romantic attraction. He is a famous British WWI flyer, destined for burial in Westminster Abbey -- just the assurance this bride needs. She is terrified of flying so naturally he takes her on a flying honeymoon in his plane before returning to the war. (I didn't mention the home he brings his new wife to -- you'll have to see that for yourself!) In France, some of Stone's buddies play a joke on him involving a barmaid which is seen by Anna's mother who happens to be there. Of course, she reports it to her daughter as clear evidence of infidelity. Eventually Stone has to prove he loves Anna (who is being escorted about by her male interior decorator) -- but not before appearing in his wife's nightgown while drunk. Definite traces of screwball elements, wouldn't you say?
Miss Nilsson (at 38) and Mr. Stone (at 47) are no spring chickens here but they bring an appealing maturity to their roles which helps to ground the proceedings. While no one will ever accuse Stone of imitating Cary Grant in this flick, I was easily reminded of Irene Dunne with Nilsson's beauty and subtle performance. "Midnight Lovers" while not "The Awful Truth" shows glimmers of that film and the whole genre to come. It's a mildly amusing film for its time but even more a fascinating relic of what would evolve into a beloved sub-genre less than a decade later. By all means, give "Midnight Lovers" a look if you can find it.
