Star of Midnight

Yes, "Star of Midnight" is a bit of RKO Radio Pictures reworking, or ripping off, MGM's "The Thin Man," but so what? It's good in it's own right. William Powell plays rich and debonair lawyer, Clay Dalzell, who gets involved in a murder, and is himself, a suspect. At his side, Ginger Rogers, co-starring as Powell's romantic companion. This pairing of Powell and Rogers is not as perfect as was Powell and Loy, it's a good match up, never-the-less . The mystery centers around the disappearance of of an actress -- the star of a play entitled "Midnight" -- hence from which the film get its title. All this mystery is wrapped with over- the - top elegance, and sophisticated humor, that was so typical of Hollywood films of the 1930's . You may guess who the murderer is, but the motive should come as a surprise -- and neat one it is !

As previous commenters have said, this is a slight but fun reworking of The Thin Man. It's a fun way to spend a couple of hours. There's plenty of sizzle between Powell and Rogers (of course, Ginger's no Myrna, though). The plot is slight, but who really cares?

Check out the set design for Powell's apartment -- it's classic 30's luxury. The bathroom alone is worth watching for. It could fit in to any modern McMansion easily. This is an RKO picture, but I thought the sets were every bit as good as the ones that Cedric Gibbons and Edwin Willis were doing over at MGM during the same period.

Kudos also to the costume design. Ginger Rogers changes outfits more times than I could count. Powell, of course, looks elegant even in a bathrobe, but surely no star ever looked as good as he did in white tie.

STAR OF MIDNIGHT could easily be mistaken for a Nick and Nora mystery, so similar are the central characters played by WILLIAM POWELL and GINGER ROGERS. Powell is his usual debonair self as a lawyer who sets about to solve a murder he becomes mixed up in and Ginger is her charming self as the girl who wants to marry him some day. The police even suspect Powell may have committed the murder of a gossip columnist.

The mystery is full of suspicious looking characters who might be at the bottom of the crime, but a quick look at the cast and I guessed who the murderer was before the plot even unraveled. From then on, I concentrated on the art deco settings for Powell's pad, especially that modern looking bathroom shower.

PAUL KELLY has a good tough supporting role and RALPH MORGAN is a distinguished looking gentleman (a more serious version of his brother, Frank Morgan), and LESLIE FENTON does what he can with the role of another suspect. GENE LOCKHART is amusing as Powell's butler.

Typical murder mystery from the '30s combining screwball comedy and the usual twists and turns.

I love this movie!!! Although it is a rip-off of the repartee between the main characters of "The Thin Man" (and even has William Powell in the lead), it is absolutely a delight. The title song,"Midnight in Manhattan" which is heard in bits and pieces throughout and in full toward the end of the film,seems to grow on you after a while (I found myself humming it and trying to remember the words). Some of the supporting actors are a little weak.....Leslie Fenton, who is not a particularly appealing actor to begin with (although he was effective as Nails Nathan in "Public Enemy")....nor did I appreciate the bumbling policeman of Robert Emmett O'Conner. J. Farrell MacDonald is a joy as the Inspector and Paul Kelly, surprisingly handsome in his early career, is good as the local crook. Ralph Morgan is what you would expect and good at it. The leads are great, of course. Nobody beats Powell as the suave lawyer and Ginger Rogers is a wonderful light comedienne. They play very well together. All in all, this is one super little film. Plus, Powell's apartment is an art deco dream and what about that bathroom!!!

I'm sure that Louis B. Mayer got a good price to loan out William Powell to RKO for Star Of Midnight. No doubt he was thinking of the sequel to the immensely popular The Thin Man that was already on the boards at MGM.

Over at MGM Nick Charles was a reluctant detective who liked his new bride, martinis, and mysteries in that order. In Star Of Midnight Clay Dalzell is a reluctant detective who likes the legal profession, Ginger Rogers, martinis, and mysteries in that order. The new star of a late night revue in Manhattan walks off the stage and just disappears.

Powell's playboy friend Leslie Fenton who has been looking for her says she's a girl from Chicago he knew and when she saw him in the audience she took off. Gossip columnist Russell Hopton says he knows why and is about to tell Powell when he's bumped off and Powell wounded in the same attack.

Of course that gives Powell a nice reason to sleuth. He has to do it with the help of Ginger Rogers who just wants to get him to the altar.

RKO got Powell a little later in the decade as another amateur detective in The Ex-Mrs. Bradford. Similar story with Jean Arthur as a former wife who can't stay away.

A cast of familiar players make up the suspect list. The eventual murderer, all I can say is that it was one original disguise that was used.

Fans of The Thin Man will enjoy Star Of Midnight.