Pre Code Hollywood Season: FD Cinematheque

Director: Chester Erskine

Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Fox, OP Heggie, Henry Hull, Margaret Wycherly, Lynne Overman, Katherine Wilson, Richard Whorf

76 min

Midnight is a 1934 American drama film directed by Chester Erskine and starring Sidney Fox, O.P. Heggie, Henry Hulland Margaret Wycherly. The film was produced for Universal and was shot on a modest budget of $50,000 at Thomas Edison Studios, which producer/director Chester Erskine had re-opened specifically for the shoot.^[1]

Humphrey Bogart had a small supporting role. The film was re-released as Call It Murder by Screen Guild Productions in 1949 after Bogart became a star; he was given top billing, although he was credited eighth in the original release.

Plot

The movie begins at the murder trial of Ethel Saxon, a woman who shot her lover in a crime of passion. During the trial, Edward Weldon, the jury foreman, asks the defendant a question, which essentially leads to a guilty verdict and a death sentence for her.

The rest of film takes place on the evening of the execution, mostly in the Weldon home. Edward is dealing with the consequences of his role as foreman, and his daughter Stella is upset by the departure of her gangster boyfriend, Gar Boni, whom she met during the trial.

The evening culminates at midnight as the switch is pulled at the death house and a gun is fired in a parked car. Moments later, Stella returns home, admitting that she has shot Gar Boni.

Cast

• Sidney Fox … Stella Weldon
• O.P. Heggie … Edward Weldon
• Henry Hull … Nolan
• Margaret Wycherly … Mrs. Weldon
• Lynne Overman … Joe Biggers (as Lynn Overman)
• Katherine Wilson … Ada Biggers
• Richard Whorf … Arthur Weldon
• Humphrey Bogart … Gar Boni
• Granville Bates … Henry McGrath
• Cora Witherspoon … Elizabeth McGrath
• Moffat Johnston … Dist. Atty. Plunkett
• Henry O’Neill … Ingersoll (as Henry O’Neil)

References

DVD