Remember the Night
Encyclopedia
Remember the Night is a 1940 American
romantic comedy
/drama
Christmas film directed by Mitchell Leisen
, and starring Barbara Stanwyck
and Fred MacMurray
. The film was written by Preston Sturges
—his last as a writer before he became a writer-director with The Great McGinty
.
) is arrested during the Christmas
holidays for trying to shoplift a bracelet from a New York
jewelry shop. Assistant District Attorney
John Sargeant (Fred MacMurray
) is assigned to prosecute her. The trial begins just before Christmas, but rather than face a jury filled with the holiday spirit, he has the trial postponed. He generously posts her bail so she does not have to spend Christmas in jail.
Discovering that Lee is a fellow Hoosier
(a native of Indiana
), he offers to drop her off on his way to visit his mother (Beulah Bondi
), cousin Willie (Sterling Holloway
), and aunt Emma (Elizabeth Patterson
). During the road trip, they get lost in Pennsylvania and end up crashing through a fence and spending the night in a field. The next morning, they are arrested by a farmer and taken to an unfriendly justice of the peace. Lee starts a fire in his wastebasket as a distraction and the pair flee.
When Lee's mother (Georgia Caine
) gives her a cold reception, John decides to take Lee home with him. She is warmly received, even though John tells his mother about Lee's past. During the holiday, John and Lee fall in love. His mother has a private talk with her before she leaves, telling her how hard John had to work all his life to reach his present position. Lee agrees to give him up so as not to jeopardize his career. On the way back to New York via Canada
(to bypass Pennsylvania), John offers Lee a chance to escape, but she turns down the opportunity.
Back in New York, Lee is put on trial, but she pleads guilty when she realizes that John could get into trouble for attempting to throw her case. As she is led away, John proposes to her, and she tells him that if he still feels the same way when she gets out, she will marry him.
Notes
Remember the Night was the first film in which MacMurray and Stanwyck appeared together. They later co-starred in Double Indemnity (1944), The Moonlighter (1953) and There's Always Tomorrow
(1956). Stanwyck was to make a romantic film with Joel McCrea
following the completion of Remember the Night, but she came down with a serious eye infection and had to withdraw from the project.
Preston Sturges had suggested "Great Love" as a title for this film. Director Mitchell Leisen
, a rare director to come out of costume design and art direction, is reported to have shortened Sturges' script considerably, both before and during shooting, something which generally annoyed Sturges, and one of the main reasons he was set on directing his own scripts – which he did beginning with his next project, The Great McGinty
. Still, of all the films that Sturges wrote before be began directing, Leisen directed the only two films, this one and Easy Living, which Sturges bought personal 16mm copies of for his film library.
Leisen's alterations to the script changed the focus of the film from MacMurray's character to Stanwyck's. Sturges summarized the film by saying "Love reformed her and corrupted him." The movie, he said, "had quite a lot of schmaltz [sentiment], a good dose of schmerz [pain, grief] and just enough schmutz [dirt] to make it box office."
During shooting, Sturges hung around the set and got to know Barbara Stanwyck. One day he told her that he was going to write a screwball comedy for her, which he did just a year later, The Lady Eve
.
Remember the Night was in production from July 27 to 8 September 1939. It was completed eight days ahead of schedule and $50,000 under budget, which Leisen attributed to Stanwyck's professionalism.
reviewer Frank S. Nugent wrote:
and Jan Sterling
. It was directed by Richard Goode
and Buzz Kulik from an adaptation by S.H. Barnett.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
/drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
Christmas film directed by Mitchell Leisen
Mitchell Leisen
Mitchell Leisen was an American director, art director, and costume designer.-Film career:He entered the film industry in the 1920s, beginning in the art and costume departments...
, and starring Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
and Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
. The film was written by Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
—his last as a writer before he became a writer-director with The Great McGinty
The Great McGinty
The Great McGinty is a 1940 political satire comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff and featuring William Demarest and Muriel Angelus. It was Sturges's first film as a director; he sold the story to Paramount Pictures for just $10 on condition...
.
Plot
Lee Leander (Barbara StanwyckBarbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
) is arrested during the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
holidays for trying to shoplift a bracelet from a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
jewelry shop. Assistant District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
John Sargeant (Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
) is assigned to prosecute her. The trial begins just before Christmas, but rather than face a jury filled with the holiday spirit, he has the trial postponed. He generously posts her bail so she does not have to spend Christmas in jail.
Discovering that Lee is a fellow Hoosier
Hoosier
Hoosier is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. state of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., "Indianan" or "Indianian", natives of Indiana rarely use these. Indiana adopted the nickname "Hoosier State" more than 150...
(a native of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
), he offers to drop her off on his way to visit his mother (Beulah Bondi
Beulah Bondi
Beulah Bondi was an American actress.Bondi began her acting career as a young child in theater, and after establishing herself as a stage actress, she reprised her role in Street Scene for the 1931 film version...
), cousin Willie (Sterling Holloway
Sterling Holloway
Sterling Price Holloway, Jr. was an American character actor who appeared in 150 films and television programs. He was also a voice actor for The Walt Disney Company...
), and aunt Emma (Elizabeth Patterson
Elizabeth Patterson (actress)
Elizabeth Patterson was an American film and television character actress remembered for her portrayal of elderly neighbor Matilda Trumbull on I Love Lucy.-Career:...
). During the road trip, they get lost in Pennsylvania and end up crashing through a fence and spending the night in a field. The next morning, they are arrested by a farmer and taken to an unfriendly justice of the peace. Lee starts a fire in his wastebasket as a distraction and the pair flee.
When Lee's mother (Georgia Caine
Georgia Caine
Georgia Caine was an American actress who performed both on Broadway and in over 80 films in her 51 year career.-Early career:...
) gives her a cold reception, John decides to take Lee home with him. She is warmly received, even though John tells his mother about Lee's past. During the holiday, John and Lee fall in love. His mother has a private talk with her before she leaves, telling her how hard John had to work all his life to reach his present position. Lee agrees to give him up so as not to jeopardize his career. On the way back to New York via Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(to bypass Pennsylvania), John offers Lee a chance to escape, but she turns down the opportunity.
Back in New York, Lee is put on trial, but she pleads guilty when she realizes that John could get into trouble for attempting to throw her case. As she is led away, John proposes to her, and she tells him that if he still feels the same way when she gets out, she will marry him.
Cast
- Barbara StanwyckBarbara StanwyckBarbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
as Lee Leander - Fred MacMurrayFred MacMurrayFrederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
as John Sargent - Beulah BondiBeulah BondiBeulah Bondi was an American actress.Bondi began her acting career as a young child in theater, and after establishing herself as a stage actress, she reprised her role in Street Scene for the 1931 film version...
as Mrs. Sargent - Elizabeth PattersonElizabeth Patterson (actress)Elizabeth Patterson was an American film and television character actress remembered for her portrayal of elderly neighbor Matilda Trumbull on I Love Lucy.-Career:...
as Aunt Emma - Willard RobertsonWillard RobertsonWillard Robertson was an American actor. He appeared in 146 films between 1924 and 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:*Graft *Shanghaied Love...
as Francis X. O'Leary - Sterling HollowaySterling HollowaySterling Price Holloway, Jr. was an American character actor who appeared in 150 films and television programs. He was also a voice actor for The Walt Disney Company...
as "Chilly" Willie Simms - Charles WaldronCharles WaldronCharles Waldron , sometimes credited as Charles Waldron Sr., Chas. Waldron Sr., Charles D. Waldron or Mr. Waldron, was an American film and theatre actor.-Film:...
as Judge (New York) - Paul GuilfoylePaul Guilfoyle (actor born in 1902)Paul Guilfoyle was an American stage, film, and television actor...
as District Attorney, John's boss - Charles ArntCharles ArntCharles Arnt was an American film actor. He appeared in 120 films between 1933 and 1962.He was born in Michigan City, Indiana, and died in Orcas Island, Washington from pancreatic and liver cancer.-Selected filmography:...
as Tom - John WrayJohn Wray (actor)John Wray was an American character actor of stage and screen.Wray was one of the many Broadway actors to descend on Hollywood in the aftermath of the sound revolution, and quickly made an indelible impression on the era in a variety of substantial character roles, such as the Arnold...
as Hank - Thomas W. RossThomas W. RossThomas Warren Ross, Sr. is the president of the University of North Carolina system. He succeeded Erskine Bowles on January 1, 2011. Formerly, he was president of Davidson College, a private North Carolina liberal arts college from August 1, 2007 to January 1, 2011.Ross, a native of Greensboro,...
as Mr. Emory - Fred 'Snowflake' Toones as Rufus, John's servant
- Tom KennedyTom Kennedy (American actor)Tom Kennedy was an American actor best known for his roles in Hollywood comedies from the silent days, with such producers as Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, mainly supporting lead comedians such as the four Marx Brothers, WC Fields, Mabel Normand, Shemp Howard and Laurel and Hardy.-Career:For over 50...
as "Fat" Mike, the bail bondsmanBail bondsmanA bail bond agent, or bondsman, is any person or corporation that will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail for the appearance of persons accused in court... - Georgia CaineGeorgia CaineGeorgia Caine was an American actress who performed both on Broadway and in over 80 films in her 51 year career.-Early career:...
as Lee's Mother - Virginia BrissacVirginia BrissacVirginia Brissac was an American stage and film actress. With her stern features, she often played schoolteachers and other authority figures....
as Mrs. Emory
Notes
Remember the Night was the first film in which MacMurray and Stanwyck appeared together. They later co-starred in Double Indemnity (1944), The Moonlighter (1953) and There's Always Tomorrow
There's Always Tomorrow
There's Always Tomorrow is a 1956 drama film made by Universal Pictures, directed by Douglas Sirk, starring by Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Bernard C...
(1956). Stanwyck was to make a romantic film with Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
following the completion of Remember the Night, but she came down with a serious eye infection and had to withdraw from the project.
Production
Mitchell Leisen
Mitchell Leisen was an American director, art director, and costume designer.-Film career:He entered the film industry in the 1920s, beginning in the art and costume departments...
, a rare director to come out of costume design and art direction, is reported to have shortened Sturges' script considerably, both before and during shooting, something which generally annoyed Sturges, and one of the main reasons he was set on directing his own scripts – which he did beginning with his next project, The Great McGinty
The Great McGinty
The Great McGinty is a 1940 political satire comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff and featuring William Demarest and Muriel Angelus. It was Sturges's first film as a director; he sold the story to Paramount Pictures for just $10 on condition...
. Still, of all the films that Sturges wrote before be began directing, Leisen directed the only two films, this one and Easy Living, which Sturges bought personal 16mm copies of for his film library.
Leisen's alterations to the script changed the focus of the film from MacMurray's character to Stanwyck's. Sturges summarized the film by saying "Love reformed her and corrupted him." The movie, he said, "had quite a lot of schmaltz [sentiment], a good dose of schmerz [pain, grief] and just enough schmutz [dirt] to make it box office."
During shooting, Sturges hung around the set and got to know Barbara Stanwyck. One day he told her that he was going to write a screwball comedy for her, which he did just a year later, The Lady Eve
The Lady Eve
The Lady Eve is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. The film is based on a story by Monckton Hoffe about a mismatched couple who meet on board a luxury liner...
.
Remember the Night was in production from July 27 to 8 September 1939. It was completed eight days ahead of schedule and $50,000 under budget, which Leisen attributed to Stanwyck's professionalism.
Reception
The theatrical release was well received. The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer Frank S. Nugent wrote:
It is a memorable film, in title and in quality, blessed with an honest script, good direction and sound performances ... a drama stated in the simplest human terms of comedy and sentiment, tenderness and generosity ... warm, pleasant and unusually entertaining.
Home media
Universal Studios released the film on VHS on September 12, 1995 and on DVD on October 18, 2010.Adaptations
On 5 May , Lux Video Theatre presented a television adaptation of Remember the Night, with Dennis O'KeefeDennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe was an American actor. Born as Edward Vance Flanagan he was the son of Irish vaudevillians working in the United States...
and Jan Sterling
Jan Sterling
Jan Sterling was an American actress.Most active in films during the 1950s, Sterling received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The High and the Mighty , and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the same performance...
. It was directed by Richard Goode
Richard Goode
Richard Goode is an American classical pianist, especially known for his interpretations of Ludwig van Beethoven and chamber music.Goode was born in East Bronx, New York...
and Buzz Kulik from an adaptation by S.H. Barnett.