Midnight Lace

Released Oct 13, 1960

1 hr. 48 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

86%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

When the American wife of a wealthy London-based financier starts receiving frightening phone calls, she believes her life is in danger, but when she protests to her family following a near-fatal accident, they and the police doubt her claims and even her sanity.

Read More

Read Less

kenn f

tedious. Not worth the effort.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/13/23

Full Review

Nizar N

Doris Day is an amazing actress, but she simply wasn't made for this one. That doesn't mean at all that she wasn't good. It only means she's more suitable for "lightweight" roles where her character comes off as likeable, playful, and intelligent. It's not wrong to see her in a thriller, but with at least making use of those aforementioned qualities, especially when they're ready at hand. In other words, the solution would've been to alter the script to cater to Day, and not to cast someone else. It is true a Hitchcock vibe tents over, but Midnight Lace is still not there yet; it just isn't as dark or suspense-packed as a Hitchcock movie, despite the thrilling plot twists. In all, the things I mentioned barely affect the end result, which is nevertheless enjoyable to the extent that it's one of those movies that can easily be seen twice or more.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

OK mystery movie with an obvious nod to Hitchcock. Marred by several unexplained detours.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

stu b

Lightweight suspenser starring Doris Day as a wealthy American living in 1960s London, receiving threatening phone calls from a mysterious stranger; Rex Harrison co-stars as her suave businessman husband. Not nearly as good (or subtle) as she was in, let's say, Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much"--tearful and hysterical, she spends so much time chewing the scenery that it's a wonder no one supplied her with toothpicks--Day is given free rein, and not always to the film's advantage. The outdoor shots of swinging London are a seat-of-the-pants traveler's dream, Harrison and the rest of the cast are fine, and, indeed, some of the characters are not who (or what) they appear to be; but the whole premise is a trifle tawdry, and the Big Reveal is vaguely disappointing. For Day fans--and rainy day or late-night viewing--only.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/27/21

Full Review

Audience Member

HOLLYWOOD GIALLO (+ ITS OTHERS), the awesome IMDB list by Schwenkstar, described this nascent giallo as "Stalker disguises his voice in a creepy manner to hide his identity, a multitude of red herrings keep you guessing, and a shock reveal." What it did not tell me was that Midnight Lace starts Doris Day — of all people — as American heiress Kit Preston, a young girl who is one day threatened by an unseen voice inside the fog that threatens to kill her, keeps gaslighting her and makes her think that she's going insane. Day vowed to never make another thriller after this movie, as she said it so emotionally drained her. She stayed true to her word. Perhaps the reason why she was so mentally destroyed by this picture was that in order to be properly inspired to be afraid, she called upon a memory of her first husband dragging her out of bed and throwing her into a wall. Midnight Lace is pretty much like a cover version of a Hitchcock thriller. Beyond having so many of his stars — Day was in The Man Who Knew Too Much, John Williams was a cop in Dial M for Murder* and To Catch a Thief, as well as John Gavin being in Psycho, this feels like, well, Dial M as a telephone is how the killer goes after our heroine who has a husband named Tony. That said, the ending, which finds Day trying to escape through the scaffolding of her house after the reveal of who the villain really is — well, that's the whole reason to watch this. *Anthony Dawson and Herbert Marshall were also Dial M and this movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

abdelrahman m

It's the type of movie you'd leave playing on TV while you're on your phone, other than that, watching two hours of Doris Day switching between filler elegant scenes and damsel in distress situations is not worth your full attention.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

David Miller

Director

Doris Day

Kit Preston

Rex Harrison

Anthony Preston

John Gavin

Brian Younger

Myrna Loy

Aunt Bea

Roddy McDowall

Malcolm

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

64%

67%

The List of Adrian Messenger

74%

54%

Arabesque

75%

53%

Airport

30%

38%

Airport 1975

25%

13%

The Concorde: Airport '79

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Allan Morrison

Jet Magazine

Midnight Lace is by no reach of the imagination in the tradition of realism, but it is a crackling mystery movie.

Jan 16, 2024

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Unfortunately, Day, as good as her performance is here, is forced into constant damsel-in-distress mode, a victim of gaslighting which is both frustrating and eventually underwhelming.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 13, 2020

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The spirit of Alfred Hitchcock looms large over this intriguing thriller.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 6, 2019

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Implausible but somewhat satisfying Hitchcock-like thriller.

Rated: B_

Jun 10, 2015

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Changing pace at the height of her popularity, Doris Day made this smash hit suspenseful thriller about a woman who gets thtreatening phone calls from a mysterious stranger.

Rated: B

Jul 4, 2012

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 26, 2005

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

When the American wife of a wealthy London-based financier starts receiving frightening phone calls, she believes her life is in danger, but when she protests to her family following a near-fatal accident, they and the police doubt her claims and even her sanity.

Director: David Miller
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 13, 1960, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2020