REMEMBER THE NIGHT [1940 / 2022] [Limited Edition] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ is an All-time Classic Hollywood Comedy from the Golden Age!
"With its sparkling screenplay by Preston Sturges [‘The Great McGinty’ and ‘The Palm Beach Story’], this much-loved romantic comedy paired screen legends Barbara Stanwyck [‘The Lady Eve’ and ‘Forty Guns’] and Fred McMurray [‘Double Indemnity’ and ‘The Absent-Minded Professor’] for the very first time.”
Barbara Stanwyck plays Lee Leander, a shoplifter who faces a lonely Christmas in prison, while Fred McMurray is the strait-laced New York District Attorney who takes pity on her and organises her release on bail. After he offers to drive her to visit her family, a trouble-filled road-trip ensues and an unlikely romance blossoms.
Directed by Mitchell Liesen [‘Easy Living’ and ‘Hold Back the Dawn’], and featuring acting support from Beulah Bondi [It's a Wonderful Life’] and Elizabeth Patterson [‘The Cat and the Canary’], ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ is an “all-time classic comedy from Hollywood's golden age.”
UK premiere on Blu-ray and Limited edition of 3,000 copies.
FILM FACT: The film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ was written by Preston Sturges and was the last of his scripts shot by another director, as Preston Sturges began his own directorial career the same year with the film ‘The Great McGinty.’ Preston Sturges suggested ‘Great Love’ as a title for the film. The script, which blends a number of genres, proved difficult to write, and Preston Sturges joked that it caused him “... to commit hara-kiri several times.” ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ included a number of elements from Preston Sturges own life and the theatrical release was well-received. The New York Times 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.”
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson, Willard Robertson, Sterling Holloway, Charles Waldron, Paul Guilfoyle, Charles Arnt, John Wray, Thomas W. Ross, Fred 'Snowflake' Toones, Tom Kennedy, Georgia Caine, Virginia Brissac, Spencer Charters, Jean Acker (uncredited), Ambrose Barker (uncredited), John Beck (uncredited), Brooks Benedict (uncredited), William A. Boardway (uncredited), Avril Cameron (uncredited), James Carlisle (uncredited), Steve Carruthers (uncredited), Chester Clute (uncredited), Frank Conklin (uncredited), Roy Crane (uncredited), Harry Depp (uncredited), Edmund Elton (uncredited), Harry Evans (uncredited), Julia Faye (uncredited), James Flavin (uncredited), Kenneth Gibson (uncredited), George Guhl (uncredited), Beth Hartman (uncredited), Milton Kibbee (uncredited), Fuzzy Knight (uncredited), Lillian Lawrence (uncredited), Kate Drain (uncredited), Carl M. Leviness (uncredited), Robert Locke Lorraine (uncredited), Martha Mears (uncredited), George Melford (uncredited), Pat O'Malley (uncredited), Earl Pingree (uncredited), Paul Power (uncredited), Walter Soderling (uncredited), Bernard Suss (uncredited), Julius Tannen (uncredited), Ruth Warren (uncredited) and Florence Wix (uncredited)
Director: Mitchell Leisen
Producers: Albert Lewis (uncredited), Mitchell Leisen and William LeBaron (uncredited)
Screenplay: Preston Sturges (original screenplay)
Composer: Frederick Hollander
Costume Design: Edith Head (costumes)
Cinematography: Ted Tetzlaff (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 94 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Paramount Pictures / Powerhouse Films / INDICATOR
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ [1940] Finds Lee Leander [Barbara Stanwyck], a pretty thief with enough “streetwise” has been busted for the third time, which is rather an impressive number, actually, considering Lee Leander’s led a life of stealing. Those assigned to her trial include John Sargent [Fred McMurray], who is a District Attorney with noble ideals and his own ideas; the latter motivate his influencing the court into postponing Lee Leander’s sentencing until the New Year, thereby increasing the odds of a conviction and ensuring his holiday travel plans.
When defence attorney pulls a surprise, young D.A. John Sargent has the trial continued for two weeks, and Lee Leander has to remain in jail in the interim. D.A. John Sargent suffers pangs of conscience and gets her out on bail. When John Sargent finds her home it is also in Indiana, and John Sargent then takes her along on the trip.
Preston Sturges’ original screenplay depends mainly on individual sequences and bright situations rather than the overall effect of the story itself. Here is a tale of a girl crook Lee Leander who becomes enmeshed in the law after lifting a bracelet from a store. Deputy District Attorney John Sargent is assigned to prosecute, even though he plans to leave for Xmas holidays with his mother in Indiana.
The setup feels very much like that of a screwball romantic comedy and, indeed, that seems to be the case for a short while. The courtroom scene is particularly amusing, with a show-stealing turn from Willard Robertson, and the witty banter when Lee Leander first arrives in John Sargent’s apartment is razor-sharp. However, that acerbic, fast-paced feel of the film gradually fades and disappears completely by the end of the film.
Barbara Stanwyck turns in a fine performance. Fred MacMurray is impressive as the serious-minded District Attorney prosecutor, but loosens up for the comedy stretches. Beulah Bondi and Elizabeth Patterson, Fred MacMurray’s mother and aunt, respectively, provide good characterizations and Sterling Holloway scores as the thick hick hired hand.
Also pivotal to the success of the film and changes in tone though is Barbara Stanwyck. Fred MacMurray is a solid, likeable lead but Barbara Stanwyck is something else and her richly drawn character allows her to show a great range and depth of emotion. It’s Barbara Stanwyck’s shoulders that carry the weight of the most powerful scenes and Barbara Stanwyck pulls it off beautifully.
‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ is a touching romance that uses some sharp humour to reel you in and then a powerful central performance to hold you there. It becomes more of a gently unfolding melodrama than I expected but it never lurches too far into sentimentality, instead taking a fairly low-key approach, albeit with some very sweet moments and a little heartstring-tugging at the end. It’s a Christmas treat that is laced with melancholy but still goes down well, like a glass of mulled wine.
‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ was a great success on its release, garnering both critical praise and box office returns. Sadly, possibly due to the less famous name behind the camera, the film isn’t as well remembered as a lot of similarly successful films of that era. Hoping to address that balance, and INDICATOR releasing ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ is in a lavish limited edition Blu-ray box set. Despite this, to me the film is a great sentimental success and Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray put in a totally spellbinding performances and at times you will have to have the box of Kleenex tissues at hand and on top of all that, Preston Sturges original screenplay also helped to make this film a great success.
REMEMBER THE NIGHT MUSIC TRACK LIST
JINGLE BELLS (1857) (uncredited) (Written by James Pierpont) [Played in the score at Christmas time]
EASY LIVING (1937) (uncredited) (Music by Ralph Rainger) (Lyrics by Leo Robin) [Sung by Martha Mears at the nightclub]
(Back Home Again in) INDIANA (1917) (uncredited) (Music by James F. Hanley) (Lyrics by Ballard MacDonald) [Played by the band and sung by Martha Mears and an unidentified male quartet at the nightclub. Played also at the barn dance and often in the score]
OLD FOLKS AT HOME (Swanee River) (1851) (uncredited) (Written by Stephen Foster) [Performed by Fred MacMurray with piano and vocal]
A PERFECT DAY (1910) (uncredited) (Written by Carrie Jacobs Bond) [Played on piano by Barbara Stanwyck and sung by Sterling Holloway, with Fred MacMurray, Elizabeth Patterson and Beulah Bondi joining in]
AULD LANG SYNE (1788) (uncredited) (Traditional Scottish 17th century music) (Lyrics by Robert Burns) [Played at the barn dance and sung by all on New Year's Eve]
LILY OF LAGUNA (uncredited) (Written by Leslie Stuart) [Played by the band at the barn dance]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Paramount Pictures, Powerhouse Films and INDICATOR presents us the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ with a wonderful sharp 1080p Black-and-White image and of course shown in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The results are excellent, with blacks, whites and greys all on point, and grain natural and film like. From the moment the opening credits flash on the screen, it's immediately apparent ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ has undergone a meticulous restoration, and the results are quite stunning. For a film that was largely forgotten for the better part of its history and can't have been particularly well cared for over the past several decades, ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ looks gloriously vibrant. Close-ups are lovingly photographed by cinematographer Ted Tetzlaff ['Notorious'], highlighting the palpable glamour of Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, and background elements show up well, too, lending the image a nice hint of depth. Without question, this is a superior remaster from Paramount Pictures, and fans of Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, and this beautiful gem of a movie will be thrilled with this exceptional presentation. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Paramount Pictures, Powerhouse Films and INDICATOR brings us the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ with a wonderful gorgeous audio detail sustains high quality vintage sound, superlatively crisp for its age, and a premium example of how great classics can perform on this format. There’s no fidelity loss at high frequencies, and dialogue is pristine in clarity. There's not much to be said here either: dialogue, music and effects are clear and well balanced. All of Preston Sturges’ marvellous dialogue is clear and comprehendible, and Frederick Hollander's understated music score exudes a pleasant fullness of tone. This is a simple, unobtrusive track that keeps us focused on the film without any distractions, and that's quite a feat for a film of this vintage.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Adrian Martin [Audio only] [2022] [1080p] [1.37:1] [93:49] With this featurette, you get to experience the personal audio commentary with film historian Adrian Martin on the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT.’ As the film starts Adrian Martin introduces himself and is very glad to have the opportunity to talk about two iconic things in cinema history related to this film, and one is quite well known today and that is the acclaimed screenwriter Preston Sturgess for his input into the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ in 1940 for Paramount Picture, and the other figure is the producer and director Mitchell Leisen. Adrian Martin comments on the elegant designed credits at the start of the film and especially Mitchell Leisen his signed name is included in the film credits at the start of the film. Adrian Martin comments about the start of the actual film, where we see an arm wearing a black glove and having a very expensive bracelet put on the arm and that person walks off and steels the expensive bracelet and at that moment we do not see who it is, but finally we see it is actress Barbara Stanwyck and very important as it is set at Christmas time and we are in New York, but of course Barbara Stanwyck ends up in court, and Adrian Martin praises the director Mitchell Leisen and also questioned why they called the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ but remembers being knocked out seeing the film 32 years ago and on that night 32 years ago was at the Melbourne International Film Festival, in which someone on stage claimed that Mitchell Leisen simply didn’t understand the subtleties of Preston Sturgess's script and on top of all that was not a very good director, but Adrian Martin feels this is total nonsense, and goes in-depth to demonstrate that for the next hour and a half or so, because he feels throughout the film ty has some wonderful changes of moods. But also mentions that in Preston Sturgess’s screenplay, there is a lot detours throughout the film and we also get a lot of incorrect assumptions from all the characters in the film and lots of Preston Sturgess’s crossed wires, and people seem to not understand each other, think the wrong thing about each other, they take things for granted and make stereo type comments of what a person is or act like in public, and also lots of moral judgements. Adrian Martin now talks about the amazing hats and clothes the women wear in the film, which of course were all designed by the equally favour Edith Head. Adrian Martin again talks about the stupid idiot that spoke at the Melbourne International Film Festival who said Mitchell Leisen was not able to interpret Preston Sturgess screenplay for the characters in the film, which Adrian Martin condemns 100% and is utter rubbish and feels director Mitchell Leisen actually enhances Prston Sturgess’s screenplay for the film ‘REMEMEBER THE NIGHT.’ Now Arian Martin now gets onto the subject of the actor Fred MacMurray and we find out that Preston Sturgess was not very happy with this actor, as he felt Fred MacMurray would not portray a hard boiled character or a hard edge character, but Adrian Martin thinks the actor Fred MacMurray plays a really nice character in the film ‘REMEMEBER THE NIGHT’ and in this film we get to be introduced to a more human side of the character in the film with the actor Fred MacMurray. But after about 25 minutes into the film, Adrian Martin says that now we are now into the genre of a “Road Movie” where the two characters Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray have got lost and feels that is the central theme of the film in Preston Sturgess’s screenplay, but despite this, Adrian Martin says that the director Mitchell Leisen handles the screenplay so effortless and that is why the director Mitchell Leisen created a great movie with ‘REMEMEBER THE NIGHT,’ and Adrian Martin also says, what is also great about the movie is that Mitchell Leisen loves to take long takes and that way we get to know the characters in the film so much better. At around 40 minutes, Adrian Martin says now we are entering an extraordinary part of the film, where the whole aspect of the film really changes into a small rural town family melodrama, where Fred MacMurray turns up with Barbara Stanwyck and is introduced to the nasty negative family of Barbara Stanwyck, and you of course find out later on why the Barbara Stanwyck character keeps being a petty thief, and eventually the character of Barbara Stanwyck finally meets a family that has no negative attitudes towards the character of Barbara Stanwyck and finds out finally that there are small rural town family who loves the character of Barbara Stanwyck, who previously has had a very negative outlook on life in general. At around the 47 minute point of the film, we see Fred MacMurray has finally arrived at his childhood home with Barbara Stanwyck, who now for the first time meets a family who makes Barbara Stanwyck’s character very welcome and very loving, even towards the actress, even later on Fred MacMurray informs his mother the reason the actress with him because of the court case where Barbara Stanwyck’s character was in court charged with being a thief, but when you see the scene with everyone in the lounge with the heart-warming family setting, I dare you to admit to shedding a few tears with the very emotional scene you get to witness, I know I did. When you get to around the 60 minutes mark we get to the Christmas day scene where everyone is in the lounge opening their Christmas presents, and to the surprise of Barbara Stanwyck’s character, actually gets given some Christmas presents and you can see the actress’s face is very moved by being with such a loving family, but at the same time Adrian martin mentions that the director Mitchell Leisen was rumoured to be bi-sexual that caused some problems for his career and of course in return, had some really nasty insults thrown at him, especially the director Billy Wilder and referred to director Mitchell Leisen as a fairy, and Preston Sturgess referred to director Mitchell Leisen as a screaming interior decorator, and also who was not a true director, and the negative comments made against Mitchell Leisen in that he is not capable of showing a stable loving family with him being bi-sexual, as those other directors being heterosexual and are the only ones who can show a stable loving family in films and I say to those negative people, what a load of hogwash and balderdash. On top of that, with Preston Sturgess screenplay, the character of Fred MacMurray gets slightly corrupted, but the character of Barbara Stanwyck finally gets reformed and the character of Barbara Stanwyck and the character of Fred MacMurray’s mother, we get to see the scene with them both together in a bedroom, having a heart to heart talk after getting home from the festive dance, and the Mother character informs the Barbara Stanwyck character that she knows about her previous lifestyle of crime and does not care of what she has done in the past, as love conquers all, and the Barbara Stanwyck character finds out that she has found out that there is a family that can love you and your past dubious misdemeanours and of course the theme of the film is “Love Conquers.” When we get to chapter 12, it is the final court scene where Barbara Stanwyck is being tried for stealing that expensive bracelet and we see Fred MacMurray is one of the characters that is questioning her, and Adrian Martin thinks the court scene is being played out more as a comedy drama, and all aspects of the court case scene is being played out with the fact the holiday scenario is over, the party is over, the carnival is over and all those possibilities as unleashed and the tensions have gone forever. But people have commented on the style of Mitchell Leisen directing films, by saying that his films are said to be romantic comedies of Mitchell Leisen, are not strictly comedy films, they all have a slightly melancholic tinge to them, the characters experience a longing and sadness, that they wish life can be something other than what it is. At 91 minutes, Adrian Martin says the scene we are watching between Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray after the court case with both of them in the temporary metal cell is very intriguing, and there is no solution to the romance between these two characters, and that Barbara Stanwyck’s character must go to jail, but of course when you see the end of the film, the whole scenario of the film finally gets resolved for Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. As The End wording appears, it is the end of Adrian Martin’s audio commentary and says, “So do you now know why ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ was a great film, I hope so” and that was the final word from Adrian Martin’s audio commentary towards the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT,’ and to me personally I felt the audio commentary was a bit of a hit and miss at times, but of course it is up to you to decide if you agree with me or not agree about my comments about Adrian Martin’s audio commentary.
Special Feature: Geoff Andrew: You May Laugh, You May Weep [2022] [1080p] [1.37:1 / 1.78:1] [25:14] With this featurette, the author and programmer Geoff Andrew revisits the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ and explores the contributions of the star Fred MacMurray, writer Preston Sturges and director Mitchell Leisen and mentions that the film was released by Paramount Pictures in 1940 and is notable for several reasons. First there was the fact that actress Barbara Stanwyck [1907 – 1990] and the actor Fred MacMurray [1908 – 1991] were paired together in a feature film, and four years later would again appear together in the Billy Wilder 1944 film ‘Double Indemnity’ and then in 1956 would again appear together in the Douglas Sirk film ‘There’s Always Tomorrow,’ and of course these films show the chemistry between these two outstanding actors. It is also very important that it was the last time that Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray appeared in a film with a screenplay written by Preston Sturgess, who then went onto directing films and his first foray into directing was with the 1940 film ‘The Great McGinty.’ Now Geoff Andrew talks about the films that Preston Sturgess directed and did aboutsix films between 1940 to 1948 and they are ‘The Great McGinty’ [1940], ‘The Lady Eve’ [1941], ‘Sullivan’s Travels’ [1941], ‘The Palm Beach Story’ [1942], ‘The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek’ [1944] and ‘Unfaithfully Yours’ [1948]. But the films that Preston Sturgess was involved in as a screenwriter was ‘Easy Living’ [1937] and of course the brilliant film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ [1940]. Geoff Andrew now goes onto to talk about the director Mitchell Leisen, who was not very well known, but the films he directed, tended to show a lot of compassion in his characters and this you see very well in the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ where Fred MacMurray’s family shows great compassion towards the character that Barbara Stanwyck plays. But also points out that the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ is a sort of romantic comedy, but it is also a courtroom drama, and also a road trip movie, but also a very nostalgic movie of that period the film is set in or even showing you a certain way of life in rural America, but it is also a very weepy movie, which I can admit to, as I did shed a few tears while viewing certain parts of the film. But with all the films directed by Mitchell Leisen the audiences believe in the characters in his films and their ordinary lives, who we care about a lot, but his films can also be about redemption, especially with the character Barbara Stanwyck plays in ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ who at the start of the film is known as a habitual criminal thief, and eventually comes to realise well into the film realises that there is more to life than stealing that she has done in the past. To point out of what Geoff Andrew has been saying, we of course get lots of clips from the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT.’ But Geoff Andrew talks about the character of Barbar Stanwyck who has always been a petty criminal up to the point in the courtroom scene in the film, but feels her mother made her end up as a petty criminal because of her Mother’s negative attitude towards her daughter, but when Barbara Stanwyck’s character finally meets Fred MacMurray’s loving family, finally Barbara Stanwyck’s character finally sees a family that cares about people and of course Barbara Stanwyck’s character falls in love with Fred MacMurray’s family and now Barbara Stanwyck’s character now feels part of a very loving family and a very homely atmosphere and realises that her days of being a petty thief is now in the past and now the audience roots for the new Barbara Stanwyck’s character. Geoff Andrew now talks about the actor Fred MacMurray character in the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ who plays the character District Attorney John Sargent and feels the actor tends to be a little naïve in this film, especially in the courtroom scene or when he starts out his journey with Barbara Stanwyck’s character. As we come to near the end of this featurette, Geoff Andrew now again concentrates on the director Mitchell Leisen and says that he feels this director makes other films with similar characters like in the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ that tends to be at the level of stereo type characters, that they become much more than that, also Mitchell Leisen’s attention to detail, and that we become to believe in all the characters in the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT,’ and we also care about all of these characters and it is a film that may have you laughing, but also have you weeping. At that point this Geoff Andrew featurette ends.
Special Feature: Outsider Status: Pamela Hutchinson on Barbara Stanwyck [2022] [1080p] [1.37:1 / 1.78:1] [25:32] With this featurette, critic Pamela Hutchinson assesses the life and career of the iconic silver-screen star and actress Barbara Stanwyck. Here Pamela Hutchinson talks in-depth about the actress Barbara Stanwyck and feels the actress was a phenomenal actress, who was a Hollywood outsider and was also nominated for an Oscar® four times and finally got her honorary Oscar® in 1982. But also talks about the films Barbara Stanwyck has appeared in like the 1939 film ‘Union Pacific.’ Pamela Hutchinson mentions the fact that Barbara Stanwyck was born on the 16th July, 1907 in Brooklyn, New York and things were quite tough for Barbara Stanwyck growing up in her early childhood and at the age of four her mother dies in a gruesome accident by being hit by a Streetcar [trolley car] and was pregnant at the time and caused great complications. Barbara Stanwycks father leaves her not long after the death of her Mother, and had to go and live with other families and also ended up in several foster homes. Barbara Stanwyck felt family life was not for her and followed her sister to perform on the stage and then started to obsess with movies and wanted to become an actress, especially like her favourite actress Pearl White and to be in the films like ‘The Perils of Pauline.’ At time Barbara Stanwyck would stand outside the Vitagraph Studios and was also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, and was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. So by Barbara Stanwyck standing outside the Vitagraph Studios hoping to spot to spot stars coming out of the studio, which included Dolores Costello, Helen Costello, who were big movie stars at that period in time. Soon Barbara Stanwyck leaves school and becomes a chorus girl, and felt she was quite “Streetwise” and especially using men to her advantage and to especially get whatever she wanted, by any means, if you get my drift, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Eventually, Barbara Stanwyck got a part in the 1945 Musical/Comedy film ‘Ziegfeld Follies’ where you had to work really hard, where she would say, “We worked like dogs, but we were strong like horses.” But Barbara Stanwyck tried her hand in theatre plays and the first one she appeared in was entitled “The Noose” in 1926 at the Hudson Theatre which is a Broadway theatre at 139 – 141 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theatre District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City and played the chorus girl called “Dot.” But Barbara Stanwyck was quite feisty and was a staunch right wing Republican with very strong views and was a 100% strong supporter of the 100% Black List. The next film the actress Barbara Stanwyck appeared in was the First National Picture entitled ‘Broadway Nights’ and was directed by Joseph C. Doyle in 1927. Barbara Stanwyck’s next stage performance was in a comedy drama entitled “Burlesque” at the Sam H. Harris Theatre, originally the Candler Theatre, was a theatre within the Candler Building, at 226 West 42nd Street, in the Theatre District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City in 1928, and Barbara Stanwyck gets romantically involved with her co-star Frank Fay, who was a comic compare, who was a very bad alcoholic, but Barbara Stanwyck would not have anything negative about him, and was completely mad on him and they eventually got married, but it was rumoured it was a troubled marriage with massive heated arguments, in the meantime Barbara Stanwyck was getting rave reviews and the big bosses in Hollywood were getting very interested in Barbara Stanwyck and they were Samuel Goldwyn and Irving Thalberg, so Frank Fay and Barbara Stanwyck moved to Hollywood and frank Fay signed up with Warner Bros. and Barbara Stanwyck signed up with United Artists, but for only one film, because Barbara Stanwyck wanted Frank Fay to succeed in his career. But while that was happening, Barbara Stanwyck made a couple of movies and one of them was ‘The Locked Door’ for United Artists in 1929 and that film ended her contract with United Artists. The Harry Cohen noticed the actress and put her in a film entitled ‘Mexicali Rose’ in 1929. Then Harry Cohen arranged for a screen test for Barbara Stanwyck at Warner Bros., and at the same time Alexander Korda turned up in Hollywood to direct a film and actually sees the Warner Bros. of the Barbara Stanwyck screen test, but sadly nothing became of it, so Barbara Stanwyck was in total limbo. So Harry Cohen telephoned Barbara Stanwyck and asked her to contact the director Frank Capra and wants to talk about a part in a film for the actress to appear in, but unfortunately the whole thing was a total disaster, and Barbara Stanwyck went home in total tears and totally fed up with Hollywood. But out of the blue, Harry Cohen telephones Frank Capra and asks him to view the Barbara Stanwyck screen test and that really did it for the actress and Frank Capra contacted Barbara Stanwyck and hires the actress to appear in a film about prostitutes for rich artist characters, but eventually Barbara Stanwyck actually appears in the film as a “Party Girl” in the “All Talking Drama of Nite Life” entitled ‘Ladies of Leisure’ that was directed by frank Capra in 1930, and surprisingly turned out to be a good film for Barbara Stanwyck. Then in 1931, Barbara Stanwyck appears in the film ‘Ten Cents A Dance,’ then in 1932 Barbara Stanwyck appeared in the 1932 film ‘Shopworn’ for Columbia Pictures, then appeared in the 1932 film ‘Forbidden’ for Columbia Pictures. But just before those tow 1932 films, Barbara Stanwyck appeared in the 1931 film ‘The Miracle Woman’ also for Columbia Pictures. But then Barbara Stanwyck appeared in a 1932 film entitled ‘The Bitter Tea of General Yen.’ In the meantime Barbara Stanwyck’s husband frank Fay was not at all happy, as he was called “The Man Married to Barbara Stanwyck” and the alcoholism was getting worse and worse. To compensate for her upsetting emotions regarding her marriage, Barbara Stanwyck adopts a child because of some biological problems, cannot have a child. In the meantime Barbara Stanwyck carries on with her acting career in films like ‘Night Nurse’ [1931], ‘Ladies They Talk About’ [1933] and ‘Baby Face’ [1933] and this film is a really key film for Barbara Stanwyck’s acting career, which is all due to Darryl F. Zanuck, because the film was a massive box office hit, but because of its racy theme, that is when censorship became a reality. In 1935 Barbara Stanwyck’s acting career really takes off and the actress is also very successful, but in the meantime her marriage to Frank Fay is on the rocks and whenever Frank Fay visits Barbara Stanwyck they have the most horrendous negative time together and at one point Frank Fay actually throws the three year old across the room violently and then leaves the room and it is at that moment the end of their marriage, and eventually Barbara Stanwyck filed for divorce and wins. The in 1937 Barbara Stanwyck stars in the film ‘Stella Dallas’ that was directed by King Vidor. Then in 1939 Barbara Stanwyck gets married for the second time to the actor Robert Taylor and does a massive big publicity of their marriage, and especially a big spread in the 1940 January publication “Screen Book” magazine that is about “Hollywood Life in Pictures,” but there were rumours about tensions in their marriage with lots of over the top rows and on top of all that, there were also rumours about the couple’s sexuality. But in the period of the 1940’s it was the height of Barbara Stanwyck’s career, like in the films ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT,’ ‘Ball of Fire’ and ‘The Lady Eve,’ and it showed that the actress was a natural for comedy characters in a deadpan kind of way. Other good films Barbara Stanwyck appeared in were ‘The Great Man’s Lady’ [1942], ‘My Reputation’ [1946], ‘The Strange Love of Martha Ivers’ [1946], ‘Sorry, Wrong Number’ [1948] and ‘Clash By Night’ [1952]. In the 1950’s Barbara Stanwyck appears in the Douglas Sirk films ‘All I Desire’ [1953] and ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’ [1956]. Another film Barbara Stanwyck appears in is ‘The Furies’ [1950] and because of her dyke character, rumours again were rife about her sexuality, and also with the 1957 film ‘Forty Guns,’ which Barbara Stanwyck becomes a “Gay Icon.” In the film ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ [1962] they say Barbara Stanwyck’s character in that film, harks back to her character in the film ‘Baby Face.’ Barbara Stanwyck then starts a new career adventure was to appear in the US TV Series “The Big Valley” which was an American Western drama television series that originally aired from September 15th, 1965, to May 19th, 1969 on ABC, that brought a new generation to Barbara Stanwyck the iconic actress in that period between 1965 to 1969, but also kept on working right to the end of the 1980’s, but sadly passed away on January 20th, 1990, at the age of 82, from congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. But before that in 1960 Barbara Stanwyck had her own NBC Television play entitled “The Mink Coat” that was aired on the first episode of “The Barbara Stanwyck Show” and starred alongside Stephen McNally, Tenen Holtz, Lewis Martin, Jack Nicholson, Michael Whalen, Hal Smith and Anna lee, and was produced by Desi Arnaz executive producer (uncredited) and Lucille Ball executive producer (uncredited). Barbara Stanwyck then appears in the 1985 ABC TV Series “Dynasty II: The Colbys” and Barbara Stanwyck also appeared in the 1983 ABC American television miniseries “The Thorn Birds.” As we get to the end of this “Outsider Status: Pamela Hutchinson on Barbara Stanwyck” featurette, comments that at the start of Barbara Stanwyck’s career was very rocky, but by the end of Barbara Stanwyck’s career we have lived with her amazing career and also very much admired Barbara Stanwyck as a totally brilliant actress right up to her sad demise, and we shall never ever see another wonderful actress that always played and admired the many characters that Barbara Stanwyck played. At that point this Pamela Hutchinson featurette ended. Sadly, the quality of the sound was not very good and I had to crank up the sound to understand what Pamela Hutchinson was saying.
Special Feature: Lux Radio Theatre: “Remember the Night” [Audio only] [1940] [1080p] [1.78:1] [54:33] With this featurette, we get to hear the radio audio adaptation of the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ using a cut-down version of the Preston Sturges's screenplay. Here we hear Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck reprise their roles from the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT.’ In this first broadcast it was two months after the film's release, and Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson and Sterling Holloway reprise their film roles. This episode was originally broadcast on the 25th March, 1940. Unfortunately, all you get to view is a completely horrible blank screen.
Special Feature: Special Feature: Lux Radio Theatre: “Remember the Night” [Audio only] [1941] [1080p] [1.78:1] [54:07] With this featurette, we get to hear the second audio adaptation of the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ which we hear this time with the pairing of actors Fred MacMurray with Jean Arthur. In this second radio broadcast, Fred MacMurray is still on board, but Jean Arthur takes over from Barbara Stanwyck. Bob Hope and Rita Hayworth play guest roles in this second radio production. Both plays are introduced by none other than Cecil B. De Mille. This episode was originally broadcast on the 22nd December, 1941. Unfortunately, once again all you get to view is a completely horrible blank screen.
Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer [1942] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:49] With this featurette, we get to view the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT.’ It mentions “Confessions from the diary of a bad girl,” which rather sets up expectations of a different, possibly racier, film than you might be expecting. It later sells it as “When good boy meets bad girl.” Some scenes are just as well taken out of context of the film as a whole, as in context they would be major spoilers. All in all, the quality of this trailer is atrocious.
Special Feature: Image Gallery: With this featurette, we get to view 72 black-and-white and colour 1080p images related to the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT.’ They comprise production stills, lobby cards that are in colour, the front page of Preston Sturges's personal signed script, and poster designs that are also in colour.
Special Feature: Hollywood Victory Caravan [1942] [1080p] [1.37:1] [19:37] With this featurette, we get to view a short promotional Paramount Picture film that at the end of World War II, a short film was commissioned from Paramount Pictures by the United States Department of the Treasury, to promote the purchase of Victory Bonds that features a two-week cross-country railroad journey in 1942 that brought together two dozen film stars to raise money for the Army and Navy Relief Society. It was sponsored by the Hollywood Victory Committee of Stage, Screen and Radio. The Hollywood Victory Caravan show played in 12 cities and netted over $700,000 for Army and Navy relief funds. It features many of Hollywood’s well-known names, including Barbara Stanwyck, Betty Hutton, Alan Ladd, Bing Crosby, Carmen Cavallaro and His Orchestra, Bob Hope, Humphrey Bogart, and among others. They inform us at the start of the short film that the Treasury Department once again extends its thank to the War Activities Committee of the Motion Picture Industry, for actively participating in this Victory Loan campaign. Thanks to the producers and distributors . . . to those exhibitors who sell war bonds day and night in their theatres . . . and thanks to the stars and craftsmen who so generously gave their time to make this film possible. Ted R. Gamble of the National War Finance Director.
PLUS: Limited edition exclusive 80 page book that includes Crew. Cast. An article entitled “A Good Dose Of Schmerz” by Rick Burin [2022]. An article entitled “Why Actors” by J.D Spiro [1939]. An article entitled “’Snow’ Flows Today: City Goes Hollywood” by Ross Mason [1939]. An article entitled “Tallest Star in Hollywood Has Heart To Match His Size” by Lily May Caldwell [1939]. An article entitled “Jack-Of-All-Trades” by Frederick C. Othman [1940]. An article entitled “Swing High, Swing Low : Mitchell Leisen In Perspective” by Dennis Drabelle [1994]. An article entitled “Critical Response.” “Hollywood Victory Caravan” [1954] Blu-ray Specila feature. About The Presentation. Specila Thanks. Acknowledgment’s. INDICATOR Credits. Plus lots of black-and –white images from the film and a nice colour film poster for ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT.’
BONUS: Limited edition exclusive two sides colour poster for the film ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT.’
Finally, ‘REMEMBER THE NIGHT’ [1940] is without a doubt, one of the greatest movies about repentance. That the setting is during the Christmas Holidays and you add such a wonderful cast and only beautiful things can happen. What a great cast and the chemistry between Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck is undeniable. On top of all that, Preston Sturgis wrote this wonderful, romantic, witty and kind of dark Christmas Eve story. Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyk, and Beulah Bondi are all great, especially the acting and cinematography is superb and covers all of the emotions throughout the film. A lovely heart-warming tale for the Yuletide season, story pitches Barbara Stanwyck as a lady thief and Fred MacMurray as the prosecutor who takes pity on her and takes her home to meet his family. Back stories are revealed and the chemistry between the two principals is palpable. The genius pen of Preston Sturges provides much humour, romance and family values, while Mitchell Leisen smartly directs his cast to great performances. Also of note is that the director never lets the film slip into deep treacle territory, getting the various balances just right. This is definitely a feel good movie that hit all the right notes! A must see Christmas movie across the board. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
