Fred MacMurray Movie Recommendation #1
Remember the Night (1940)* - 1 hr 34 mins
You may have already read about this film in a previous post here on the blog when I shared some of my favorite Christmas films, but this isn’t just one of my top holiday picks. It is also one of my favorite romantic movies. July’s Star of the Month, Barbara Stanwyck, stars alongside Fred MacMurray as the beautiful and quick-witted Miss Lee Leander who gets caught shoplifting right before Christmas. Assistant DA John Sargent (MacMurray) is nervous that a holiday-spirited jury might be more generous than he would like, so he gets the trial postponed until after the holidays. He feels bad, though, and decides to release Lee out on bail. When she has no place to go, he literally brings her home for the holidays! Stanwyck is wonderful as the at first cold Lee who, when welcomed by John’s family, opens up to them. Stanwyck delivers a raw and heart-wrenching performance that only Stanwyck could give. MacMurray’s character, though, is the film's anchor. His performance in this, his first role as a comedic leading man, demonstrates MacMurray's dynamic and constantly surprising range. He displays a "Cary Grant-Esque" flair for comedy as the candid, uptight, determined, and assertive lawyer. When he later takes Lee on a road trip to his family's house for Christmas, he befriends the rejected shoplifter as they bond over hilarious antics and frank conversation. MacMurray displays his ability to play the romantic leading man and not in just Cary Grant fashion. He isn't just suave and dignified. He mirrors Stanwyck as her emotionally raw counterpart, one who has fallen head over heels in love with a girl he has been told to convict.
MacMurray behind the scenes with Stanwyck and director Mitchell Leisen
* Please be aware that one scene includes an offensive racial depiction. This is in no way an endorsement that.
Availability: Youtube, Amazon, Googleplay, DVD, and Blu-ray
Purchase DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Remember-Night-Barbara-Stanwyck/dp/B0047O2FPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1545092058&sr=8-1&keywords=remember+the+night+dvd
Purchase Blu-ray: https://www.amazon.com/Remember-Night-Blu-ray-Barbara-Stanwyck/dp/B07JK2C91X/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1545092058&sr=8-1
The Quiet Man (1952)