“What time shall I ring you Mrs. Preston? You haven’t called me.”
Kit Preston (Doris Day) is an American who is married to a debonair British executive, Anthony Preston (Rex Harrison), and living in London. One day when she is walking home through the park in a London fog a voice begins to speak to her. The voice is high pitched and eerie with a kind of sing song air to it. It sounds like a man’s voice that has been altered. It says he is going to kill her. Kit rushes home. Her husband Tony chalks it up to some kind of bad joke. Unfortunately it doesn’t end there.
Kit begins getting phone calls. The same voice, with the same threat. Her neighbor Peggy (Natasha Parry) tells her to see the police. With her husband in tow she goes to Scotland Yard. Inspector Byrnes (John Williams) is sympathetic but with nothing to go on he is stuck. He does mention to Anthony that quite often women who are left alone too long begin to feel neglected and make up stories. The calls keep coming but only when Kit is alone.
Brian Younger (John Gavin) is the foreman on a work crew that is refurbishing the building next door. He comes to Kit’s aide when a girder falls almost hitting her. He seems to be infatuated with her. Kit’s aunt Bea (Myrna Loy) comes to London to visit for awhile. Bea is also sympathetic but can offer no other help. The police think she is starved for attention and that there is no tormenter but her. After all Kit is the only one who has ever heard his voice.
Is Kit really being stalked or is it all in her mind? There are a few suspects. Kit’s housekeeper has a son, Malcolm Stanley (Roddy McDowell), who is as slimy as they come. Then there is the attractive Mr. Younger. A WWII vet with issues of his own. He seems very solicitous but who knows what shell shock can do to a person.
Eventually everyone believes that Kit is stalking herself and that she hired someone to make the calls to her. Perhaps she doesn’t know that she is doing it. The idea of multiple personality is suggested. Could this be what is going on?
“Midnight Lace” was released in 1960 and was directed by David Miller. It is based on a play by Janet Green called “Matilda Shouted Fire”. Reminiscent of such films as “Gaslight” and “Dial M For Murder” “Midnight Lace” is a haunting thriller of a woman stalked. It is your basic ‘woman in jeopardy’ movie. A psychological terror. Granted there are lots of movies out there like that but what makes “Midnight Lace” different is Doris Day.
Primarily known for light hearted romantic comedies Day puts on a performance that proves there is more to this actor than just a beautiful face and a beautiful voice. Day takes the serious side of acting that was seen in “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and propels it into stark terror. Day’s acting is so intense that when the character Kit is reduced to a puddle on the stairs, Day is right there with her.
It’s a good thriller with a good cast, perfect for a rainy day. And with its share of red herrings its quite entertaining.