Ready for Love, but Not Ready to go Home for the Holidays

The 1940 film Remember the Night is a romantic dramedy film centered around Christmas, though this is a flick for adults, not the whole family. It was the last film written by Preston Sturges before he added director to his job description and was directed my Mitchell Leisen. The film stars Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck as a passionate, opposites attract couple.

When Lee Leander (Stanwyck) is arrested during the holiday season for shoplifting from a jewelery store, she is brought in before Assitant DA John Sargeant (MacMurray). Being in the Christmas spirit, Sargeant decides to postpone her trial date until after Christmas so she won't be behind bars during the holidays. John and Lee get to talking and find out they have some things in common. He offers to drop her off at her parents' house on his way to his mother's (Beulah Bondi ). When Lee's mother (Georiga Caine ) disowns her for her crimes, John brings Lee home to stay with him, his mother, Cousin Willie (Sterling Holloway ) and his Aunt Emma (Elizabeth Patterson ). John confides Lee's history of crime to his mother, who becomes upset when it is apparent that John and Lee have fallen in love during the holidays. John offers Lee an out to getting sentenced, but she refuses. When the trial comes, their love is tested. The filmography and music helps to create the emotion of this film.

Struges originally wanted to call the film Great Love, but director Leisen disliked it. Leisen changed around a lot of Sturges' script and changed the focus of the movie from MacMurray to Stanwyck, perhaps the final nail in the coffin that lead Sturges to directing his own movies rather than letting others direct his scripts. The friendship between Sturges and Stanwyck on this film lead to Sturges latter writing The Lady Eve , which Stanwyck starred in.

Tons of reviews have been done of this movie, each with their own personal style and focus. The blog Self Styled Siren did this review of the film, focusing primarily on Stanwyck. The blog Abby Normal Ramblings did a short review of the film, as did Allmovie.com, which can be read here, and the blog Phoenix Cinema, which can be read here. Filmjournal.net did this review and summation of the film and why it remains widely unavailable, despite its quality and early popularity. The Washington Post also did a review of the film, talking about how it is an underrated holiday classic. So, if you dread going home for the holidays and want to see something with a little romance, Remember the Night is the movie for you. Just in case you aren't persuaded, here is the original trailer to help you make up your mind: