Made and set in 1940 it stars Fred McMurray as hot shot New York City district attorney John Sergeant who finds himself falling for the woman he's trying to put behind bars. Lee Leander (Barbara Stanwyck) is a habitual shoplifter, but it's Christmastime and Sergeant knows that juries don't like to convict at this time of year so he gets her trial postponed. He arranges to have her released on bail but finds she's been entrusted to his care, so he invites her to join him on a roadtrip home to Ohio where they both have family. This is in the days before interstates so rather than heading straight down I-80 they face a painfully slow journey along back roads through small towns giving them time to discover a slow-burning attraction for one another.
MacMurray and Stanwyck would make film noir history four years later with 'Double Indemnity' playing a pair of immoral characters who absolutely deserve one another. Here, in their first on-screen pairing they are considerably more innocent and appealing but there's already an irresistible spark between them. Sure Stanwyck is a bad girl but she's got her reasons and they're mostly to do with her upbringing. It's circumstance rather than character that's driven her to steal, and as MacMurray discovers during their journey west it's frighteningly easy to cross the line from law abiding to law breaking.
With a script by Preston Sturges and direction from the stylish Mitchell Leisen, REMEMBER THE NIGHT is a warm and witty affirmation of the innate goodness in everyone, and the importance of family. The scene where Lee reunites with her estranged mother (a chilling performance by Georgia Caine) tells us all we need to know about why her daughter turned out like she did, and stands in stark contrast with the warm welcome extended to Lee by John's family.Stanwyck is absolutely adorable as the young woman whose steely exterior conceals a tender heart. Inside she's just crying out for someone to give her the break which'll let her get back on the straight and narrow. MacMurray's image today is as a rather dull and bland leading man but he's surprisingly virile here and more than holds his own against Stanwyck's star wattage. There's no question that he's right for what's wrong in Lee's life.
Very few films released today come anywhere remotely near to creating the kind of uplifting magic that REMEMBER THE NIGHT achieves so seemingly effortlessly. That's why this film deserves to be called a romantic comedy and not just a rom com.
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