ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

JohnHowardReid This movie was released in 1940. Therefore, within the first quarter hour, we all know how it will progress and how it will end. We all hope that it doesn't end that way, but we are all one hundred per cent certain that there is no way it could end any other way. Paramount is a big studio with a lot of money invested in this movie and we all know that the 1940 censor would not allow the movie to end any other way -- much as we would like that to happen in this particular case. We all hope a miracle will occur, but it doesn't happen. And that of course is a big failure, but we all know in our hearts that the 1940 Hollywood censor does not believe in miracles. A shame, I agree! If the movie was re-made today, it would end differently, but I guess there's no chance in the world that a remake would even be considered, let alone that it will happen.The acting in this doomed scenario is great. If some of the scenes don't bring tears to your eyes, then fine players like Fred MacMurray and Barnara Stanwyck have labored in vain. In fact all the cast has been well-chosen. The direction is smooth, the story believable (in fact too believable), production values are A-1, and the players magnificent. MacMurray never gave a better performance than this one, and Barbara Stanwyck is, as usual, right on top of the game. No-one else but Barbara could have played this role with such power and conviction. The support payers are all believable too. In fact, at least three or four of them are maybe just a mite too believable! You want to shake them and make them aware that love conquers all!

writers_reign Only good things to say about this charmer with a fine pedigree, an Original from Preston Sturges (with a nod to one of his earlier screenplays, Easy Living, via the title song, performed here in a nightclub), helming from Mitchell Liesen and emoting from a cast led by Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. It's good to see two fine supporting actresses Beulah Bondi and Elizabeth Patterson get so much screen time in the central portion. We - or at least I - tend to associate Mitchell Liesen with sophisticated comedies with sumptuous set dressings so this takes him out of that comfort zone yet he still turns in a deft job. Okay, it's sentimental and hoky but none the worse for that. Well worth your time.

Richard-Flude-1 I was disappointed by "Remember the Night". Not that it is bad film – on the contrary, it is a good film. It is just that I was expecting a great film of the same quality as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street. Compared to these films, "Remember the Night" just does not have the quality of the story, the acting, the performances, the direction and the overall quality compare to the better known films of its era.For me, there are 11 classic Christmas films that I try, as best as I can, to find time to watch during every Christmas season. Generally, I think people use the phrase "classic Christmas films" to mean the best films of the genre made in the 1940s and 1950s. In my list of the top 11, I also insert three more "recent" films. They are, in order:1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 2. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (1989) 3. A Christmas Carol (1951) 4. The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) 5. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) 6. The Bishop's Wife (1947) 7. The Homecoming, A Christmas Story (TV, 1971) 8. The Holy and the Ivy (1952) 9. Holiday Inn (1942) 10. Home Alone (1990) 11. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)I feel that "Remember the Night" falls into a second tier of classic Christmas films that include the following. The films in this list, I like to watch but not every Christmas and only after I have exhausted the list above:• All Mine to Give (1957) • Blossoms in the Dust (1941) • Bush Christmas (1947) • Holiday Affair (1949) • I'll be Seeing You (1944) • It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947) • The Miracle of the Bells (1948) • We're no Angels (1955)Overall, I like to divide Christmas into 4 sub-genres as follows: Golden Oldies (made before 1960), "Modern" dramas (made after 1969), Comedies (made after 1969) and Animated. My top films in each sub-genre are:Golden Oldies: as aboveModern Dramas (made after to 1969) 1. The Homecoming, A Christmas Story (TV, 1971) 2. Joyeux Noel (a. k. a. Merry Christmas) (2005) 3. Silent Night" (TV, 2002) 4. The Christmas Shoes (TV, 2002) 5. The Gathering (TV, 1977)Modern Comedies (made after to 1969) 1. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (1989) 2. Home Alone (1990) 3. The Santa Clause (1994) 4. Home Alone, Lost in New York (1992) 5. The Santa Clause 2 (2002) 6. Christmas with the Kranks (2004) 7. Love Actually (2003) 8. A Christmas Story (1983) 9. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2002) 10. Elf (2003)Animated 1. The following tie for first: • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV, 1964) • A Charlie Brown Christmas (TV, 1965) • Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (TV, 1966) • Frosty the Snowman (TV, 1969) • Mickey's Christmas Carol (TV, 1983) 6. The Polar Express (2004) 7. Walt Disney/Donald Duck Christmas (a. k. a. A Disney Christmas Gift) (TV, 1982) 8. A Garfield Christmas Special (TV, 1987) 9. The Wish that Changed Christmas (TV, 1991) 10. The Little Drummer Boy (TV, 1968)

fom4life 'Remember the Night' is a better film then I give it credit for. It has an overall sentimental atmosphere in an otherwise very slow paced film. Too slow paced to stand out in my mind long after the film is over. It is more dramatic then the comedic promise from the synopsis. I wanted lots of yucks and I got more drama, which is fine if your watching a dramatic picture. A pretty shoplifter named Lee Leander (Barbara Stanwyck) is caught shoplifting around the Christmas season. Assistant District Attorney John Sargeant (Fred 'Absent Minded' MacMurry (my mother's favorite actor) gets the trial postponed till after Christmas. On his way home for the holidays to Indiana he takes her along for the ride so she can visit her estranged parents. The family reunion doesn't go along so well and so she goes to spend the holidays with the lawyer who is going to have to prosecute her once they return from the Christmas holidays. Slowly and surely the fall in love. That's basically the jest of the film. He brings her to Canada where she has the chance to run off and not go back to court. Does she go back? Does John prosecute her? Ohh the mystery?The film slowly gets better as it chugs along. It still never reaches the level of something rather memorable in the StoryBlazer cinematic film history. One of the better funny gags in the film has the couple getting lost driving in the dead of night only to crash a fence and end up in a country field. In the morning they awake to a cow sticking his head in the car window mooing loudly. They decide to milk the cow for all it's worth. (Ok that wasn't funny) I wish there were more clever and funny gags to brag about then stupid cows but hey Cows are funny. More random musings about the film. One of the musical moments of the picture inspired my wife to dance with me. Who says movies are not influential. It was also fun to see Sterling 'Winnie the Pooh' Holloway in a supporting role.Not a bad film. Not a Great Film. A kinna interesting dull film that is again better then I am giving it credit for. Once they kissed at Niagara in Canada and declared their love for one another, my wife declared, 'They fall in love, what more is there to watch. It's time to play Rummikub."