Remember the Night

Taken from a script by Preston Sturges (his last before he graduated to directing), a winning romantic comedy-drama from the ever-elegant Leisen, who elicits a superb performance from Stanwyck as the hardboiled shoplifter faced with staying in jail over Christmas, but given bail by prosecuting attorney MacMurray and taken to visit his family for the holiday. Playing superbly on the personae of his leads, Leisen creates a movie of warmth and immense style, which never quite trips over into excessive sentimentality.