"Midnight, the Stars and You" is a British-American
popular
Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group.
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In sociology
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Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly
Jimmy Campbell (born James Alexander Campbell-Tyrie; 5 April 1903–19 August 1967) and Reg Connelly (born Reginald John Connelly; 22 October 1895–23 September 1963) were English songwriters and music publishers. Writing together in t ...
and published in 1934.
The most famous recorded version was performed in 1934 by Ray Noble and his Orchestra with an uncredited
Al Bowlly
Albert Allick Bowlly (7 January 1898 – 17 April 1941) was a Mozambican-born South African– British vocalist and jazz guitarist, who was popular during the 1930s in Britain. He recorded more than 1,000 songs.
His most popular songs includ ...
on vocals. A foxtrot-tempo ballad, the song is considered one of Bowlly's "outstanding" vocal efforts.
Other recordings of this song are by
Hal Kemp
James Hal Kemp (March 27, 1904 – December 21, 1940) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger.
Biography
Hal Kemp was born in Marion, Alabama. He formed his first band in high school, and by the a ...
and his orchestra, and
Roy Fox
Roy Fox (October 25, 1901 – March 20, 1982) was an American-born British dance bandleader who was popular in Britain during the British dance band era.
Early life and career
Roy Fox was born in Denver, Colorado, United States. He and his ...
and his band, both recorded in 1934.
About
* Played during the ominous finals shot of a photo labeled “Overlook Hotel July 4th Ball, 1921” in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film The Shining.
* In the scene, the main character Jack Torrance is seen eerily smiling in the dated photograph alongside other partygoers despite attempting to murder his family while caring for the hotel.
Use in cinema and other media
The Bowlly rendition was used twice in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 classic horror film '' The Shining''; once in the Gold Room (ballroom) scene, and also over the closing of the film as the camera closes in the protagonist in a photograph from the early 20th century, carrying over into the credits. The popularity of this film associated this version of the song to a sense of unease or impending menace in
cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
...
and other media. These include:
* the 1981 horror film Dead & Buried
* the 1999 ambient album ''
Selected Memories from the Haunted Ballroom
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'';
* the 2005 comedy-drama ''
Colour Me Kubrick
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'',
* in the first episode of the 2013 video game ''
BioShock Infinite
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'' expansion ''
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Elizabeth
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are searching for a missing girl named Sally in a bistro restaurant at Fontaine's Department Store,
* the 2018 film ''
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'',
* the 2019 film ''
Toy Story 4
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enter the antique store, continuing a trend of
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...
films referencing Kubrick films,
* " Girl's in the Band", the 19th episode in
Season 30
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of ''
The Simpsons
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''. In one scene
Homer Simpson
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is losing his sanity due to sleep deprivation on a night shift at the power station, and finds himself in the ballroom of the Overlook Hotel. Homer dances with a woman as the song begins, and sits at the bar as it continues. Lloyd the bartender tries to convince Homer to kill his family through radiation poisoning, but Homer does not comprehend what Lloyd is asking. When Homer awakes, Jack Torrance is seen running with an axe into the reactor room.
* The song is featured in the 2019 film adaptation of '' Doctor Sleep''. A sequel to Kubrick's adaptation of ''The Shining'', ''Doctor Sleep'' also features "Midnight, the Stars and You" twice. Abra faintly hears it while wandering the abandoned remains of the Overlook Hotel just moments before the building attempts to attack her; the song later appears in the closing moments of the film as Abra prepares to imprison an apparition of an undead woman that tormented
Danny Torrance
Daniel Anthony Torrance, also known as Doc, Danny, Dan, and later Doctor Sleep, is a fictional character who first appears in the 1977 novel '' The Shining'' by Stephen King as a child with psychic powers called "the shining". His parents are fathe ...
in the film's opening, before continuing to play over the credits (as in ''The Shining'').
* In Season 46, Episode 15 of ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'', the song is used in a skit with host and previous cast member Maya Rudolph, which pays homage to ''The Shining.’'
* 2022 used in background of ‘All Creatures Great and Small’, season 2, episode 4, ‘Many Happy Returns’.
* Plays several times in the 2022
BritBox
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miniseries of
Agatha Christie
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's ''
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
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'' adapted and directed by
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a ...