An Eclipse at Midnight
Paris, 1936: A wholesome American movie star meets a handsome English prince.
Can their chaperones keep them from creating a devastating scandal?

What makes for a good tale that sticks with you after credits roll? Flashy FX? While such eye candy IS modern fun, it’s not much more than superficial gloss. What makes any story resonate are relatable human concepts: endearing characters, sincere dialogue. Themes and lessons about life that – depending on the plot – can uplift spirits, and tease out a smile. 

Put those ingredients together with a dash of period costuming, and that’s how you get a tale like Michael Parson’s An Eclipse at Midnight. 

Even the Oscar Wilde quote which opens this short hints at the ironic humor this yarn will spin: “One should never make one's entrance with a scandal. One should reserve that to give an interest to one's old age.”

Set in 1936, Eclipse introduces a rich cast of characters early on. 

To start: Lilly Templeton, 17. Already the darling of Tinsel Town, Lilly’s touring Paris for the opening of her new flick, the titular Eclipse at Midnight. 

But she’s not the only “foreigner” in town. Enter another teen: Prince (yes, you read that right -  PRINCE) Archibald. “Archie’s” English royalty who takes one look at Lilly and… old colony spats aside, the meet-cute chemistry clicks.

Could this be romance at first sight? Not if these two kids’ thirty-something bodyguards have anything to say about it. Hollywood Hunk Jonathan “Jack” Jackman hastily herds charge Lilly out of Archie’s sight.

Though the way Jack does it – by roughly shoving a Photographer aside – rankles Archie’s main man, Edwin Rose. Englishmen like things done properly; so Edwin’s hackles immediately raise at witnessing “Yank” Jack’s crude style.

That night, the two bump into each other on a hotel balcony during Jack’s smoke break. And if you think Oscar Wilde’s snarky…just you wait! Ever the protective “parents”, Jack and Edwin soon let the insults fly:

EDWIN (O.S.) 
Deserting your post?
How very American of you.

Jack turns as Edwin steps outside to join him.

JACK
The kid’s asleep. Come to think of
it, where’s Little Lord Fauntleroy?

EDWIN
That’s “Your Highness” to you.

JACK
He’s not my Highness, pal.

Passions quickly escalate. In seconds, the two find themselves exchanging barbs about their respective wards:

JACK
I’ve heard the rumors. Your prince is a lush,
a gambler, and handsier than an octopus. 

EDWIN
And I’ve heard that America’s Little Miss Perfect
is a drunken floozy who’s a terror on the set. 

Oooooh, snap. As they say in Warner Brother cartoons, “as you know, this means war”.  

But before events can literally come to blows, Jack and Edwin spot an unexpected light in Lilly’s window. The starlet was supposed to be logging beauty sleep. But if she isn’t… what’s she up to? Or more importantly….

With whom?

Fearing the worst, the two newly minted enemies race neck and neck to Lilly’s suite. Their mission – to separate the two lovebirds before anything scandalous occurs!

But what they find will not only cause pearls to be clutched, action to roll and cameras clicked…

...but may also involve a twist which could change THEIR lives. And make the director of Lilly’s latest flick blush. 

A genuinely lovable little short with characters any actor would kill to breathe to life, An Eclipse at Midnight is classic. Not just in its date and setting, but in the way the end will make you - and audiences - smile.