Remember the Night (1940) review

Repeat offender Lee Leander (Barbara Stanwyck) steals a bracelet from a jewelry store, is caught and put on trial but district attorney John Sargent (Fred MacMurray) postpones the case until the New Year and even arranges for her to be bailed out - unfortunately, she has nowhere to go, so she's taken to John's apartment where he drives her out to Indiana (after escaping the hellish swamp that is Pennsylvania) to spend Christmas with his mother (Beulah Bondi).  If one can overlook the glaring ethical violation John's committing by associating with a woman he's assigned to prosecute, this is a romantic holiday movie (written by Preston Sturges) where Lee's rejected by her own mom but warmly accepted by John's close-knit clan (complete with presents!) and the two convincingly develop chemistry with each other - it also doesn't hurt that he confesses his true feelings for her with the gorgeously frozen Niagara Falls in the background.  I like the unexpected bittersweet ending, too: Sargent tries to sabotage the trial and Lee pleads guilty anyway ... although he claims he's committed to her regardless of how many years she's stuck in the pen.  There's just something about a criminal dame....