Five Miles to Midnight (1962)
"Le couteau dans la plaie" (original title)

Lisa Macklin, an Italian woman, has a fight with her American husband Robert in a Paris night club. He leaves the next day for a business trip and Lisa says she does not want to see him ... See full summary »

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

André Versini (idea), Peter Viertel (screenplay),

Stars:

Sophia Loren, Anthony Perkins, Gig Young

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sophia Loren	...	Lisa Macklin
Anthony Perkins	...	Robert Macklin
Gig Young	...	David Barnes
Jean-Pierre Aumont	...	Alan Stewart
Yolande Turner	...	Barbara Ford (as Yolande Finch)
Tommy Norden	...	Johnny
Mathilde Casadesus	...	Mme. Duval, Concierge
Billy Kearns	...	Capt. Wade
Barbara Nicot	...	Regine
Louis Falavigna	...	Pharmacist
Elina Labourdette	...	Mme. Lafont
Régine	...	Mrs. Wade
Pascale Roberts	...	Streetwalker
Sophie Réal	...	Housemaid
Jean Ozenne	...	Monsieur Babasse

Storyline

Lisa Macklin, an Italian woman, has a fight with her American husband Robert in a Paris night club. He leaves the next day for a business trip and Lisa says she does not want to see him again. She is with newspaperman Alan Stewart that evening when she learns Robert's plane has crashed with no survivors. Waking from sedation after the funeral, Lisa finds Robert in their flat, injured but alive. He was thrown clear of the crash by a lucky twist of fate. He now plans to collect the $120,000 insurance he took out at the airport. Once Lisa collects the money and turns it over to him, she will finally be rid of him. She attempts to get advice from Stewart, but he has been replaced by David Barnes. Lisa's life becomes a tortuous ordeal, at work, at home, faced with a fugitive husband and a growing love for David, who suspects everything. Finally her nightmare concludes when she finally gets the check and meets Robert. As they drive to the Belgian border, he reveals he never intended giving ...

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Plot Keywords:

italian woman | crash | insurance | survivor | female stockinged feet | 

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Taglines:

The Suspense Begins...From the Very First Second!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1962 (France)

Also Known As:

Five Miles to Midnight

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dear Film Produzione, Filmsonor, Mercury

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

After Johnny (the little boy) enters Robert Macklin's house through a front window, Macklin asks him where Johnny's dad is. Johnny answers "At the office. He came home early yesterday, but mostly I'm alone." The camera angle changes at "but mostly I'm alone" from front to left side. You can see that Johnny's mouth is not moving when he says "but mostly I'm alone."

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Quotes

Robert Macklin: [talking to a cat] How do you do? Come on in! What's the matter? Not in the mood? Here, kitty, kitty, kitty. Time for a coffee break. Well, what's new in the outside world today? Has the price of catnip gone up again? Hey cat you sure got a pretty coat. Would my wife envy you.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeepers Creepers (2001)

User Reviews

Not exactly the thriller it aims to be

The evocative opening scene of Five Miles Before Midnight held promise. I anticipated a moody piece of film noir with an intriguing female lead rather than the usual male. I was also hoping for more of Jean Pierre Aumont, who distinguishes any film he's in, but his role was little more than a cameo. However Sophia Loren, though lovely to look at, does not yet have the dramatic punch to carry off this role, or perhaps she only required better direction. There was ambiguity suggested about how faithful she was to husband Tony Perkins and this could have been put over nicely with a more well seasoned performance. Perhaps it was simply their pairing together--I didn't think they possessed any chemistry. It's hard to believe she ever found anything attractive about Perkins well established immaturity. What woman would? In any case, she doesn't breathe enough life into her character of put-upon housewife and near the film's conclusion, she goes overboard in a frankly unbelievable personality transformation. Also, the "surprise" ending was no surprise to this reviewer, who wonders why she didn't see the obvious way out of her troubles much earlier. It is however, an entirely watchable film and one of those that you kind of like to poke fun at. Certainly there are worse films out there!