Violent Midnight (1963)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Richard Hilliard

Writers:

Richard Hilliard (story)
Robin Miller (writer)

Release Date:

January 1964 (Japan)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Earthy, wicked shocker!

Plot:

An axe murderer is loose in a small New England town. |

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Artist | Nude Model | Nudity | Pregnant Woman Murdered

Cast

Lee Philips	...	Elliot Freeman
Shepperd Strudwick	...	Adrian Benedict
Jean Hale	...	Carol Bishop
Lorraine Rogers	...	Alice St. Clair
Dick Van Patten	...	Police Lt. Palmer
Sheila Forbes	...	Janet 'Lolita' Terhune
James Farentino	...	Charlie Perone
Kaye Elhardt	...	Dolores Martello
Sylvia Miles	...	Silvia (as Silvia Miles)
Day Tuttle	...	Mr. Arthur Melbourne
Mike O'Dowd	...	Max - Adrian's Chauffeur
Mike Keene	...	Police Inspector Grey
Allen Joseph
Molly Scott
Ruth Volner

Also Known As:

Black Autumn (USA) (working title)
Psychomania (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Del Tenny Productions

Trivia:

Film itself bears 1962 copyright but earliest documented release dates (to date) are 1963.

Low Budget and Obvious, But Fans of the Genre Will Enjoy It

When Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO opened the door, many other films followed, and the early 1960s saw a glut of low-budget, black and white thrillers that held scantily clad women at the point of a knife. Released in 1964, VIOLENT MIDNIGHT (also known as PSYCHOMANIA or BLACK AUTUMN) is fairly typical of the genre but better than most.

When Delores is found stabbed to death in her rooms there are two very obvious suspects: Elliot, the reclusive artist who has employed her as a model, and Charlie, her tough-guy boyfriend. After all, the two men had a bar room knife fight over her the night before! Fortunately Elliot has his half-sister, who has just arrived to attend a local all-girl college, for support. But before too long the student body becomes precisely that, and both Elliot and Charlie come under renewed suspicion.

The cast is unexpectedly solid. Leading man Lee Philips (in the role of artist Elliot Freeman) and supporting actor Shepperd Strudwick (as his attorney) both had long and respectable careers both before and after VIOLENT MIDNIGHT; James Farentino, Sylvia Miles, and Dick Van Patten would go on to notable careers of their own. Even so, there's nothing subtle about the script, which crams everything from biker chicks to college sirens into the mix, and most viewers will probably identify the killer in the first twenty minutes of the film.

Even so, and in spite of a budget that was clearly just this side of zero, VIOLENT MIDNIGHT isn't a bad little flick, and it easily holds its own with the likes of the better-known DEMENTIA 13. It will probably lack appeal for the casual viewer, but fans of 1960s B-movies will have a good time.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer