10 to Midnight (1983)

An LAPD detective and his rookie partner are on the trail of a psychopathic young man who is murdering young women.

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writer:

William Roberts

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Bronson	...	Leo Kessler
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Laurie Kessler
Andrew Stevens	...	Paul McAnn
Gene Davis	...	Warren Stacy
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Dave Dante
Wilford Brimley	...	Captain Malone
Robert F. Lyons	...	Nathan Zager (as Robert Lyons)
Bert Williams	...	Mr. Johnson
Iva Lane	...	Bunny
Ola Ray	...	Ola
Kelly Preston	...	Doreen (as Kelly Palzis)
Cosie Costa	...	Dudley
Paul McCallum	...	Lab Technician
Jeana Keough	...	Karen (as Jeana Tomasina)
June Gilbert	...	Betty

Storyline

In Los Angeles, the rookie Detective Paul McAnn teams up with the veteran Detective Leo Kessler to investigate the murder of Betty Johnson and her boyfriend that were stabbed by a naked serial-killer in a park. Detective Kessler recognizes the victim, who lived in the same neighborhood many years ago and childhood friend of his daughter Laurie Kessler. The killer Warren Stacy goes to the funeral and overhears Betty's father telling Detective Kessler that his daughter had a diary. Warren breaks in Betty's apartment and stabs and kills her roommate Karen Smalley trying to find the diary. But Karen had already delivered the journal to Detective Kessler. Leo Kessler is sure that Warren is the serial-killer and her plants a false evidence in his apartment. However, Warren's defense lawyer presses Detective McAnn accusing him of perjury and Warren is released. Now Warren is stalking Laurie to revenge against her father.

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Plot Keywords:

female victims | exploitation film | female nudity | bare breasts | giallo | 

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Taglines:

Bronson is back on the streets.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ten to Midnight

Filming Locations:

Thrifty - 11321 National Boulevard - Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,520,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,050,225, 13 March 1983

Gross USA:

$7,175,592

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,175,592

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannon Films, City Films, Y & M Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie's original script title was "Bloody Sunday". Producer Pancho Kohner has said that he and Cannon Group chairman Menahem Golan gave this movie its "10 To Midnight" title despite it having no apparent relevance to the film's story, after Kohner successfully pitched the title, Bronson in the lead, and a description of "great action and great danger and great revenge" to buyers without a script, then "scrambled to find a story" and settled on the already-written "Bloody Sunday" screenplay. Later, marketing for the movie did suggest a connection with the title: the theatrical release movie poster presented artwork with the villain character's arms forming the 11:50 pm time (10 to Midnight) on a clock-face whilst the movie's DVD tagline read: "A cop. A killer. A deadline".

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Goofs

When Warren gets arrested by Leo Kessler, he is stark naked. When all the police cars arrive, Warren is wearing black underpants.

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Quotes

Medical Examiner: [38:03] Death was caused by the severing of the intestines and major arteries causing massive hemorrhaging.
Leo Kessler: This is all alright but can you tell us something that we can use?
Medical Examiner: The Johnson girl's blood type is the least common: AB-. In addition, there's evidence of a hepatitis infection, now dormant.
Captain Malone: Was this girl raped, doc?
Medical Examiner: There's no evidence of forcible entry.
Leo Kessler: I could have told you that, ya know.
Medical Examiner: On the basis of what?
Leo Kessler: If anybody does something like this, his knife has gotta be his penis.

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Alternate Versions

Warren's killings are done with him nude. In television broadcasts these scenes have Warren with flesh-colored briefs. Later scenes in the movie have inconsistencies in the color of briefs he wears. The wearing of any clothing is inconsistent with his alibis throughout the movie, as well.

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Box: Christmas Evil (2011)

User Reviews

An interesting but not entirely successful genre bender.

It's easy to forget that in the 80s, action movies were every bit as violent as horror films and 10 to Midnight is pretty harsh. It feels like they're attempting to make both a Friday the 13th and a Death Wish movie AT THE SAME TIME!

Charles Bronson plays a tough cop dedicated to his job. He stumbles onto a serial sex killer and obsessively hunts him down only to have the system fail him leading to a truly shocking bloodbath at the finale.

10 to Midnight is Cannon film, thus it's over-the-top with lots of sex and violence. It's also through and through a Bronson film so there's a lot of tough guy grandstanding and complaints about a broken legal system that values the rights of the accused over those of the victim.

The positives of this movie are that it has a truly solid cast. Bronson actually seems to care about his performance (not always the case in his later films), the villain is creepy and frightening (he likes to attack his lady victims while he is totally nude), and the kills are intensely effective.

The negatives are that the movie is just a little too slow. There are too many cop movie cliches and I didn't care at all about Bronson's partner. Honestly, I feel that this movie would have worked much better as a straight forward giallo film.

This is a cop movie that occasionally turns into a slasher film which leaves a movie that can't find a consistent tone. Fans of slashers and cop flicks are both likely to be put off by the movie but it is unique enough that I get why it has a cult following. It's an above average latter day Bronson film and probably at least worth a look for fans that don't mind a little (or a lot!) of bloodshed.