Bounty hunter Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) is sent to find and return bail jumper and former Mafia accountant, Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas (Charles Grodin). The FBI has had no success in locating The Duke, so when Jack finds him in next to no time, they are a little embarrassed. In order to collect his $100,000 fee, Jack must take The Duke from New York to Los Angeles. However, the Mafia and the FBI have other ideas, as does Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton), a rival bounty hunter. On their long cross-country trip to LA, the two get to know each other and they build up a strange friendship.Written by
Rob Hartill
The boxcar scene--where Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) and John Mardukas (Charles Grodin) discuss whether or not they could ever be friends--was almost entirely improvised on-set. As regards Grodin's famous line, "You ever had sex with an animal, Jack?": he was told by director Martin Brest to come up with something that was guaranteed to make even Robert De Niro laugh. See more »
Goofs
When Jack Walsh and the Duke arrive in Los Angeles from Las Vegas the airplane they are leaving is a wide-body L-1011, probably TWA. The L-1011 would not be used on such a short haul flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
[Jack trying to pick door lock. He drops one of his picks. When he bends over to pick it up, a gun shot is fired through the door, right where his head had been previously]
Jack Walsh:
Shit!
See more »
Crazy Credits
In the opening credits, Robert De Niro's name is spelled Robert DeNiro. See more »
Alternate Versions
In the scene for theatrical release, when Dorfler is in his hotel room eating french fries, and Carmine-The-Bail-Jumper, is handcuffed to a pipe in the bathroom, Dorfler addresses Carmine as "Hey Scumbag," and Carmine reassures that his name is not such by replying, "The name's 'Carmine', Fucko!" In the alternate version for TV, his reply is "The name's 'Carmine', Fatso!" See more »
They don't come any better than Midnight Run. It has everything except a few Academy Awards and that's a mystery in itself. Dialogue, action, comic timing, stunts and all around fabulous acting ability from everyone involved. If you haven't seen this film yet, dig up a copy from somewhere, get a few beers and prepare to be captivated from beginning to end. To think that only 10,000 or so have voted for this film on IMDb and it's not even in the top 250 is a complete travesty. I know, there are other films just as worthy that are not in the top 250 but this is the one that get's me riled up. There are no weak moments or poor scenes in the whole film and the ending is pure joy. Someone please explain why this didn't clean up when it was released because I can't see anything else that came out in '88 that comes close to Midnight Run.
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They don't come any better than Midnight Run. It has everything except a few Academy Awards and that's a mystery in itself. Dialogue, action, comic timing, stunts and all around fabulous acting ability from everyone involved. If you haven't seen this film yet, dig up a copy from somewhere, get a few beers and prepare to be captivated from beginning to end. To think that only 10,000 or so have voted for this film on IMDb and it's not even in the top 250 is a complete travesty. I know, there are other films just as worthy that are not in the top 250 but this is the one that get's me riled up. There are no weak moments or poor scenes in the whole film and the ending is pure joy. Someone please explain why this didn't clean up when it was released because I can't see anything else that came out in '88 that comes close to Midnight Run.