O Homem da Meia-Noite

Burt Lancaster plays a down on his luck security guard recently released for the murder of his wife, he becomes employed in a local South Carolina College,he becomes embroiled in a strange murder mystery, where nothing is what it seems until all is typically revealed at the climax. 'The Midnight Man' Co-stars Susan Clark and the future Daisy Duke, Catherine Bach, in her first screen appearance, and character actor Ed Lauter. 'The Midnight Man' is unfortunately obscure to most classic film buffs, it is available on imported DVD which it's transfer is an oddity but watchable. In this age of HD/Widescreen, it's hard to believe that Universal have let this one go! the transfer is 'open matte' which reveals microphones, lights and camera tracks!

Along with Roland Kibbee (writer of such things as "The Crimson Pirate" and "Valdez is Coming"), veteran star Burt Lancaster directed this somewhat forgotten thriller, and adapted it from a novel by David Anthony. Burt stars as Jim Slade, a former police detective who'd done time for shooting his wife's lover. Now out of prison and on parole, he gets a job as midnight to eight AM night watchman at Jordon College. His cop instincts kicking in, he's determined to solve the murder of a very troubled coed, Natalie Clayborne (Catherine "Daisy Duke" Bach, in her film debut).

Slade will find that this is one VERY complex case with no shortage of suspects or morally compromised individuals. Some viewers may well find holes in the story if they examine it closely, but if it's viewed from a pure entertainment perspective, it's quite absorbing. What makes it work so well is the commanding and typically engaging performance by Burt; commendably, he is portrayed as a flawed, not squeaky-clean kind of guy, but still a basically good lawman with a talent for deduction. And although the local sheriff (Harris Yulin, "Night Moves") thinks that the creepy janitor (Charles Tyner, "Harold and Maude") makes the perfect culprit, Slade becomes quickly convinced that this dude is simply too obvious. And our protagonist is faced with danger along the way, especially from a trio of rednecks (among them, Ed Lauter of "The Longest Yard" and Mills Watson of "Cujo"), and manages to keep his cool.

The cast is phenomenal in this thing, and full of familiar faces. In addition to those mentioned, we get Susan Clark ("Porky's") as Slades' parole officer, Cameron Mitchell ("Blood and Black Lace") as his good friend, Morgan Woodward ("Cool Hand Luke") as a senator, Robert "Count Yorga" Quarry as a psychiatrist, Joan Lorring ("Three Strangers"), in her final feature film, Lawrence Dobkin ("The Ten Commandments") as a professor, and Quinn K. Redeker ("Spider Baby"). Burt's son Bill (future screenwriter of "The Bad News Bears" and "The Thing") has a supporting role as a hippie student. And Burt's longtime friend and co-star Nick Cravat ("The Flame and the Arrow") plays a gardener.

Excellent location shooting in South Carolina and a flavourful score by Dave Grusin ("The Goodbye Girl", "The Firm") further assist in making this pretty enjoyable to watch, if not all that memorable in the end.

Seven out of 10.

I find this film a great pleasure to watch. The cast is superb, and the plot develops in a deliberate and leisurely manner; with emphasis on the characters and suspense. As always, Burt Lancaster is wonderful to watch. But then so is everyone else in this film including Burt's son, and a young Catherine Bach, in cameo roles. Midnight Man is a film to watch when you really want to settle and get involved for an evening of suspense and great acting. Its even better if someone is there to share it. Burt is an ex-homicide investigator, just paroled from prison for shooting his unfaithful wife and her lover. He is tragic in a sense, but also strong-willed. He takes a job as a night guard at a college and becomes obsessed with solving a murder that occurs there. He is pitted against resistance from local law enforcement, and some mysterious forces who throw constant dangers and obstacles in his path. But a skilled determination enables him to piece together a complex puzzle of deceit and collusion that makes for an exciting and revealing climax. I heartily recommend this classic Burt Lancaster drama!

Burt Lancaster's last attempt at directing was in this sadly neglected film, The Midnight Man. I was lucky enough to catch it theaters back in the day and a few times on television. Why it was panned by so many critics is as big a mystery as the one Burt Lancaster has to solve.

In The Midnight Man Lancaster plays a former police detective who did a stretch for homicide himself, he killed his wife's lover. Now released from prison and on parole, he gets a job courtesy of an old police buddy Cameron Mitchell as a campus security guard at a small southern college. No sooner does he arrive there than the murder of a pretty and popular coed occur and an incriminating diary she kept goes missing.

Of course this is the job of the local sheriff Harris Yulin, but Lancaster's instincts just take over and before long three other murders occur. Of course they all arise out of the initial incident.

The Midnight Man is a good and complex tale of murder and blackmail and was shot on Clemson College campus on location for a good ring of authenticity. Lancaster and co-director/writer Roland Kibbee put together a very good cast. Note the following roles besides those I've already mentioned: Morgan Woodward as a southern senator and father of the first victim, Susan Clark as a faculty member who takes a romantic interest in Lancaster, and Ed Lauter and Mills Watson as a pair of Deliverance type inbreds who are working for someone who really wants Burt out of the way. Burt's son Bill Lancaster is in the cast as another college student who also winds up a murder victim.

Some of the results will surprise you and what I like about the film is that Lancaster probably could have covered for a couple of the perpetrators, but his own sense of integrity wouldn't let him do that. Best scene in the film for action fans is his escape from those Deliverance types who capture him and are awaiting instructions. At least we know they're no good. Who else winds up on the wrong side of the law will surprise you and you will keep guessing until the end.

Towards the end of his life and film career, Burt Lancaster, created some of the best and most enduring characters in the movies. His 'Twilight Last Gleeming and 'Lawman' are a couple of the more notable ones. This film, "The Mid-Night Man" has got to join that long list as one of the very best. The film is straight forward, the murder of a beautiful and seductive college coed, the long suspicious list of suspects and the unsavory secrets which accompany them. Also the county sheriff, needs to known the reason, why a campus security guard, a man on parole, and former homicide detective doesn't think, the pervert janitor didn't do it. Were it not for the serious cast which include some of the best character actors in the business, this movie would have been just so so. Fortunately, the cast includes Susan Clark as Linda Thorpe, Cameron Mitchell as Quartz, Morgan Woodward as Senator Clayborne and Harris Yulin as Sheriff Casey. Nick Cravat and Lancaster' own son completes the memorable list. With Ed Lauter rounding out the cast, this film cannot go anywhere except to the top of Lancaster Classics. Highly recommended. ****