Le Justicier de minuit

Compared with the ridiculously shoddy "Death Wish" sequels, most of Charles Bronson's 1980s collaborations with J. Lee Thompson are masterpieces. In fact, even with the high ratio of bad actors and technical shortcomings, films like "Evil That Men Do" and this one, "10 to Midnight," kick modern hardboilers right in the balls.

In any case, I've read some comments by folks who don't understand the title "10 to Midnight." Here's what it means: the killer's alibi is that he was seen at a theater watching a movie that ran between 10 pm and midnight, the same time the murder took place. 10 to Midnight--get it? Oddly enough, even the marketing department of the movie's original distributor, Cannon, didn't get the title. Hence the tag line, "A Cop, a Killer, a Deadline." There's no deadline in the film.

Here's where I think the confusion lies: During this period, director Thompson convinced Canon heads Golan and Globus, and Bronson's producer, Pancho Kohner, to hire his son, Peter Lee Thompson, to edit his films. While most of the younger Thompson's editing was pretty good visually, he was a bit sloppy when it came to points of continuity. For instance, in "Evil" a character passes Bronson a photo of the villain, The Doctor, mentioning him by name. But we can plainly see that the photo is not of the Doctor at all. In "Murphy's Law" we see an over the shoulder shot of a gangster laid out on a sofa, stark naked, being administered to by a hooker. When we see him face-on in the reverse shot he is wearing a robe. The scene continues to bop back and forth--robe, no robe, robe, no robe, etc.

So Thompson the younger didn't really get that whole "reality" concept.

Anyway, back to "10." I'm sure that J. Lee shot footage establishing a very specific reference to the timeframe of the first murder. And I'm just as sure that his son just didn't think it was all that important to keep in. After all, it wasn't a naked woman being stabbed to death--it was only the title of the movie.

... Could a tag-line possibly sound more Bronson-like? J. Lee Thompsons "10 To Midnight" of 1983 starring the great late Charley, is a decent cop flick, not nearly one of the most memorable Bronson flicks, but still a pretty suspenseful little thriller that will highly entertain all my fellow fans of everybody's favorite no-nonsense ass-kicker.

Warren Stacy (Gene Davis) is a psychopathic serial killer who gets his kicks by running around naked and stabbing his victims to death. He does not randomly select his victims, but kills, because he wants to get back at the women who have rebuffed his advances. Leo Kessler (Charles Bronson) is a tough and experienced cop, who doesn't hesitate to use unorthodox methods to get justice done. When Kessler investigates the murders he has to find out that the latest victim was a close friend of his daughter's (Lisa Eilbacher). Accompanied by his rookie colleague Paul McAnn (Andrew Stevens), Kessler soon finds out who the murderer is. Warren Stacy is quite smart, however, and never leaves any evidence. Things quickly get personal between Kessler and Stacy, and you know Charley B. - he's probably not the guy you wanna mess with.

"10 To Midnight" differs from the majority of other Cop vs. Serial Killer thrillers, since the viewer knows from the very beginning who the killer is. The movie focuses on the strife between Bronson and the serial killer, and builds up suspense by focusing on the serial killer and his possible victims. Since Bronson has to use illegal methods in order to get justice done ("Forget What's Legal... Do What's Right!") the film is, of course, politically incorrect as hell; But isn't that exactly what we love about Charlie Bronson? The man takes the law in his own hands and doesn't mind the bad guys getting hurt - If you don't like it, stop whining. Bronson is great as always and Gene Davis delivers a great performance as the serial killer, very wooden and therefore very creepy. Lisa Eilbacher, who play's Bronson's daughter, is very cute, and Geoffrey Lewis is great as the killer's sleazy lawyer. Some folks complain about poor editing in this movie, I don't really see why. One of the things I didn't like was the fact that the killer was rather one dimensional. "10 To Midnight" may lack depth, but it is a suspenseful film, certainly no masterpiece, but nonetheless a decent thriller that Bronson fans should like. I recommend to watch this, and to have a beer doing so.

Serial killers ... mostly weirdos aren't they? At least in movies. That doesn't mean that they are easy to get. Quite the opposite - even if the viewer and maybe the characters involved do know who the culprit is. Those in the movie may only be guessing (right), but as viewers we know for sure who does it in this case. We watch with our own eyes ... despicable acts of murder, quite vividly taking place. And a lot of nudity thrown in for good measure.

If you have issues with these things (for whatever reason, I'm not judging), you probably shouldn't watch this movie. And yes while some who watch it may call it entertaining, in the end it is a movie. With a questionable moral compass and an even more in your face ending ... not for the faint of hearted that's for sure!

About the time "10 to Midnight" was released, I read an interview with Charles Bronson in which he was asked why he continued to make one "Death Wish" clone after the other with bad hack directors instead of taking over his career and taking chances like his contemporaries Sean Connery and Clint Eastwood. I remember he wasn't too happy with the question, but it was, and remains, a legitimate one, for while Connery and Eastwood would cap their careers with Oscars Bronson would limp toward the end of his with one bomb after the other. So bad were his '80's films in fact, this one is one of the best, even though it still is a pretty mediocre, and at times terrible, film.

The difference between "10 to Midnight" and say, "Kinjite," is that Bronson actually has a pretty good supporting cast to work with, including Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens, Geoffrey Lewis and Wilford Brimley. And his adversary, a kinky lady-killer (literally) played by Gene Davis, is a little more interesting than your standard-issue villain. Davis is Warren Stacey, a handsome young stud who is such a sociopathic sleaze that even his sexy looks and great body can't get him a date. So when he's rejected, what's a guy to do? It's simple, he strips naked, grabs some gloves and a knife, and kills the object of his affection, usually when she's also naked and in the middle of lovemaking. Obviously, "The French Connection" this one ain't. Enter Leo Kessler (Bronson) who surveys Stacey's carnage and comes up with the perceptive observation: "His knife must be his penis." Together with partner Andrew Stevens, he has no trouble fingering Stacey as the killer; unfortunately, the psycho is an expert at establishing airtight alibis. Also unfortunately for Kessler, he has a nubile, yet estranged, daughter (Lisa Eilbacher)--a nurse who not only was friends with victim one, but also shares an apartment with several potential (and beautiful) victims. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where this one is going.

Yep, it's all as sleazy as it sounds, and surprisingly watchable. "10 to Midnight" also contains an astonishing amount of nudity (both male and female) for a mainstream film, and a sex scene near the beginning that is about one thrust away from tagging this with an X-rating. Fortunately, Bronson and the supporting cast keep it from veering too far off the deep end, with Eilbacher especially effective as a daughter who is every bit as tough and hard-headed as her father. I also liked Geoffrey Lewis' turn as a smart-as-a-whip defense attorney, and Brimley's presence as Bronson's superior adds a welcome touch of professionalism. And while Davis can't act, he does project enough menace to keep it interesting. Unfortunately, director J. Lee Thompson is less adept at handling his bit players, many of whom are so wooden as to be absolutely laughable. One actress in particular, playing the boss of the first victim, elicited howls of audience laughter when I first saw this with her absolutely terrible job of conveying shock and horror when hearing about the murder. In fact, Thompson's directing here is so routine and at times inept, it is almost impossible to believe that the same man was responsible for the authentic classic "The Guns of Navarone."

All-in-all, "10 to Midnight" has to classify as the ultimate good/bad film. Sleazy, predictable, offensive and laughable all could be used to describe it. But it's also strangely watchable, even entertaining at times. And the ending packs a real wallop. In other words, it's a real guilty pleasure. **1/2 (out of *****)

10 to Midnight (1983) was another one of old stone face's exploitation films that he seemed to crank out every other month during the 80's. The two Chucks (Norris and Bronson) seemingly released a film like every other week. That's what we need, bi-weekly cheesy action whitesploitation movies. Well Charlie was up to the task in this one and Cannon was ready to foot the bill.

A sexual confused serial killer is stalking co-eds. The killer has Charlie stumped. Along with a new partner, he stalks the streets looking for Mr. Goodbar er... the mad manic maniac!! Old Chuck seems to be on the right trail but the law that he's sworn to upheld swing both ways.

Pure sleaze. If you're looking for a good movie look elsewhere, this is grade z Charles Bronson. Slumming for a paycheck whilst losing any creditability he had as a serious actor. But their are folks who actually dig Mr. Emotion earning his pay acting in terrible films. I happen to be one of those. I can't tell by his "acting" but Mr. Bronson seems to dig his new role in Hollywood.

For fans only.