Le Justicier de minuit

In Los Angeles, the rookie Detective Paul McAnn (Andrew Stevens) teams up with the veteran Detective Leo Kessler (Charles Bronson) to investigate the murder of Betty Johnson (June Gilbert) 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 (Lisa Eilbacher). The killer Warren Stacy (Gene Davis) 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 (Jeana Tomasina) 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 the Warren is stalking Laurie to revenge against her father.

"10 to Midnight" is a classic thriller from the 80's and among the best movies of Charles Bronson. I saw this film two or three times in the past and I have just seen it again. The unexpected reaction of Detetctive Leo Kessler is the climax of this great film and gives an unforgettable conclusion to the story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Dez Minutos para Morrer" ("Ten Minutes to Die")

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.

But shouldn't we do the same with adults? I'd like to hop into the way-back machine to the start of the eighties to sit down for a heart-to-heart with Charles Bronson. I'd like the opportunity to say to him that, considering his body of work, the great movies he's made--and the awful ones in which he'd shined through--he should retire immediately and enjoy the years he had left with wife Jill Ireland. "Mr. Bronson, please don't make crap."

There is no way-back machine, his beloved wife died too young from cancer, and Bronson is almost better known now for his garbage movies from the 80s and 90s than his earlier work. It's sad that a man who radiated a primal fury on screen, with a glowering physicality that made him an almost-superstar, would decide to make some of the most awful and ridiculous pieces of nonsense one can find mouldering in the backs of video stores today.

J. Lee Thompson's 10 to Midnight is so awful that one has to wonder why Bronson agreed to make it. Since we can't ask him, we must assume the worst, that he did it for the money or he honestly thought Golan and Globus would restore his career.

I watched this movie on cable over twenty years ago and hated it then. I just sat down to watch it again on Hulu. I actually felt a sadness overtaking me as I got about 15 minutes or so into 10 to Midnight.

Not for the time I was wasting, but the fact that no one ever made a way-back machine.

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!