| 10 to Midnight | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | J. Lee Thompson |
| Produced by | Lance Hool |
| Written by | J. Lee Thompson |
| Starring | Charles Bronson Lisa Eilbacher Gene Davis Andrew Stevens Geoffrey Lewis Kelly Preston Ola Ray James Keane |
| Music by | Robert O. Ragland |
| Cinematography | Adam Greenberg |
| Editing by | Peter Lee Thompson |
| Distributed by | Cannon Films |
| Release date(s) | March 11, 1983 (USA) |
| Running time | 101 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4,520,000 (USA) |
| Box office | $7,175,592 (USA) |
10 to Midnight is an action-crime-thriller film directed by J. Lee Thompson from a screenplay originally written by William Roberts. The film stars Charles Bronson in the lead role with a supporting cast that includes Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens, Gene Davis, Geoffrey Lewis, and Wilford Brimley. 10 to Midnight was released by City Films, a subsidiary of Cannon Films, to American cinemas on March 11, 1983.
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10 to Midnight is a drama that mixes elements of police and slasher films. It portrays the homicidal behavior of Warren Stacy (played by Gene Davis), a young office equipment repairman who kills women after they reject his sexual advances. Two Los Angeles police detectives, Leo Kessler (played by Charles Bronson) and Paul McAnn (played by Andrew Stevens) are in the process of investigating his murders. Stacy avoids prosecution by constructing sound alibis and assaulting his victims while naked, thus minimizing evidence. Later, his partner refuses to go along when Kessler plants evidence in order to frame Stacy. Stacy then goes on another rampage, killing three women who are friends with Kessler's daughter. When he is caught, stark naked in the street, he states how he will say all the things that will "prove" that he is crazy: he hears voices telling him to do things, etc., and that one day, he will get out and kill Kessler and his entire family. Kessler tells him "No, you won't" and shoots him through the forehead.
Modelled after the infamous Richard Speck and Ted Bundy murders, 10 to Midnight uses a screenplay originally named Bloody Sunday. According to producer Pancho Kohner, Cannon Films chairman Menahem Golan and Kohner named the film 10 to Midnight despite having no connection to the plot. Golan and Kohner had intended to film an adaptation of the R. Lance Hill novel The Evil That Men Do, which fell through before an upcoming visit to the Cannes Film Festival. Golan and Kohner agreed to market a different film with Charles Bronson as its star, using 10 to Midnight as its working title.
The music for 10 to Midnight was composed by Cannon Films mainstay Robert O. Ragland and the film was recorded by cinematographer Alan Greenberg. 10 to Midnight also features actor Robert F. Lyons and actress Kelly Preston (listed as Kelly Palzis) in smaller roles.
Violent and with unseemly subject matter, 10 to Midnight drew scathing reviews from film critics, including a 'zero stars' rating from Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times.[1] The film did receive positive feedback from others, such as Ebert's colleague Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune and was a financial success. The film has maintained a sizeable cult following through home video releases and heavily-edited broadcasts on television which displayed alternate scenes of Stacy and his victims in their underwear instead of being totally naked.