Movie Review: 10 to Midnight (1983)

 

DIRECTOR: J. Lee Thompson. CAST: Charles Bronson, Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens, Gene Davis, Geoffrey Lewis, Wilford Brimley, Robert F. Lyons, Bert Williams, Iva Lane, Ola Ray, Kelly Preston, Cosie Costa, Paul McCallum, Jeana Keough, June Gilbert, Arthur Hansel, Sam Chew, Katrina Parish.
Sleazy Charles Bronson cop thriller in which ol’ Granite Face takes on a serial killer murdering beautiful women in the Los Angeles area. He has the right suspect in mind—a creepy office equipment repairman who works in the same office as two of the victims. This guy is a total incel decades before that was a thing—women frequently reject his crude sexual advances, leading him to place gross crank calls to their homes and then murder them. He kills these women while naked save for a pair of rubber gloves so there are no fingerprints to find. His alibis are sound too. DNA evidence and caller ID didn’t exist back then, so Charles Bronson’s character relies on intuition and planted evidence to frame his obvious suspect. Nothing ever happens at 11:50 PM; 10 TO MIDNIGHT is just a snappy movie title. This movie would likely be terrible if not for the talented cast and direction keeping it watchable—Gene Davis is particularly convincing as the psychotic murderer. Modern viewers who like TV cop shows like LAW & ORDER: SVU may be intrigued by the sex killer story taking place in a time before homicide detectives relied on DNA evidence to solve these crimes. Critics hated 10 TO MIDNIGHT when it was originally released—Roger Ebert referred to it as “a scummy little sewer of a movie” before going further to describe it as a “cesspool” and a “garbage disposal.” He wasn’t completely wrong. However, 10 TO MIDNIGHT is also quite possibly the best of both Charles Bronson’s and J. Lee Thompson’s ‘80s low-budget exploitation action fare.

Movie Review: Mr. Majestyk (1974)

DIRECTOR: Richard Fleischer. CAST: Charles Bronson, Al Lettieri, Linda Cristal, Lee Purcell, Paul Koslo, Taylor Lacher, Frank Maxwell, Alejandro Rey, Jordan Rhodes, Bert Santos.
Although Mr. Majestyk defies logic at times, it is a far sight better than the average Death Wish sequel. Nothing comes between ex-army ranger Vincent Majestyk and his watermelon crop—he’ll lose a lot of money if he doesn’t get all 160 acres done this week. His refusal to hire a local thug’s work crew gets him in hot water; the heat only increases when Majestyk manages to get a mob boss involved in his mess. All Majestyk wants to do is farm his crops and live a tranquil life (and pay his migrant workers $1.40 an hour…in 1974 dollars), but is given no other choice but to solve things the Charles Bronson Way. Elmore Leonard’s script and interesting characters elevate Mr. Majestyk to a level less ridiculous with a fun conclusion taking place in beautiful Colorado scenery. Al Lettieri deserves special mention as the gangster determined to see Majestyk the melon picker sleep with the fishes before migrating to majestic Mazatlán. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Movie Review: Rider on the Rain (1970)

DIRECTOR: Rene Clement. CAST: Marlene Jobert, Charles Bronson, Annie Cordy, Corinne Marchand, Jill Ireland, Jean Piat, Marcel Peres, Gabriele Tinti, Ellen Bahl, Jean Gaven, Marc Mazza. 
Interesting (at first) French suspense drama about a woman who shoots her rapist dead in self-defense and dumps his body in the Mediterranean instead of calling the police. Charles Bronson is the mysterious American who suddenly materializes in aggressive fashion asking questions about the rapist’s death. His conduct towards the survivor might make Rider on the Rain an uneasy film to watch for some in today’s #MeToo era. Everything starts with strong performances from Jobert & Bronson and a lot of promise, but then slowly peters out to a flat conclusion. I imagine a different director could have made better use of the story’s lightly Hitchcockian nature for something more gripping. Perhaps Charles Bronson could have seen a better remake happen had his idea panned out in 1983, but we will never know. Jim Morrison was supposedly inspired to write the DOORS favorite “Riders on the Storm” after seeing this film.