''Five Miles to Midnight'' (French: ''Le Couteau dans la plaie'', literally ''The Knife in the wound'') is a 1962 Franco-Italian

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

produced and directed by

Anatole Litvak Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Литвак; 21 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in vari ...

. It starred Sophia Loren and

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...

. It was produced through Filmsonor S.A., Dear Film Produzione and Mercury, and distributed by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

Plot

Immediately after Lisa (Loren) declares that she is leaving her immature, abusive, but easy-going husband Robert (Perkins), he is reported dead in a plane crash. Secretly still alive, he convinces her to collect his life insurance, although she knows that it's a bad idea. Lisa must contend with the complications of the scheme, which involve an aggressive suitor (

Gig Young Gig Young (born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in ''Come Fill the Cup'' (1952) and '' Teacher's Pet'' ...

), Robert's jealousy, and her own guilt. Eventually the stress of putting up with Robert is too much for Lisa, and she runs over him and disposes of the body and car in a lake. The suitor realizes what she did as she has a mental breakdown and calls the police. The film takes place primarily in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Lisa is Italian; Robert is American.

Production

The film was directed by

and produced by Litvak and Louis Wipf from a screenplay by

Peter Viertel Peter Viertel (16 November 1920 – 4 November 2007) was an author and screenwriter. Biography Viertel was born to Jewish parents in Dresden, Germany, the writer and actress Salka Viertel and the writer Berthold Viertel. In 1928, his parents mov ...

and Hugh Wheeler with dialogue by

Maurice Druon Maurice Druon (23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Française, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999. Life and career Born in Paris, France, Druon was the s ...

, based on an idea by André Versini. The musical score was written by

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

for the film, which also includes music by Jacques Loussier and Giuseppe Mengozzi. The

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

was by

Henri Alekan Henri Alekan (10 February 1909, Paris – 15 June 2001, Auxerre, Bourgogne) was a French cinematographer. Life Alekan was born in Montmartre in 1909. At the age of sixteen he and his brother became travelling puppeteers. A little later he ...

. The film stars Sophia Loren and

, with

Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Early life Aumont was born Jea ...

, Yolande Turner, and Tommy Norden.

Cast

* Sophia Loren as Lisa Macklin *

as Robert Macklin *

as David Barnes *

as Alan Stewart * Yolande Turner as Barbara Ford * Tommy Norden as Johnny *

Pascale Roberts Pascale is a common Francophone given name, the feminine of the name Pascal. The same spelling is also an Italian form of the masculine name ''Pascal'', and an Italian surname derived from the given name. Pascale derives from the Latin ''pas ...

as The Streetwalker * Mathilde Casadesus as Mme. Duval the Concierge * Billy Kearns as Captain Wade

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Five Miles To Midnight 1962 films 1962 drama films American black-and-white films French black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Anatole Litvak Films set in Paris United Artists films Films scored by Mikis Theodorakis English-language French films English-language Italian films 1960s English-language films