Sadly Over-hyped

Powerful

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Five Miles To Midnight is another of those Alfred Hitchcock type films that could have been a classic had he decided to do them. I think he was busy with The Birds when this came out.Sophia Loren is the star both in billing and performance. She's married to former American GI Anthony Perkins and it's an abusive relationship. Perkins has to take a flight to Casablanca, but the plane crashes near Bordeaux and miracle of miracles he survives but is not found.What a golden opportunity for a little insurance fraud. And a battered Sophia goes along with it. The rest of the film is the masquerade that Loren plays as she pretends he's dead like everyone suspects and what she endures with an increasingly unbalanced Perkins.When Sophia Loren won her Oscar for Two Women she showed her acting chops and this film also has a lot more to do with Sophia the actress than Sophia the sex symbol. As for Anthony Perkins he started out playing callow youths with issues. After Psycho he started out playing far more deranged characters with issues although his character here is descending into a bit of madness unlike Norman Bates who was one fully formed whack job.Other men in Sophia's life are Gig Young and Jean-Pierre Aumont. Won't give any ending away because in the end we don't know what's to become of the main characters most especially Sophia Loren.

Anthony Perkins and Sophia Loren Paris 1962....insurance fraud thriller... sounds good? WRONG.Anthony Perkins was ruined by Psycho...after his success there he seems to be used for only one role:a weird creepy out of control character--certainly the case in this movie.The story is so unlikely and Perkins so unlikeable both factors make this movie a dud. What can I say it is poorly written not suspenseful. It has lots of very boring or irritating plot mechanisms and red herrings that fall flat. Mostly I think though that it is Perkin's chemistry that wrecks it.Sophia Loren 28 being chased by 55 year old male heroes somehow is just irritating too....I was so glad when Loren murdered Perkins. Both the hero and antihero are repulsive in this thing.God this thing was awful...DO NOT RECOMMEND--you will regret watching it.

Anthony Perkins and Sophia Loren star so you know the Paris-set FIVE MILES TO MIDNIGHT is not going to be a run-of-the mill melodrama. It's the crazy story of Perkins faking his own death and convincing needy Loren to go along with the plan. He doesn't let the fact that she despises him deter him in the least. Director Anatole Litvak hits the ground running wasting no time in setting up this ridiculous situation. Perkins and Loren, whom the script even admits are oddly matched, are excellent. Perkins' first appearance is typical...biting his nails as he nearly stalks Loren (his wife!) in a crowded nightclub. Loren is beautiful and affirms her acting talent. She's a complete bundle of nerves. Gig Young appears late in the film as an American reporter with an eye on Loren and a suspicion as to what is really going on. Very moody, sometimes skirting camp, the film captures a terrific slice of early '60s Paris thanks to some stunning B&W photography by Henri Alekan.

Anthony Perkins is not exactly the abusive husband type (especially to an ever-beautiful Sophia Loren). Add to it the plot elements of master-minding an insurance fraud, and the odds of good-natured Perkins pulling it off become immeasurable.The sole survivor of a plane crash, Perkins was fortunate to have taken out a special insurance policy (even if the odds of dying in a crash were 1 in 1,000,000). Good wife Loren, already prepared for widowhood by the "news", gets a good shock when Perkins shows up, pressuring Loren to play along with the hoax to collect the insurance money.Although the ending is somewhat of a surprise, the time spent getting there seems like an endless and tiresome walk through the woods, only to arrive at a run down greasy spoon as a reward. Without any frills or glamour, even shot in b&w, this is a less than average vehicle for either of the stars. Look for a young Tommy Norden (of TV's "Flipper" Fame) in a minor role. Otherwise, skip it altogether!**