Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Wizard-8 The first thing that will strike viewers as strange is the title. Is "Five Miles To Midnight" a common expression? If so, I've never heard of it before. Anyway, placed next to the movie, it doesn't make that much sense, even though a character in the movie does say the title out loud at one point. If they had used the Charles Bronson title "10 To Midnight", it would have made a bit more sense.The second thing that will be strange to viewers is the pairing of Anthony Perkins and Sophia Loren. True, they were paired together as a romantic couple a few years earlier in "Desire Under The Elms", but reportedly that worked as well as it does here. How a beauty in the form of Loren could be attracted to the nervous, boyish Perkins is hard to swallow, to say the least.But even if the title was fixed AND they got two lead actors with better (and believable) chemistry together, I think the movie still wouldn't have worked. I could see this story being told as a short graphic story in the comic "Tales From The Crypt". I could see this story working as a half-hour episode (with commercials) of a show like "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". Or even as a full hour. But this telling of the story lasts about 110 minutes. It's VERY slow-moving, full of padding like the stuff with the little nosy boy. Plus, the ending of the movie is very predictable - I guessed what would happen after reading the plot synopsis before actually starting the movie.Far from the worst movie I've seen, but still not worth seeing. Trust me, you've seen this story before one way or another.

JasparLamarCrabb 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.

thursdays 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!**

philiponel Very campy movie. The 60's dancing style is so outdated. Sophia Loren, of course very beautiful, has not done much to perfect her acting style this early in her career. She seems to have great trouble with the English language. The character starts out as a really nice girl, then in the middle of the movie, she turns!! Quite a surprise. Tony Perkins is wonderful as this slimy mean nasty insurance salesman. Gig Young is absolutely horrible. I don't know who ever told him he could act. It has been years since I've seen anything this campy. Very entertaining.