MartinHafer While I wouldn't call "Violent Midnight" a porno film, I was VERY surprised when I tried to watch this with my family. After all, the DVD was unrated and from the early 1960s. But my wife and daughters were a bit surprised as was I when ample nudity appeared on the screen. Again and again, ladies appeared in their underwear or naked for little apparent reason. So, because of this you might want to think twice about seeing this one. It's not a bad film--but an early merging of murder and naked women--a rather disturbing combination if you think about it.If you do see this film, you'll see James Farentino before he was a star and Dick Van Patten in his first film. It also stars Lee Philips--an actor you may recognize but definitely an actor who is relatively unknown today.

Scarecrow-88 A Korean "one-man war machine" who witnessed the loss of many soldiers in his platoon, has found his niche in art..yet Elliot Freeman(Lee Philips)is seen as the possible killer right at the beginning after his rather crazy middle-aged father is shot by someone in the bushes point-blank in the face. His sister, Lynn(Margot Hartman)was also present when that nasty incident took place and returns home after being away for 6 years to attend the Belmont School for Girls nearby Elliot's home. A psychopath murdered a former model of Elliot's and it is possible he's responsible, although, it's obvious(if you've seen your share of mysteries, it's obvious he's not the likely correct candidate to be the real killer)he's merely the fall-guy for someone else. Another possible suspect is muscle-headed studly biker creep Charlie(the chiseled, young James Farentino trying to summon Brando from "The Wild One")who dated the murdered model and the victim of an altercation with Elliot over her at a local pub. On the case is cop Palmer(a thin Dick Van Patten, speaking noir copper lingo)and his leads are few. Offered as a possible suspect is a school professor/peeping tom who likes to spy on the girls as they shower in their dorm rooms and out in the local swimming hole. Elliot has a love-interest who lives at a farm near his home named Carol(Jean Hale)whose life you know will be in peril at the end as the killer emerges with his/her mask unveiled. The real star of the film for yours truly was the sex kitten Lorraine Rogers as Alice St. Clair, the school tramp who is definitely one smokin' dame. She has a heated make-out session in the school laundry room with Farentino. With Rogers as the sex-bomb, you have Sylvia Miles, ugh, as the town ugly who is enamored with her man Charlie, although he(who could blame him?)looks elsewhere for sex. She is so in love with Charlie, Sylvia will cover up for him when the police come snooping for an alibi.Crudely made, amateurish shocker shows that it was independently made because the editing is anything but professional. The pacing lags, yet it's sleazy enough thanks to some naughty girls who like to unbutton their tops. I've seen worse, and this film has that exploitive nature thanks to the vicious knife attacks, so it works in fits and starts. But, the film gets bonus points thanks to Lorraine Rogers..she often made my heart skip a beat.

ferbs54 A film probably better known by its alternate, later title of "Psychomania," "Violent Midnight" (1963) proved a very pleasant surprise for me indeed. The film centers around Elliott Freeman, a young, reclusive painter who won't be a free man much longer if the local police have their way. One of Freeman's pretty young models has just been found knifed to death (the picture's debt to Hitchcock's "Psycho" is fairly evident during her suggested, shadowy slaying), and before long, one of his sister's co-ed friends follows suit.... An independent production more than ably helmed by Del Tenney, this film offers any number of unexpected treats. It features beautiful and artfully composed B&W photography; nice visuals of the Stamford, CT countryside; an intriguing, jazzy score; some surprising and titillating near nudity by a good number of comely lasses; and interesting performances by its largely no-name cast. The only performers I was at all familiar with here were Silvia (sic) Miles as a blond bar floozy; TV favorite Dick van Patten as a hard-boiled cop (!); and, in his first film role, James Farentino as a randy thug who can't seem to help getting in trouble. The actress Lorraine Rogers is also very fine as a blond, aggressively lustful student. The picture concludes quite suspensefully, with the knife-wielding killer stalking a very pretty gal during a thunderstorm. The killer's identity comes waaaaaay out of left field, I must say; don't even try to guess, unless you're infinitely better at these things than I am! This film also features one of the most deliciously morbid folksingers you'll ever want to hear; a perfect accompaniment to the chilly goings-on in "Violent Midnight." And oh...a great-looking print on this DVD, from the good folks at Dark Sky.

gftbiloxi When Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO opened the door, many other films followed, and the early 1960s saw a glut of low-budget, black and white thrillers that held scantily clad women at the point of a knife. Released in 1964, VIOLENT MIDNIGHT (also known as PSYCHOMANIA or BLACK AUTUMN) is fairly typical of the genre but better than most.When Delores is found stabbed to death in her rooms there are two very obvious suspects: Elliot, the reclusive artist who has employed her as a model, and Charlie, her tough-guy boyfriend. After all, the two men had a bar room knife fight over her the night before! Fortunately Elliot has his half-sister, who has just arrived to attend a local all-girl college, for support. But before too long the student body becomes precisely that, and both Elliot and Charlie come under renewed suspicion.The cast is unexpectedly solid. Leading man Lee Philips (in the role of artist Elliot Freeman) and supporting actor Shepperd Strudwick (as his attorney) both had long and respectable careers both before and after VIOLENT MIDNIGHT; James Farentino, Sylvia Miles, and Dick Van Patten would go on to notable careers of their own. Even so, there's nothing subtle about the script, which crams everything from biker chicks to college sirens into the mix, and most viewers will probably identify the killer in the first twenty minutes of the film.Even so, and in spite of a budget that was clearly just this side of zero, VIOLENT MIDNIGHT isn't a bad little flick, and it easily holds its own with the likes of the better-known DEMENTIA 13. It will probably lack appeal for the casual viewer, but fans of 1960s B-movies will have a good time.GFT, Amazon Reviewer