''Midnight Run'' is a 1988 American road action comedy film directed by Martin Brest and starring

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

and Charles Grodin. Yaphet Kotto,

John Ashton John Ashton may refer to: Entertainment * John Ashton (composer) (1830–1896), Welsh musician * Will Ashton (John William Ashton, 1881–1963), British-Australian artist and art director * John Rowland Ashton (1917–2008), English author * John ...

, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, and

Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall (September 10, 1931 – June 12, 2022) was an American character actor. Hall is known for his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, including '' Hard Eight'' (1996), ''Boogie Nights'' (1997) and ''Magnolia'' (1999). He als ...

play supporting roles. At the

46th Golden Globe Awards The 46th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1988, were held on January 28, 1989 at the Beverly Hilton. The nominations were announced on January 4, 1989. Winners and nominees Film The followin ...

, the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

for De Niro. A critical and commercial success, the film was followed by ''

The Midnight Run Action Pack ''The Midnight Run Action Pack'' was a made-for-TV movie series for Universal Television's Action Pack in 1994. All four movies are available as a DVD set in Canada. ''Another Midnight Run'' Jack Walsh ( Christopher McDonald) is still tryin ...

'' in 1994, three

made for television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

sequels which did not feature any of the principal actors, although a few characters are carried over from the first film.

Plot

Jack Walsh, a bounty hunter, is enlisted by bail bondsman Eddie Moscone to bring

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas back to Los Angeles. The accountant had embezzled $15 million from Chicago mob boss Jimmy Serrano before skipping on the $450,000 bail Moscone had posted for him. Walsh must bring Mardukas back within 5 days or Moscone defaults. Moscone says the job is easy, a "midnight run", but Walsh demands $100,000. Walsh is then approached by FBI officer Alonzo Mosely, who wants Mardukas to be a witness against Serrano and orders Walsh to keep away from Mardukas. Walsh takes no notice of this and instead steals Mosely's ID, which he uses to pass himself off as an FBI agent along his journey. Serrano’s henchmen Tony and Joey offer Walsh $1 million to turn Mardukas over to them, but he turns them down. Walsh captures Mardukas in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and calls Moscone from the airport, not knowing that Moscone's line is tapped by the FBI and that his assistant Jerry is secretly tipping off Serrano's men. However, Mardukas fakes a panic attack on the plane, forcing the two men to travel via train. When Walsh and Mardukas fail to show up in Los Angeles on time, Moscone brings rival bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler to find them. Dorfler tracks them to the train and attempts to take The Duke from Walsh, but Walsh gets the drop on him and leaves the train. However, Walsh discovers when he attempts to purchase bus tickets with a credit card that Dorfler cancelled the card. Without funds, he is forced to rely on other means to get across the country, including stealing cars, borrowing his ex-wife’s car in Chicago, and hitchhiking. Meanwhile, word of the skirmish on the train reaches Mosely's ears and he leads a task force to find Walsh and Mardukas. Walsh eventually reveals that he was working as an

undercover officer A covert operation is a military operation intended to conceal the identity of (or allow plausible deniability by) the party that instigated the operation. Covert operations should not be confused with clandestine operations, which are performe ...

in Chicago 10 years ago; trying to get close to a drug dealer who had almost the entire police force on his payroll. Eventually, just as Walsh was going to bust the dealer, he had heroin planted in his house by corrupt cops. In order to avoid either going to prison or working for the dealer, Walsh resigned from the force, left Chicago and became a bounty hunter, while his wife divorced him and married a corrupt lieutenant. However, Walsh has clung to the vain hope that his ex-wife will reunite with him. Later, Mardukas learns that the drug dealer was Serrano. In Arizona, Dorfler takes Mardukas away from Walsh, who is found by Mosely. While arguing with Moscone over the phone, Walsh realizes that Dorfler intends to turn Mardukas over to Serrano for $2 million. However, Dorfler accidentally reveals to Serrano's men where he is keeping Mardukas and is knocked unconscious by Serrano's men, who go after Mardukas themselves. Walsh calls Serrano's men and bluffs that he has

computer disk Disk storage (also sometimes called drive storage) is a general category of storage mechanisms where data is recorded by various electronic, magnetic, optical, or mechanical changes to a surface layer of one or more rotating disks. A disk drive is ...

s created by Mardukas with enough information to put Serrano away, but promises to hand the disks over if Serrano returns Mardukas to him unharmed. He then makes a deal to deliver Serrano to the FBI in exchange for being allowed to take Mardukas back. Walsh meets up with Serrano while wearing a wire and being watched by the FBI. Dorfler spots Mardukas and interrupts the exchange, unknowingly disabling the wire. After Serrano takes the disks, the FBI closes in, arresting Serrano and his henchmen. Mosely turns Mardukas over to Walsh with enough time to return him to Los Angeles by the deadline. However, Walsh realizes that he cannot bring himself to send Mardukas to prison, and lets him scot-free. Before parting, Walsh gives a watch that his wife gave him before their marriage, to Mardukas; symbolizing he has finally let her live herself. In return, Mardukas gives Walsh $300,000 in a money belt he had been hiding, clarifying that it is a gift, as Walsh already let him leave. Walsh flags down a cab and asks the driver if he has change for a $1,000 bill, but the taxi drives away, where Walsh heads home on foot.

Cast

Production

After completing '' The Untouchables'', De Niro wanted to try something different and decided on appearing in a comedy. He pursued the lead role in Penny Marshall's film, '' Big''. Marshall was interested, but the studio was not, so the role went to Tom Hanks. Martin Brest, who directed '' Beverly Hills Cop'', had developed a script with George Gallo that blended elements of comedy and action. Gallo says he based the relationship between Jack and the Duke on his own parents. "I don't think they ever realized how funny they were when they were arguing about something," he said. "My father was very emotional whereas my mother was far more calculating. She would let him talk and lead him down alleys and then strike like a cat." Gallo paid tribute to Martin Brest, saying "Marty was highly focused, where I was a bit more all over the place. I'm not a person who suffers from not having ideas. If anything, I have too many ideas. Marty helped rein me in to stay focused on the main story. This has helped me a great deal since my collaboration with him."

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

was originally interested in backing ''Midnight Run'', but they wanted a big name star opposite De Niro in order to improve the film's chances at the box office. Their production executives suggested that the Mardukas character be changed to a woman and wanted

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

for the role in the hope she would provide some "sexual overtones." When Brest rejected the idea, Paramount suggested teaming De Niro up with Robin Williams, who became eager to get the role and offered to audition for Brest. At one stage Bruce Willis was mentioned as a possible co star. Brest was impressed by Grodin's audition with De Niro, however, feeling that there was a real chemistry between the two actors. As a result, Paramount backed out and their UIP partner Universal Studios became interested in the project. Paramount president Ned Tanen claimed that the budget became too high and he decided that "it wasn't worth it." Universal executive Casey Silver had worked with Brest on ''Beverly Hills Cop'' and he was integral in setting up the project at Universal. To research for his role, De Niro worked with real-life bounty hunters and police officers. As Walsh uncuffs Mardukas on the train, the latter says, "Thanks, 'cause they're starting to cut into my wrists.'" In fact, Grodin had permanent scars resulting from the handcuffs he had to wear for most of the film. The scene where Mardukas falls off a cliff was shot on location in the Salt River Canyon in White Mountain, Arizona and the conclusion, taking place in rapids, was shot in New Zealand because the water was too cold in Arizona. "I trusted Marty would choose the material that was most suited for the scene," said De Niro. "He's aware of everything in Chuck's style, in my style. He had to balance all that, and I think he did it very well." Yaphet Kotto remembered the film being a difficult shoot.

De Niro is very spontaneous and it always helps to work with an artist like that. But Marty Brest! "Herr Director" shot so many takes of the scenes that I lost all joy in doing the film. It became hard and tedious work. Then he stopped eating during the shoot and became thinner and thinner each day, until he looked like a ghost behind the camera. When I met Marty at the Universal studio with De Niro, he looked healthy and strong, but as filming went on, he began to turn into someone you'd see in
Dachau , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...
. It was weird. I got sick and for the whole of the film I had a fever and was under the weather for most of it ... I was shocked when it came off so funny ... It sure wasn't funny making it.

Universal invested $15 million in a print and television advertising campaign.

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

, and the album was released by MCA Records. # Walsh Gets the Duke (1:47) # Main Titles (2:21) # Stairway Chase (:54) # J.W. Gets a Plan (1:41) # Gears Spin I (:54) # Dorfler's Theme (1:24) # F.B.I. (1:16) # Package Deal (1:07) # Mobocopter (2:42) # Freight Train Hop (1:18) # Drive to Red's (1:04) # In the Next Life (1:06) # The River (1:19) # The Wild Ride (1:31) # Amarillo Dawn (:26) # Potato Walk (1:09) # Desert Run (1:09) # Diner Blues (1:19) # Dorfler's Problem (1:01) # Gears Spin II (1:30) # The Confrontation (2:30) # The Longest Walk (1:32) # Walsh Frees the Duke (2:44) # End Credits: "Try to Believe" – Mosley & The B-Men (4:16) ''Note'': The end credits track as heard in the film is instrumental. "Try To Believe" was redone on Oingo Boingo's '' Dark at the End of the Tunnel'' album.

Reception

Box office

''Midnight Run'' was released on July 20, 1988, in 1,158 theaters, grossing US$5.5 million in its opening weekend. It went on to make $38.4 million in North America and $43.2 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $81.6 million.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Enlivened by the antagonistic chemistry between Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, ''Midnight Run'' is an uncommonly entertaining odd couple comedy." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and wrote, "What ''Midnight Run'' does with these two characters is astonishing, because it's accomplished within the structure of a comic thriller ... It's rare for a thriller to end with a scene of genuinely moving intimacy, but this one does, and it earns it." In his review for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', Jay Scott praised the performances: "De Niro has the time of his acting life lightening up and sending up all those raging bulls that won him all those Oscars ... Charles Grodin, master of the double-take and maestro of the slow burn, the best light character comic since Jack Benny stopped playing himself". Vincent Canby, in his review for '' The New York Times'', wrote, "Mr. De Niro and Mr. Grodin are lunatic delights, which is somewhat more than can be said for the movie, whose mechanics keep getting in the way of the performances". In his review for '' The Washington Post'', Hal Hinson says of the director that, "carrying the dead weight of George Gallo's script, Brest isn't up to the strenuous task of transforming his uninspired genre material in something deeper, and so the attempts to mix pathos with comedy strike us merely as wild and disorienting vacillations in tone". David Ansen, in his review for '' Newsweek'', wrote, "The outline of George Gallo's script—odd-couple antagonists become buddies under perilous circumstances—was stale five years ago, and the outcome offers no surprises. Too bad: a lot of good work has been wasted on an unworthy cause".

Legacy

Thirty years on, critics have warmed to the movie. Alan Sepinwall calls it the "''Casablanca'' of Buddy Comedies" in ''Rolling Stone'':

Yet all that ultimately matters---and makes the movie a classic worth revisiting on the 30th anniversary of its release---are two other words: Walsh and Duke.

George Gallo put the success of the movie down to the relationship between Jack and the Duke.

In many ways it is a love story, although it is one that is short-lived. They meet each other, take an instant dislike to one another and over time grow to respect each other which leads to deeper feelings. Both men realize, despite their differences, that they share core beliefs of what is right and wrong. Audiences also think that the road trip angle to the story rings true. Everyone who has ever gone on a long road trip knows that things can go wrong and, as a result, adults can be reduced to behaving like children. No matter how well a script is written, it has to be fully realized by the director and actors. Every last person working on the film did a terrific job.

De Niro attributed a lot of the film's eventual success to Charles Grodin. "The way Chuck Grodin is, it worked," he said. "His character was irritating and Chuck knew how to do that, to work that. I felt like that was a good way to go."

Sequels

Film

On November 8, 2021, it was announced that Universal Pictures was developing a sequel to star Regina Hall with De Niro attached as a producer.

Television

* ''

Another Midnight Run ''Another Midnight Run'' is a 1994 American made-for-television film, and the first in a series of television films produced for Universal Television's Action Pack programming block and based on the 1988 feature film ''Midnight Run''. Christophe ...

'' * ''

Midnight Runaround ''Midnight Runaround'' is a 1994 American made-for-television film, and the second in a series of television films produced for Universal Television's Action Pack programming block and based on the 1988 film ''Midnight Run''. The sequel to ''Anot ...