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Midnight Express ()

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Billy Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.
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Awards:
  • Won 2 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 14 nominations.
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Photos and Videos

112 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

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Billy Hayes
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Susan
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Tex
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Rifki
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Hamidou (as Paul Smith)
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Jimmy Booth
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Erich
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Max
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Mr. Hayes
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Yesil
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Stanley Daniels
Gigi Ballista ...
Chief Judge
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Prosecutor
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Ahmet
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Airport Customs Officer
Yashar Adem ...
Airport Police Chief
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Airport Security Chief
Tony Boyd ...
Aslan
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Police Detective (as Zanninos Zanninou)
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Court Translator / Police officer (as Michael Yannatos)
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Star
Ahmed El Shenawi ...
Negdir
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Long-Haired Man at Airport (uncredited)

Directed by

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Alan Parker

Written by

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Oliver Stone ... (screenplay)
 
Billy Hayes ... (book) (as William Hayes) and
William Hoffer ... (book)

Produced by

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Peter Guber ... executive producer
Alan Marshall ... producer
David Puttnam ... producer

Music by

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Giorgio Moroder

Cinematography by

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Michael Seresin ... (lighting cameraman)

Editing by

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Gerry Hambling

Editorial Department

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Eddy Joseph ... assistant editor
Tony Orton ... assistant editor
Richard Taylor ... assistant editor

Production Design by

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Geoffrey Kirkland

Art Direction by

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Evan Hercules

Costume Design by

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Milena Canonero

Makeup Department

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Pat Hay ... hair stylist
Mary Hillman ... makeup artist
Sarah Monzani ... hair stylist
Penny Steyne ... makeup artist

Production Management

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Richard Green ... unit manager
Garth Thomas ... production manager
Antoine Compin ... production manager: second unit (uncredited)
Charis Horton ... production manager: second unit (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Ray Corbett ... first assistant director
Kieron Phipps ... third assistant director
David Wimbury ... second assistant director
Hugh Hudson ... second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department

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Alan Booth ... stand-by carpenter
Karen Brookes ... property buyer
Kenneth Clarke ... stand-by plasterer (as Ken Clark)
Bob Hedges ... stand-by props
John Hemmington ... dressing props
Katharina Kubrick ... art department assistant
Bob Lapper ... stagehand
John Leuenberger ... property master
Douglas Regan ... stand-by painter
Dennis Simmonds ... stand-by props
Bill Welch ... construction manager

Sound Department

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Don Banks ... sound camera
Rusty Coppleman ... dubbing editor
Bill Rowe ... dubbing mixer
Ken Weston ... boom operator
Clive Winter ... sound mixer

Stunts

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Roy Scammell ... fight arranger

Camera and Electrical Department

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Beaumont Alexander ... clapper loader (as Beau Alexander)
David Appleby ... stills photographer
Peter Bloor ... electrician
Ray Coates ... electrician
Nobby Cross ... electrician
Freddy Fry ... camera grip
Brian Harris ... follow focus
Red Lawrence ... rigger
Reg Parsons ... electrician
Roy Rodhouse ... electrician
John Stanier ... camera operator
Michael Connor ... focus puller: second unit (uncredited)
Bernard Lutic ... director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department

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Penny Perry ... casting: USA
Patsy Pollock ... casting: UK

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Bobby Lavender ... wardrobe
Yvonne Zarb Cousin ... wardrobe mistress (uncredited)

Music Department

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Harold Faltermeyer ... synthesizer programmer (uncredited)
Dan Wyman ... synthesizer programmer (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Kay Fenton ... continuity

Additional Crew

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Paul Cadiou ... assistant accountant
Valerie Craig ... production secretary
Brian Harris ... follow focus
Angela Micklesburgh ... assistant to producer
Ron Phipps ... production accountant
Caryn Picker ... assistant to producer
Roy Scammell ... fight arranger
Kathy Smith ... production assistant (uncredited)
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

On October 6, 1970 while boarding an international flight out of Istanbul Airport, American Billy Hayes (Brad Davis) is caught attempting to smuggle two kilos of hashish out of the country, the drugs strapped to his body. He is told that he will be released if he cooperates with the authorities in identifying the person who sold him the hashish. Billy's troubles really begin when after that assistance, he makes a run for it and is recaptured. He is initially sentenced to just over four years for possession, with no time for the more harsh crime of smuggling. The prison environment is inhospitable in every sense, with a sadistic prison guard named Hamidou (Paul L. Smith) ruling the prison, he who relishes the mental and physical torture he inflicts on the prisoners for whatever reason. Told to trust no one, Billy does befriend a few of the other inmates, namely fellow American Jimmy Booth (Randy Quaid) (in for stealing two candlesticks from a mosque), a Swede named Erich (Norbert Weisser), and one of the senior prisoners having already served seven years, an Englishman named Max (Sir John Hurt), the latter two also in for hashish-related charges. One prisoner not befriended is Rifki (Paolo Bonacelli), who wields power in the prison as the unofficial eyes and ears for the guards. As Billy, his family and his girlfriend Susan (Irene Miracle) attempt through legal and diplomatic channels for Billy's release, Max tells him that the only way out is to "catch the midnight express" (escape), which is what Jimmy is continually trying to do. When Billy's situation changes, he becomes more desperate in every sense of the word. It seems as if Billy has only two options: to let the prison ultimately figuratively then literally kill him, or to somehow regain control of his life through whatever means available. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines A story of triumph. See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • 12 Uhr nachts - Midnight Express (Germany)
  • El expreso de medianoche (Spain)
  • L'exprés de mitjanit (Spain, Catalan title)
  • 午夜快车 (China, Mandarin title)
  • Ponoćni ekspres (Croatia)
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Runtime
  • 121 min
Official Sites
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Language
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Aspect Ratio
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Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $2,700,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend United Kingdom GBP434,979, 11 Aug 1978

Did You Know?

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Trivia Banned (and never released theatrically) in Turkey until 1992 when the private television channel HBB broadcast it. See more »
Goofs The Turkish spoken by the Turkish characters in the film is uniformly broken. The actors are obviously not Turkish; sometimes the language is so broken it is difficult for native speakers to understand what they are saying. See more »
Movie Connections Edited into The Running Man (1987). See more »
Soundtracks Istanbul Blues See more »
Crazy Credits The only opening titles are: Columbia Pictures presents a Casablanca FilmWorks production an Alan Parker film Midnight Express After this, the opening prologue text reads "The following is based on a true story. It began October 6, 1970 in Istanbul, Turkey." See more »
Quotes Max: The best thing to do is to get your ass out of here. Best way that you can.
Billy Hayes: Yeah, but how?
Max: Catch the midnight express.
Billy Hayes: But what's that?
Max: [laughs] Well it's not a train. It's a prison word for... escape. But it doesn't stop around here.
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