"Anne of a Thousand Days" director Charles Jarrott's "The Other Side of Midnight" struggles hopelessly to amount to a sophisticated romantic revenge melodrama. Sadly, scenarists Herman Raucher and Daniel Taradash's adaptation of author Sidney Sheldon's bestseller ends up as a sophomoric comic book soap opera. Initially, this is surprising when you consider that Jarrott also helmed "Mary, Queen of Scots" and the splendid Jack Palance made-for-television chiller "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" from 1968. We'll try to forget his movie misfire, the musical version of "Lost Horizon." Not only was Herman Raucher, who wrote the bestseller "Summer of '42," no lightweight penman, but also neither was Oscar winning scribe Daniel Taradash who penned "From Here to Eternity" as well as "Golden Boy," "Picnic," and "Hawaii." Meanwhile, what is not so surprising is the basis for the film, Sidney Sheldon's bestseller. The leads are nothing spectacular. Vietnamese born French woman Marie-France Pisier went nowhere in America and her leading man John Beck didn't make much of an impression and wound up playing supporting roles. Only Susan Sarandon had a Hollywood career to speak of.
Essentially, "The Other Side of Midnight" occurs before, during, and after World War II, but it is not a war picture. The Raucher & Taradash screenplay deals with a love quadrangle. French ingénue Noelle Page (Marie-France Pisier of "French Postcards") is sold into the fashion business by her father. Jacques Page (Roger Etienne of "Marathon Man") advises his daughter, "You have beauty. It's your only weapon of survival. Let the hand under your dress wear gold." She is shocked by this advice and at firsts tries to be a good girl. Not long afterward, however, Noelle surrenders her virtue to a greedy little dressmaker Lanchon (Sorrell Brooke of "The Dukes of Hazzard") and he wants her to fulfill his every desire. Instead, Noelle flees to Paris and runs into a dashing, no-good jock of a Royal Air Force pilot, Larry Douglas (John Beck of "Rollerball"), who wines and dines her. No sooner does Larry promise to marry Noelle than he abandons her with a baby and a bleak future. Wielding a coat hanger, Noelle aborts her baby in a bathtub and decides to use her body to become a high-priced fashion model and European film starlet.
Meanwhile, Catherine Alexander (Susan Sarandon of "Joe") is a fortune-seeking American girl who seeks her fortune in Washington, D.C. As a magazine advertiser, Catherine can only handle the really tough assignments and fouls up the easy ones. Dispatched to Hollywood to produce a war documentary, she falls in love inadvertently with that no-good Larry who takes her to the altar. After the war, Larry suffers problems readjusting to normal life, a problem which is financed by Noelle who is determined to ruin his life and force him to return to her and marry him! While engineering Larry's downfall, Noelle becomes the mistress of a vindictive Greek millionaire Constantin Demeris (Raf Vallone of "Nevada Smith"), the richest man in the world. Larry winds up as the pilot for Noelle's plane which the Greek buys for her and she begins an affair with Larry behind the Greek's back. Ironically, Noelle cannot marry Larry who she really and truly loves because he cannot divorce Catherine who worships Larry like a god. Imagine what happens next? This kind of absurdity is dragged out for well over two and a half hours and "The Other Side of Midnight" feels like it takes that long for the events to resolve themselves. Director Charles Jarrott tries to relieve this tedium by flaunting classy production values. Furthermore, Oscar winning "Towering Inferno" cinematographer Fred J. Koenekamp provides some stunning picture postcard photography of Greece. He makes it seem like you are watching an extended tourist travelogue. When you're not a tourist, you're a voyeur. Koenekamp's cameras turn the bedroom and the nudity of its stars into a geographical "Playboy" shoot. Expect a lot of profanity and sex from this epic along with some occasional suspense. The way the script spells everything out ensures that nothing will be left to your imagination. "The Other Side of Midnight" qualifies as little more than glossy trash. Further, the way thing develop makes this film seem unintentionally silly and stupid. For example, why does Noelle go to such lengths to wreck what starts out to be revenge? Despite the film's numerous faults, there are some women who dream of being a princess and men who crave all the wealth and power that the world can offer. These people may find something redeeming about this sappy soap opera. All that can be said about "The Other Side of Midnight" is that the filmmakers or novelist Sidney Sheldon refrain for anteing up another side of "Midnight!"
Essentially, "The Other Side of Midnight" occurs before, during, and after World War II, but it is not a war picture. The Raucher & Taradash screenplay deals with a love quadrangle. French ingénue Noelle Page (Marie-France Pisier of "French Postcards") is sold into the fashion business by her father. Jacques Page (Roger Etienne of "Marathon Man") advises his daughter, "You have beauty. It's your only weapon of survival. Let the hand under your dress wear gold." She is shocked by this advice and at firsts tries to be a good girl. Not long afterward, however, Noelle surrenders her virtue to a greedy little dressmaker Lanchon (Sorrell Brooke of "The Dukes of Hazzard") and he wants her to fulfill his every desire. Instead, Noelle flees to Paris and runs into a dashing, no-good jock of a Royal Air Force pilot, Larry Douglas (John Beck of "Rollerball"), who wines and dines her. No sooner does Larry promise to marry Noelle than he abandons her with a baby and a bleak future. Wielding a coat hanger, Noelle aborts her baby in a bathtub and decides to use her body to become a high-priced fashion model and European film starlet.
Meanwhile, Catherine Alexander (Susan Sarandon of "Joe") is a fortune-seeking American girl who seeks her fortune in Washington, D.C. As a magazine advertiser, Catherine can only handle the really tough assignments and fouls up the easy ones. Dispatched to Hollywood to produce a war documentary, she falls in love inadvertently with that no-good Larry who takes her to the altar. After the war, Larry suffers problems readjusting to normal life, a problem which is financed by Noelle who is determined to ruin his life and force him to return to her and marry him! While engineering Larry's downfall, Noelle becomes the mistress of a vindictive Greek millionaire Constantin Demeris (Raf Vallone of "Nevada Smith"), the richest man in the world. Larry winds up as the pilot for Noelle's plane which the Greek buys for her and she begins an affair with Larry behind the Greek's back. Ironically, Noelle cannot marry Larry who she really and truly loves because he cannot divorce Catherine who worships Larry like a god. Imagine what happens next? This kind of absurdity is dragged out for well over two and a half hours and "The Other Side of Midnight" feels like it takes that long for the events to resolve themselves. Director Charles Jarrott tries to relieve this tedium by flaunting classy production values. Furthermore, Oscar winning "Towering Inferno" cinematographer Fred J. Koenekamp provides some stunning picture postcard photography of Greece. He makes it seem like you are watching an extended tourist travelogue. When you're not a tourist, you're a voyeur. Koenekamp's cameras turn the bedroom and the nudity of its stars into a geographical "Playboy" shoot. Expect a lot of profanity and sex from this epic along with some occasional suspense. The way the script spells everything out ensures that nothing will be left to your imagination. "The Other Side of Midnight" qualifies as little more than glossy trash. Further, the way thing develop makes this film seem unintentionally silly and stupid. For example, why does Noelle go to such lengths to wreck what starts out to be revenge? Despite the film's numerous faults, there are some women who dream of being a princess and men who crave all the wealth and power that the world can offer. These people may find something redeeming about this sappy soap opera. All that can be said about "The Other Side of Midnight" is that the filmmakers or novelist Sidney Sheldon refrain for anteing up another side of "Midnight!"