Film
The Other Side of Midnight
A 1977 romantic thriller about a jilted French actress who plots revenge on her ex-lover, only to fall for him again—and scheme to murder his wife. It's a glossy, melodramatic descent into obsession and betrayal, anchored by Marie-France Pisier's magnetic performance. For viewers who want passion messy enough to be morally compromised.
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The Woman in White1948
A Gothic noir where a woman's schemes to reclaim her life and fortune spiral into moral complexity. Like Midnight, it treats female ambition as dangerous and magnetic rather than sympathetic.
But The pacing is slower and more mannered than a modern thriller. The ending hinges on plot machinery rather than character inevitability.
Duel in the Sun1946
A lurid Western romance where a woman caught between two men becomes the architect of her own destruction. Has the same operatic intensity and willing moral compromise as Midnight.
But It's 130 minutes of very earnest melodrama. The gender politics, though interesting, haven't aged gracefully.
Carnal Knowledge1971
A raw dissection of male desire and female revenge across decades. It's sharper and crueler than Midnight, but trades in the same currency of erotic betrayal and calculated cruelty.
But Harder to watch—less glamorous, more cynical. The misogyny is the point, which doesn't make it easier to sit with.
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Marnie1964
Both are films where possession and love become indistinguishable; both understand obsession as contagion rather than romance.
Hitchcock's film about a compulsive thief and the man obsessed with her is the DNA that birthed Midnight's mechanics. But where Midnight plays seduction as glamour, Marnie treats obsession as psychological pathology. Tippi Hedren's fractured performance haunts differently than Pisier's sophistication.
But Slower and more invested in psychology than plot. The representation of trauma and sexuality dates uncomfortably. Hitchcock's camera work matters more than the story.
More like this (6)
Lured1947
A murder-mystery thriller where Lucille Ball's cabaret dancer navigates dangerous men and duplicitous schemes. Shares Midnight's blend of glamour, intrigue, and a woman using her wit as a weapon.
But Tonal shifts between noir and romantic comedy can feel jarring. The plot requires suspension of disbelief that Midnight doesn't ask for.
Obsession1976
De Palma's baroque thriller about a man manipulated by a woman who may be his dead wife's ghost. Hypnotic visual style and the same intoxicated logic of obsessive love.
But Relies heavily on Vertigo—if you know that film, the architecture becomes visible. The twist feels more clever than earned.
The Scarlet Letter1995
Neil Diamond score aside, this rereading of Hawthorne makes the woman's transgression the real story. Like Midnight, it refuses to punish ambition or desire cleanly.
But A very loose adaptation that trades period gravity for 90s gloss. Some find that liberating; others find it trivializing.
Bitter Lake2011
A Balkan noir about a woman's quiet revenge. Shares Midnight's understanding that the most dangerous betrayals come from people you've loved.
But Deliberately unglamorous and static—the opposite of Midnight's sheen. Patience required.
Rogue Male1976
Both pit two people in intimate games of power and betrayal; both understand that chase and seduction follow the same grammar.
A three-part BBC miniseries (aired same year as Midnight) about a man hunted after a failed assassination attempt. It's a cat-and-mouse thriller with the same paranoia and erotic tension between hunter and hunted, but trades glamour for grimness. Peter O'Toole at his most feral.
But British television production values look austere by Midnight's standards. The pacing is deliberately unhurried. Shot on video, which takes adjustment.
Ten Days' Wonder1971
Both films depict love as a weapon and marriage as a battlefield; both suggest that the deepest betrayals come from inside the intimate circle.
Claude Chabrol's twisted chamber piece where a wealthy man and woman ensnare a younger man in their games. Psychologically acute where Midnight is melodramatic, but both explore how desire corrupts judgment. Nastier, more French, entirely unsentimental about passion.
But The plot is almost secondary to atmosphere. Very slow. Some will find it airless and cruel rather than compelling.
People
Cast
Marie-France PisierNoelle Page
John BeckLarry Douglas
Susan SarandonCatherine Alexander Douglas
Raf ValloneConstantin Demeris
Clu GulagerBill Fraser
Christian MarquandArmand Gautier
Michael LernerBarbet
Sorrell BookeLanchon
Lilyan ChauvinMrs. Page- Lidia KristenHousekeeper
Dimitra ArlissSister Theresa
Howard HessemanO'Brien
Directing
- Charles JarrottDirector
Writing
- Herman RaucherWriter
- Sidney SheldonWriter
Production
- Lynn StalmasterCasting
- Robert WattsUnit Manager