10 to Midnight is a 1983 American neo noir-thriller film[3] directed by J. Lee Thompson from a screenplay originally written by William Roberts.

The film stars Charles Bronson in the lead role with a supporting cast that includes Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens, Gene Davis, Geoffrey Lewis, and Wilford Brimley.

[4] One night, Stacey attends a showing of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at a theatre and deliberately accosts the women sitting next to him, so they will recall him.

He tracks Betty, a co-worker who had rejected his advances, down to a wooded area, and observes her having sex with her boyfriend in the back of a van.

Stacey stabs her to death in the kitchen and resumes searching for the diary, only to find it missing; Kessler had already acquired it from Karen during his questioning.

That evening, Kessler tails Stacey through the streets of Los Angeles, and observes him picking up a prostitute and taking her to a seedy hotel.

Actor Gene Davis, who played Warren, said that director J. Lee Thompson pretty much left him alone to form his character, but told him "We don't want the role to be sympathetic..." presumably so as to make the ending have more impact.

The original ending had Leo wrestle Warren down to the ground during their final confrontation, but Bronson refused to get up close and personal with a naked Davis.

Heavy on violence, nudity, vulgar language and sexual situations, 10 to Midnight drew scathing reviews from film critics, including a "zero stars" rating from Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times who wrote, "I admired [Bronson's] strong, simple talent once.

"[8] The film did receive positive feedback from others, such as Ebert's colleague Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune, and was a moderate financial success.

[citation needed] The film was often heavily edited for television broadcasts which displayed alternate scenes of Stacy and his victims in their underwear instead of being totally naked.