The Midnight Man
Year: 1974
Runtime: 119 mins
Language: English
Director: Roland Kibbee
A former convict and ex‑cop works as a night watchman at a university when a female student is murdered. The case becomes a gripping murder mystery, pulling him deeper into suspicion. Reluctantly pulled into the investigation, he soon becomes a prime suspect. Driven to prove his innocence, he races to uncover true killer before his name is ruined.
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The Midnight Man (1974) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained
Read the complete plot breakdown of The Midnight Man (1974), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
Jim Slade, [Burt Lancaster], a former Chicago policeman, is paroled from prison after serving time for shooting his wife’s lover in their bed. He goes to live with his married friends Quartz Willinger [Cameron Mitchell] and Judy Willinger [Joan Lorring] in a small town, taking a job as a night watchman at a local college.
A college student is murdered, and local Sheriff Casey [Harris Yulin] tries to pin the crime on a creepy janitor who spouts biblical revelation while hiding pornography. Slade pursues an unauthorized investigation of his own.
Natalie [Catherine Bach], the murdered student, is the daughter of Senator Clayborne [Morgan Woodward], who receives blackmail letters related to tapes of her confession to a psychiatric counselor that she had an incestuous relationship with her father. Slade questions possible suspects, including the senator, Natalie’s estranged boyfriend Arthur King [Bill Lancaster] (who declares to Slade that the generation gap
> “The generation gap just got a little wider.”), psychology professor Dean Collins [Harold N. Cooledge Jr.] and a nerdy student whose taped psychiatric rant was also stolen.
All the while, Slade is warned against overstepping his authority as a mere night watchman, no longer a cop, by his parole officer Linda Thorpe [Susan Clark] and by Quartz. A brief affair between Slade and Thorpe begins. A family of thugs led by a Ma Barker-type mother arrives, and they are revealed to be agents paid by some corrupt members of the sheriff’s department to do their dirty work.
Slade realizes that the parole officer and Quartz are the perpetrators of the murder, because only Quartz could have known a certain critical clue involved in the cover-up. Sheriff Casey arrests Quartz. As they depart, Slade confronts Thorpe, who produces the stolen tapes that are hidden in her freezer.
The sheriff offers Slade an apology and a job even though Slade cannot hold a position with the law as a convicted felon.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:05
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Characters, Settings & Themes in The Midnight Man
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