Review of Midnight Sting

Introduction

When it comes to box office, it helps if a film caters for as large a demographic as possible. It`s a good reason why early Hollywood films would have a bit of everything thrown in, action, adventure, romance, as well as a little singing and dancing. The golden age of Hollywood is long gone now, but that chase for an audience still goes on, and it helps if a film does more than one thing. The Midnight Sting a.k.a. Diggstown is one of those films trying to straddle a genre gap, and it doesn`t do too badly at the attempt, telling a story about a hustle involving boxing, Rocky meets The Sting.

Gabriel Caine is a conman who`s coming to the end of his term in prison. But like all good conmen, he`s already got his next hustle planned. Diggstown is a small town built on the name of one Charles Macum Diggs, famous boxer now fallen on hard times. The town is now run, and practically owned by Diggs` former manager, John Gillon, and he is to be the mark in Caine`s cunning plan. Playing to Gillon`s avaricious nature, and with the aid of partner Fitz, Caine sets up a wager with Gillon, that a washed-up has-been fighter can knock out ten straight opponents in the space of 24 hours. Now all that is left to do is to convince `Honey` Roy Palmer to step into the ring. But the con artiste hasn`t reckoned on just how ruthless Gillon is when it comes to money.

Video

The picture is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic ratio. It`s perfectly acceptable, clear enough with a hint of grain. For a single layer disc with five soundtracks, it`s also remarkably clear of digital artefacts, which I suppose can be put down to the 93 minute running time

Audio

As I mentioned, it`s your standard MGM back cataloguer, with DD 2.0 Soundtracks in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The dialogue is clear throughout.

Features

MGM`s policy on back catalogue releases once again means this disc is bare to say the least. No chapter selection screen, no trailer, merely the static menu screen with the same four icons as every other recent MGM back catalogue release. Plenty of subtitles.

Conclusion

I certainly didn`t have high expectations when it came to this disc, the film definitely passed me by the first time round, but I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a classic con, just like in many such films that have come before, and like them all, it depends on the mark being a thoroughly detestable chap to work. But it differs in that the style of the film is far from slick and sharp, it`s not about quick thinking or sleight of hand, indeed the story eschews any such plot contrivance in favour of exploiting the sheer avarice of Gillon. Also since the con involves boxing, there`s no place for finesse here, and ultimately the execution is quite fittingly brutal.

The film is decidedly low budget and simply made, but benefits from a good script and a stellar cast. I`ve seen a couple of James Woods films recently that didn`t quite work. Whether from ill judged performances or miscasting is uncertain, but here he is perfectly cast as Gabriel Caine, a slick, fast talking hustler. Playing opposite him is Louis Gosset Jr as the aging boxer `Honey` Roy Palmer. He plays the boxer with a sympathy and depth of soul that contrasts well with Caine, and the scenes with the two of them are excellent. It`s also an inspired bit of casting to have Bruce Dern as the greedy and cold-blooded John Gillon, an archetypal Hollywood bad guy if ever there was one. Oliver Platt provides good support as Gabe`s partner Fitz, and there is an early appearance from Heather Graham as Emily Forrester, the sister of a fellow convict. It`s a role that is a little skimpy, but as the film is set in the Deep South, so is the outfit.

The film is a little patchy, it starts off quite light hearted and played for laughs, and indeed there is an imaginative fart gag that`s worth waiting for. However, the story does take a sinister turn that is a little unexpected given the initially frivolous nature of the script. It does serve to provide motivation for the characters, but then the light-heartedness begins to creep back in, and the dénouement seems out of place given the occurrences 30 minutes prior. There are a few plot holes that could do with patching and the fight sequences come straight from the Rocky School of boxing. Still, the dialogue is sharp and watching the hustle unfold is a joy, leading up to a sweet pay-off.

The Midnight Sting is an underrated little film that certainly deserves a little attention. It`s definitely worth a rent.