Fails the Bechdel test
Midnight Run
1988. Directed by Martin Brest, written by George Gallo.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
8 women characters. 3 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
Bounty hunter Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) is sent to find and return bail jumper and former Mafia accountant, Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas (Charles Grodin). The FBI has had no success in locating The Duke, so when Jack finds him in next to no time, they are a little embarrassed. In order to collect his $100,000 fee, Jack must take The Duke from New York to Los Angeles. However, the Mafia and the FBI have other ideas, as does Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton), a rival bounty hunter. On their long cross-country trip to LA, the two get to know each other and they build up a strange friendship.
- Released
- 20 Jul 1988
- Genres
- Action, Comedy, Crime
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 78 / 100
- Awards
- 2 wins & 5 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Walsh 309 lines, man
- The Duke 130 lines, man
- Nardone 55 lines, man
- Mosely 38 lines, man
- Tony 34 lines, man
- Dorfler 31 lines, man
- Florio 19 lines, man
- Joey 14 lines, man
- Jerry 13 lines, man
- Oorfler 13 lines, man
Full cast, 61 people
- Robert De Niro as John Wesley “Jack” Walsh
- Charles Grodin as Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
- Yaphet Kotto as Alonzo Mosely, Special Agent, F.B.I.
- John Ashton as Marvin Dorfler, Headhunter
- Dennis Farina as Jimmy Serrano, Chicago mobster
- Joe Pantoliano as Eddie Moscone, Bail Bonder
- Richard Foronjy as Tony Darvo, Serrano's henchman
- Robert Miranda as Joey, Serrano's henchman
- Jack Kehoe as Jerry Geisler, Tony's secretary
- Wendy Phillips as Gail, Jack's ex-wife
- Philip Baker Hall as Sidney, Chicago mobster
- Tom Irwin as F.B.I. Agent Perry
- Jimmie Ray Weeks as F.B.I. Agent Tuttle
- Danielle DuClos as Denise Walsh, Jack's daughter
- Tom McCleister as Red Wood, Bar Tender
- Mary Gillis as Bus Ticket Clerk
- John Toles-Bey as Monroe Bouchet
- Thomas J. Hageboeck as Sergeant Gooch
- Stanley White as Stanley
- Scott McAfee as Boy on Plane
- Linda Cerasuolo as Car Rental Clerk
- Lois Smith as Mrs. Nelson, Mardukas's Friend
- Fran Brill as Dana Mardukas, Jonathan's Wife
- Michael Hawkins as FBI Surveillance Agent #1
- John Hammil as FBI Surveillance Agent #2
- Lou Felder as Airline Pilot
- Cameron Milzer as Stewardess #1
- Sonia M. Roberts as Stewardess #2
- Sam Sanders as Train Porter
- Frank Pesce as Carmine
- Paul Joseph McKenna as Ohio Policeman
- Matt Jennings as Jason
- Rosemarie Murphy as Coffee Shop Waitress
- Jack N. Young as Amarillo Desk Sergeant
- Robert Coleman as Native American
- William Robbins as Native American
- Wilfred Netsosie as Native American
- Sherman L. Robbins as Native American
- Dale Beard Jr. as Native American
- Thomas Nez as Native American
- Richard Gonzalez as Bar Cashier
- Bill Fritz as Bar Customer
- Pete Jensen as Flagstaff Police Captain
- Andy Charnoki as Flagstaff Sheriff
- Tracey Walter as Diner Counter Man
- Robert Vento as Serrano Bodyguard
- Joe "Tippy" Zeoli as Serrano Bodyguard
- James Portese as Serrano Bodyguard
- Armando Muniz as Serrano Bodyguard
- Dan York as Las Vegas FBI Agent #1
- Rowdy Burdick as Las Vegas FBI Agent #2
- Varnoy Lee as Airport Porter
- Bob Maroff as L.A. Taxi Driver
- Martin Brest as Airline Ticket Clerk (uncredited)
- Lisa Burnett as Undercover Cop (uncredited)
- George D. Miklos as Airport Manager (uncredited)
- Robert Minkoff as Man (uncredited)
- Marguerite Nocera as Ticket Clerk (uncredited)
- Terry Ray as Deplaning Passenger (uncredited)
- Jock L. Schloss as Man (uncredited)
- D. Danny Warhol as Station Commuter (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 13% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 200
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 to 10 | 0 | 14 |
| 11 to 15 | 0 | 24 |
| 16 to 20 | 0 | 50 |
| 21 to 25 | 0 | 33 |
| 26 to 30 | 2 | 8 |
| 31 to 35 | 2 | 11 |
| 36 to 40 | 0 | 44 |
| 41 to 45 | 4 | 25 |
| 46 to 50 | 0 | 6 |
| 51 to 55 | 0 | 51 |
| 56 to 60 | 0 | 11 |
| 61 to 65 | 0 | 7 |
| 66 to 70 | 0 | 10 |
| 71 to 75 | 0 | 11 |
| 76 to 80 | 0 | 8 |
| 81 to 85 | 0 | 14 |
| 86 to 90 | 14 | 28 |
| 91 to 95 | 0 | 5 |
| 96 to 100 | 0 | 14 |
| 101 to 105 | 1 | 14 |
| 106 to 110 | 0 | 20 |
| 111 to 115 | 0 | 3 |
| 116 to 120 | 0 | 10 |
| 121 to 125 | 0 | 19 |
| 126 to 130 | 0 | 26 |
| 131 to 135 | 0 | 39 |
| 136 to 140 | 0 | 3 |
| 141 to 145 | 0 | 20 |
| 146 to 150 | 0 | 32 |
| 151 to 155 | 0 | 2 |
| 156 to 160 | 0 | 0 |
| 161 to 165 | 0 | 1 |
| 166 to 170 | 0 | 0 |
| 171 to 175 | 0 | 0 |
| 176 to 180 | 0 | 3 |
| 181 to 185 | 0 | 14 |
| 186 to 190 | 0 | 35 |
| 191 to 195 | 0 | 22 |
| 196 to 200 | 0 | 58 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 3 are women's.
23 lines from women, 695 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
8 women and 44 men in the cast. 3 women and 18 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 133 of 824.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 357 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 3% of the words (257), men 97% (9,093).
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
55
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 8% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Martin Brest (man)
- Written by
- George Gallo (man)
- Produced by
- Martin Brest (man)
- Shot by
- Donald E. Thorin (man)
- Edited by
- Chris Lebenzon (man), Michael Tronick (man), Billy Weber (man)
- Music by
- Danny Elfman (man)
- Production design by
- Angelo P. Graham (man)
- Costumes by
- Gloria Gresham (woman)
- Cast by
- Bonnie Timmermann (woman), Michael Chinich (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
0 women, 33 men, 13 not listed
-
Sound
3 women, 15 men, 8 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 10 men, 12 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 14 men, 9 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 5 men, 5 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 7 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 36 on average. Men: 45 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Wendy Phillips 36
Men
Joe Pantoliano 36, Robert Miranda 36, John Ashton 40, Robert De Niro 44, Dennis Farina 44, Yaphet Kotto 48, Richard Foronjy 50, Charles Grodin 53, Jack Kehoe 53
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.3 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $30 million
- Box office
- $38.4 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 200 scenes and 824 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
