The Other Side of Midnight 1977

In France just before the outbreak of World War II, young Noelle Page Marie-France Pisier falls in love with Larry Douglas John Beck, an American pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force stationed in France. The couple share a torrid romance that ends abruptly when Larry receives orders to return to the United States. He promises to come back for Noelle and marry her, a pledge that sets the course for the tragedy that follows.

Months later, Noelle discovers she is pregnant, and she undergoes a harrowing abortion. The experience hardens her, and she vows revenge, transforming herself into a strategist who uses men as stepping stones to wealth and influence. She begins to slip into the world of power by seducing her way into a career as a famous European actress, then arranges to be the mistress of one of the world’s wealthiest men, Greek tycoon Constantin Demeris Raf Vallone, whom she does not love.

Meanwhile, Larry has met and married Catherine Alexander Douglas Susan Sarandon, a sweet and trusting young woman from Chicago. Larry meets her in Hollywood, where she has gone to produce a film promoting military enlistment. He is now a United States Army Air Forces fighter pilot, and he uses some of the same lines he once used with Noelle to win Catherine’s trust.

After the war, Larry is employed by various civilian airlines. Noelle hires a detective to keep tabs on him, then sabotages any job Larry is able to find. Larry is in no position to refuse a job offer to come to Greece and be a private pilot, unaware that it is Noelle who is hiring him.

Larry initially fails to recognize her. Noelle treats him rudely until Larry is not sure how much more he can take. When he is positive it is her, he bursts into Noelle’s hotel suite, where they rekindle their romance. Larry claims he will keep his long-ago promise and stay with her, but when his wife refuses a divorce, Larry and Noelle begin to plot Catherine’s murder.

They carry out their plan, but things go wrong. Larry and Noelle ultimately are convicted of murder by a Greek court, which is under the influence of Constantin Demeris. They are executed by a firing squad. Catherine has miraculously survived. Suffering from shock, she ends up living in a convent, under the patronage of Demeris.