20 Things You Didn’t Know About Midnight Express
10. Malta
Due to Hayes’ escape, as well as other political incidents occurring in the region by the end of the 1970s, Turkish officials wanted no part in the filming of Midnight Express. They couldn’t justify assisting in the theatrical portrayal of a known fugitive.
Not only that but after Turkish officials read the script for the movie, they feared that the country’s penal system was being depicted unfairly. They nixed any involvement in the movie’s production and left the film crew looking for somewhere else to shoot.
Due to its similar architecture and humid climate, Malta was used as a stand-in for Turkey in the final product. The notorious Sagmalcilar Prison scenes were actually shot in Fort St Elmo, a former British army barracks. The dilapidated barracks worked as a fantastic substitute for a rough and ready prison.
In 2008, The World Monuments Fund listed the fort as one of the world’s most endangered sites due to its deterioration. It received a full restoration by 2015 and is now almost unrecognisable from its barbaric depiction in Midnight Express.