20 Things You Didn’t Know About Midnight Express

During the movie, Billy begins a friendship with fellow convicts Max, Jimmy, and Erich. The three of them show Billy the ropes and inform him of how things go down in prison. Quickly, they begin talking about the possibility of catching the Midnight Express, prison slang for a breakout.

After a failed attempt landed Jimmy in the hospital wing, the plans of any escape are quickly thwarted. Billy and Erich begin a routine of washing, yoga, and reciting the mantra, ‘prison, monastery, cloister, cave.’ During the montage, we see Erich embrace Billy in the shower, to which Hayes gently declines.

In reality, Billy Hayes had accepted the advances and had an ongoing affair with the Swedish inmate, whose real name was Arne. Initially, Hayes was reluctant, but was reassured by the Swede who said, ‘it’s only love.’

The omission of the relationship takes away the love a person can feel even in the confines of a brutal environment, which adds to the desperation of Hayes.

Furthermore, 1970s attitudes toward homosexuality were still conservative. Producer David Puttnam was fired for three days for the movie’s homoerotic scene. Fortunately, the producer returned and the shower scene made it to the final cut.