Midnight Express
Midnight Express is a 1978 prison drama film directed by Alan Parker and adapted by Oliver Stone from Billy Hayes's 1977 memoir of the same name. The film centers on Hayes (played by Brad Davis), a young American student, who is sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of the country. The film's title is prison slang for his escape attempt. The cast also features Irene Miracle, John Hurt, Bo Hopkins, Paul L. Smith and Randy Quaid.
Plot
On vacation in Istanbul, Turkey, on 6 October 1970, American college student Billy Hayes straps of hashish bricks to his chest. As he and his girlfriend Susan are about to board a plane back to the US, Billy is frisked by soldiers (who are on high alert for terrorist attacks) who discover the drug. Billy is then arrested by the police and strip-searched.