Union City (1980)

A man is so obsessed with finding the person responsible for stealing his milk bottles that he ignores his beautiful young wife, who has other ideas on her mind.

Director:

Marcus Reichert

Writers:

Cornell Woolrich (short story "The Corpse Next Door"), Marcus Reichert

Stars:

Sam McMurray, Dennis Lipscomb, Terry Walsh

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam McMurray	...	Young Vagrant
Dennis Lipscomb	...	Harlan
Terry Walsh	...	Paper Boy
Cynthia Crisp	...	Wanda
Taylor Mead	...	Walter
Charles Rydell	...	Cab Driver
Deborah Harry	...	Lillian
Sally MacLeod	...	Woman In Bar
Irina Maleeva	...	The Contessa
Terina Lewis	...	Evelyn
Everett McGill	...	Larry Longacre
Wolfgang Zilzer	...	Ludendorff (as Paul Andor)
Arthur McFarland	...	Mr. Lewis
CCH Pounder	...	Mrs. Lewis (as C.C.H. Pounder)
Asha Robinson	...	Daughter, Lewis Family

Storyline

Guilty paranoia in a gritty 1950's industrial town. An accountant, living a repressed life, becomes so obsessed with the person who is stealing his morning milk that he commits an act of irrational violence. His beautiful wife, meanwhile, is making plans of her own.

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Plot Keywords:

milk | paranoia | eccentric | anger | fear of discovery | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 1982 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Nachts in Union City

Filming Locations:

Union City, New Jersey, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cantina Blues Films, Kinesis Ltd., The Tuxedo Company Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie has been described as being a "punk rock film noir".

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Quotes

Harlan: See how I'm back at work?

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Connections

References How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

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Soundtracks

"Union City Blue"
Performed by Deborah Harry and Blondie

User Reviews

Just poorly made

This film was a desperate ode to Film-Noir. Random clichés of a poor 40's thriller were thrown together with no attempt to cover the flaws: poor dialog, misguided acting, poor editing, an amateur synthesizer soundtrack, and a one-note plot that's painfully stretched out and not believable in the first place (corpses rot and smell at room temperature). The actors were simply imitating characters they've seen in old movies. Even the costumes were used incorrectly. For example, men didn't wear their hats indoors. The camera is mostly static and many dialog scenes have jarring editing.

This is what a 40's thriller would look like if had been done by a student on a very limited budget and schedule.