Absence of Malice (1981)

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writer:

Kurt Luedtke (writer)

Release Date:

18 December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Suppose you picked up this morning's newspaper and your life was a front page headline... And everything they said was accurate... But none of it was true.

Plot:

Paul Newman plays the son of a long dead Mafia boss who is a simple liquor warehouse owner. Frustrated...

Plot Keywords:

Blouse Ripping | Newspaper | Boat | Ethics | Mafia

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Michael Colin Gallagher
Sally Field	...	Megan Carter
Bob Balaban	...	Elliott Rosen
Melinda Dillon	...	Teresa Perrone
Luther Adler	...	Uncle Santos Malderone
Barry Primus	...	Bob Waddell
Josef Sommer	...	McAdam
John Harkins	...	Davidek
Don Hood	...	Dist. Atty. James A. Quinn
Wilford Brimley	...	Asst. U.S. Atty. Gen. James A. Wells
Arnie Ross	...	FBI Agent Eddie Frost
Anna Marie Napoles	...	Nickie
Shelley Spurlock	...	Sarah Wylie
Shawn McAllister	...	Santos Hood 1
Joe Petrullo	...	Santos Hood 2

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #26332) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | West Germany:12 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Paul Newman and director Sydney Pollack were both gourmet chefs and had a running culinary competition throughout filming with Sally Field as the judge. Though a good sport at first, Sally grew tired of eating gourmet night after night, and began begging off her judging duties in favor of hamburgers and omelettes at local diners.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Megan sends Gallagher a copy of the front page of the next morning's daily newspaper at least 12 hours before the edition even went to print. In reality, the front page is never laid out until the last minute before deadline to insure the most current news.

Quotes:

James A. Wells, Assistant U.S. Attorney General: We can't have people go around leaking stuff for their own reasons. It ain't legal. And worse than that, by God it ain't right.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Newhart: Presence of Malice (#6.15)" (1988)

Compelling

There's really no other word for it. I find the whole of this movie compelling, from Sally Fields' naivete to Paul Newman's innocent who turns the tables on his prosecutors, to the various supporting characters who all have their little niche. The best of all is Wilford Brimley, who gets to chew scenery and totally steal the scene he's in. It's an intelligent drama, addressing a subject as relevant today as it was in '81, with just enough humor to leaven the whole thing.