Murphy's Romance (1985)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Max Schott (story)
Harriet Frank Jr. (writer) ...

Release Date:

31 January 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Just when you think you've found the right guy, someone even worse comes along.

Plot:

Emma is a divorced woman with a teen aged boy who moves into a small town and tries to make a go of a horse ranch...

Plot Keywords:

Ex Husband | Horse Ranch | Small Town | Horse | Drugstore

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Sally Field	...	Emma Moriarty
James Garner	...	Murphy Jones
Brian Kerwin	...	Bobby Jack Moriarty
Corey Haim	...	Jake Moriarty
Dennis Burkley	...	Freeman Coverly
Georgann Johnson	...	Margaret
Dortha Duckworth	...	Bessie
Michael Prokopuk	...	Albert
Billy Ray Sharkey	...	Larry Le Beau
Michael Crabtree	...	Jim Forrest
Anna Levine	...	Wanda
Charles Lane	...	Amos Abbott
Bruce French	...	Rex Boyd
John C. Becher	...	Jesse Parker
Henry Slate	...	Fred Hite

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Florence, Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The bar set was auctioned off after filming was done. It was part of the namesake for and actual bar of a German restaurant called "Haus Murphy" in Glendale, Arizona, until the restaurant moved to a new location down the street in late 2004. The bar wouldn't fit through the door of the new location and was sold to a private collector.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Any experienced Bingo player knows that it would NOT have taken that many numbers for Emma to get a Bingo in the N's. Sally Field's character won the biggest jackpot of the night - normally, a special game (for example, forming the letter T) would have been played in order for her to win so much money.

Quotes:

Murphy: I'm sixty.

Movie Connections:

Features Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

Soundtrack:

HUNGRY HOWLING AT THE MOON

A really good movie!

I love this movie. I have watched it numerous times, and I still love it! It is one of those "feel good" movies that we seldom see anymore. No violence, no sex, no "strong language", etc. Just a strong woman, and a strong man, gradually falling in love. No negatives at all. If you want to watch a pleasant movie, and go to bed feeling happy, watch this. James Garner and Sally Field both play very non-Hollywood types, and we love them all the more for it. (Watch for the scene where they are dancing - it is hysterical!)