Half Moon Street (1986)

Director:

Bob Swaim

Writers:

Edward Behr (writer)
Bob Swaim (writer)

Release Date:

26 September 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Dr. Lauren Slaughter, professor, emissary, hooker, target.

Plot:

Dr. Lauren Slaughter, a research fellow at the Arab-Anglo Institute in London is utterly frustrated by her job...

Plot Keywords:

Escort | Arab | Escort Service | Graduate Student | Female Nudity

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sigourney Weaver	...	Dr. Lauren Slaughter
Michael Caine	...	Lord Sam Bulbeck
Patrick Kavanagh	...	General Sir George Newhouse
Faith Kent	...	Lady Newhouse
Ram John Holder	...	Lindsay Walker
Keith Buckley	...	Hugo Van Arkady
Ann Hanson	...	Mrs. Van Arkady
Patrick Newman	...	Julian Shuttle
Niall O'Brien	...	Captain Twilley
Nadim Sawalha	...	Karim Hatami
Vincent Lindon	...	Sonny
Muriel Villiers	...	Madame Cybele
Michael Elwyn	...	Tom Haldane
Ninka Scott	...	Mrs. Haldane
Jasper Jacob	...	Rex Lanham

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Canada:R (Ontario) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

High Canons, Buckettsland Lane, Well End, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

RKO Pictures

Trivia:

When Dr Slaughter (Sigourney Weaver) walks to the answering machine, there is a photo next to the phone, which shows Weaver and her real-life father Pat Weaver.

Quotes:

Dr. Lauren Slaughter: Am I supposed to say "Your place or mine?"
Karim Hatami: No. These days, you say "Betamax or VHS?"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: 65 Million Years Off (#2.2)" (2007)

Not as Originally Planned

The original story, a novella by Paul Theroux, was turned into a screenplay, also by Theroux (he wrote several). It was terrific. You couldn't put it down. It was a highly-atmospheric work with complex characters. We struggled to find the right director, who could give it the right kind of film noir look at which Theroux was clearly aiming. We ran into early problems when few actors we approached for the female lead were willing to play this kind of a role. The nudity was not an issue; they just didn't "identify" with Dr. Slaughter.

Signing Sigourney Weaver was a blessing but also a problem since she's taller than most leading men but fortunately, so is Michael Caine. We got lucky in that combination. We had long conferences with the director, who seemed to understand exactly what Theroux's concept was all about.

During shooting in London, the RKO team (in New York and Los Angeles; our post-production group was based in London) kept asking the head of production how things were going, how the dailies looked, etc. He told us they were on time and under budget, which was true.

When the film was finished, I went to London with the President of RKO Pictures to look at an assemble edit. It was almost unwatchable. I began to wonder if there was a good way to edit around the female lead. But it wasn't really her fault. Who could possibly undress Sigourney Weaver and make her look unsexy? That took a special kind of talent. We walked out of the screening room into the daylight of Dolphin Square and contemplated the end of our careers.

Fortunately we were able to make other pictures and have the time to spend the rest of our lives wondering exactly how to apologize for this one.