Half Moon Street (1986)

Dr. Lauren Slaughter, a research fellow at the Arab-Anglo Institute in London is utterly frustrated by her job. To supplement her income, she starts moonlighting at the Jasmine Escort ... See full summary »

Director:

Bob Swaim

Writers:

Edward Behr, Bob Swaim,

Stars:

Sigourney Weaver, Michael Caine, Patrick Kavanagh

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Dr. Lauren Slaughter, a research fellow at the Arab-Anglo Institute in London is utterly frustrated by her job. To supplement her income, she starts moonlighting at the Jasmine Escort Service, where she has more control over men and money than she does at the office. On one of her 'dates', Lauren meets the politician Lord Bulbeck who is trying to mediate a peace accord between the Arabs and Israelis. Bulbeck falls in love with his escort, and unwittingly, Lauren becomes a pawn in some very dirty politics.

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Plot Keywords:

escort | escort service | arab | car bomb | intrigue | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Thriller | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Diplomás örömlány

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Gross:

$1,131,399 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

When the would-be assassin enters the bathroom he attempts to switch on the light using a 4-gang wall-switch. It is illegal (in the UK) to have such switches inside a bathroom. If wall-switches are used, they must be outside. The alternative is to use cord-operated ceiling-switches.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Features Beat the Devil (1953)

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Soundtracks

"East 34th Street"
Music by Dick Walter
KPM Music Ltd

User Reviews

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.