Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

A middle-aged couple suspects foul play when their neighbor's wife suddenly drops dead.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writers:

Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman

Stars:

Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Jerry Adler

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Woody Allen	...	Larry Lipton
Diane Keaton	...	Carol Lipton
Jerry Adler	...	Paul House
Lynn Cohen	...	Lillian House
Ron Rifkin	...	Sy
Joy Behar	...	Marilyn
William Addy	...	Jack - the Super
John Doumanian	...	Neighbor
Sylvia Kauders	...	Neighbor
Ira Wheeler	...	EMS Doctor
Alan Alda	...	Ted
Anjelica Huston	...	Marcia Fox
Melanie Norris	...	Helen Moss
Marge Redmond	...	Mrs. Dalton
Zach Braff	...	Nick Lipton

Storyline

Larry and Carol are fairly normal New Yorkers who have sent their son off to college. They meet an elderly couple down the hall and later in the week find that the wife has suddenly died. Carol becomes suspicious of Paul who seems to be too cheerful and too ready to move on. She begins her investigation. Larry insists she is becoming too fixated on their neighbor as all of the irregularities seem to have simple non-homicidal explanations. Ted, a recently divorced friend helps her investigation and Larry begins to become jealous of their relationship and agrees to help her.

---

Plot Keywords:

neighbor | investigation | elevator | death of sister | reference to peter lorre | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language, and for elements of violence in a comic murder mystery

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mordmysteriet på Manhattan

Filming Locations:

201 West 72nd Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$11,285,588 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (Mono)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Diane Keaton became the leading actress, Woody Allen rewrote the script and center the more comic side of the couple on her, admitting Keaton is funnier.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Larry Lipton: C'mon, you promised to sit through the hockey game without being bored,
Carol Lipton: [overlapping] I know, honey, I promised.
Larry Lipton: and I'll sit through the Wagner opera with you next week.
Carol Lipton: I know.
Larry Lipton: I already bought the earplugs.
Carol Lipton: Yeah, well, with your eyesight I'm surprised you can see the puck. Wow, yay, come on.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Maniac (2011)

---

Soundtracks

"Take Five"
(1959)
Written by Paul Desmond
Performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
On Columbia Records
Courtesy of Derry Music Company

User Reviews

Great reunion with Keaton and Allen.

Manhattan Murder Mystery is a terrific Woody Allen film whit a wonderful mix of murder, mystery and comedy. With an all star fantastic cast; Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston and Jerry Adler.

The reunion of Keaton and Allen together was such a delight, the chemistry between Allen and Keaton, is truly top-notch, remind me of Annie Hall.(Diane Keatons role where actually intended for Mia Farrow, but as most of you know Woody Allen was going through his off-screen scandal at the time..). Like the most of Allens films this also have a witty dialog and excellent character development. And the murder mystery is very intelligent, fun and stylish mystery-comedy. Whit Manhattan Murder Mystery Allen also reunites with writer Marshall Brickman, they wrote Annie Hall and Manhattan together, Like those films, this one contains some very funny one-liners.

Manhattan Murder Mystery is one of Woody Allen's most wonderful movies. 9 out of 10.