Mulholland Falls (1996)

Director:

Lee Tamahori

Writers (WGA):

Peter Dexter (story) and
Floyd Mutrux (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 April 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

This isn't America, this is Los Angeles

Plot:

In 1950's Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.

Plot Keywords:

Police | 1950s | FBI | Murder | Investigation

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Nick Nolte	...	Max Hoover
Melanie Griffith	...	Katherine Hoover
Chazz Palminteri	...	Elleroy Coolidge
Michael Madsen	...	Eddie Hall
Chris Penn	...	Arthur Relyea
Treat Williams	...	Colonel Nathan Fitzgerald
Jennifer Connelly	...	Allison Pond
Daniel Baldwin	...	McCafferty
Andrew McCarthy	...	Jimmy Fields
John Malkovich	...	General Thomas Timms
Kyle Chandler	...	Captain
Ed Lauter	...	Earl
Larry Garrison	...	Perino's Maitre d'
Chelsea Harrington	...	Lolita
Johnna Johnson	...	Bar Woman
Rick Johnson	...	Staff Car Sergeant
Britt Burr	...	Staff Car Driver
Melinda Clarke	...	Cigarette Girl
Ernie Lively	...	Foreman
Richard Sylbert	...	Coroner
Michael Krawic	...	Assistant Coroner
Titus Welliver	...	Kenny Kamins
Robert Peters	...	Cop #1
William M. Thigpen	...	Priest (as Father William M. Thigpen)
Drew Pillsbury	...	Chief's Assistant
Brad Hunt	...	Guard
Aaron Neville	...	Nite Spot Singer
Buddy Joe Hooker	...	DC-3 Pilot
Eddie Caicedo	...	Gasping Patient
Price Carson	...	Honor Guard
Azalea Davila	...	Perino's Girl
Suzanne Solari	...	Perino's Girl (as Sky Solari)
Alisa Christensen	...	Spaghetti Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bruce Dern	...	The Chief (uncredited)
Louise Fletcher	...	Esther (uncredited)
Khris Kaneff	...	Construction Worker (uncredited)
Sharmagne Leland-St. John	...	Woman in Night Club (uncredited)
Rob Lowe	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Johnny Martin	...	Mafia Hitman (uncredited)
William Petersen	...	Jack Flynn, Mafia Mobster (uncredited)
Randall Rutledge	...	Detective (uncredited)
Christopher Warner	...	Bartender (uncredited)

Directed by
Lee Tamahori

Writing credits (WGA)
Peter Dexter		(story) (as Pete Dexter) and
Floyd Mutrux		(story)
Peter Dexter		(screenplay) (as Pete Dexter)

Produced by
Mario Iscovich	....	executive producer
Lili Fini Zanuck	....	producer
Richard D. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Dave Grusin

Cinematography by
Haskell Wexler

Film Editing by
Sally Menke

Casting by
Joseph Middleton
Shari Rhodes

Production Design by
Richard Sylbert

Art Direction by
Gregory Bolton		(as Gregory William Bolton)

Set Decoration by
Claire Jenora Bowin

Costume Design by
Ellen Mirojnick

Makeup Department
Naomi Donne	....	makeup artist: Melanie Griffith
Carolyn Elias	....	hair stylist
Bill Fletcher	....	wig maker: Allison
Susan Germaine	....	hair designer
Michael Hancock	....	key makeup artist (as Mike Hancock)
John E. Jackson	....	special makeup effects
Robert Kushner	....	other wig maker: Ira Senz, Inc.
Michael McCracken	....	special makeup effects lab work
Peter Montagna	....	makeup artist: Chazz Palminteri
Matthew W. Mungle	....	special makeup effects
Peter Owen	....	other wig maker
Robert Ryan	....	makeup artist: Nick Nolte
Gina Rylander	....	body makeup
David Selvadurai	....	special makeup effects lab work
Joy Zapata	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Jill Rene Gilbert	....	post-production supervisor (as Jill René Gilbert)
Margaret Hilliard	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James W. Gavin	....	second unit director: aerial unit
Nancy King	....	second assistant director: aerial second unit
Larry Powell	....	first assistant director: aerial second unit
Ellen H. Schwartz	....	first assistant director
Eric Tignini	....	second second assistant director
David H. Venghaus Jr.	....	second assistant director (as David Venghaus)

Art Department
Renee Lee Alito	....	construction estimator
Richard Berger	....	set designer
Robert Bleckman	....	set dresser
Jeff Brown	....	greens person
Frank Calvert	....	set dresser
Gary Clark	....	paint foreman (as Gary A. Clark)
Tim Donelan	....	set dresser (as Timothy Lee Donelan)
Roger Irvin	....	construction coordinator (as Roger L. Irvin)
Sharmagne Leland-St. John	....	assistant: Richard Sylbert (as Sharmagne Sylbert)
Tony Leonardi	....	stand-by painter (as A.J. Leonardi)
C.J. Maguire	....	property master
Rudy Reachi	....	assistant property master
Wendy Riva	....	assistant art director
Hugo Santiago	....	set designer
Shana Sigmond	....	set dressing assistant
Gayle Simon	....	art department coordinator
Michelle Souza	....	assistant props
Bennett L. Sperber	....	construction foreman
Mark Sylbert	....	assistant art director
William Kemper Wright	....	lead man (as William K. Wright)
Ron Frazier	....	propmaker foreman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Beth Bergeron	....	adr editor
Paul Berolzheimer	....	sound effects editor
Rick Canelli	....	adr recordist
Michael C. Casper	....	additional sound re-recording mixer (as Michael Casper)
Anna R. Delanzo	....	cable person (as Anna DeLanzo)
Judee Flick	....	supervising adr editor
Stephen Hunter Flick	....	supervising sound editor (as Steven Hunter Flick)
Rick Freeman	....	supervising dialogue editor
Baylis Glascock	....	sound assistant
Marilyn Graf	....	foley mixer
Dana Gustafson	....	sound assistant
Michael Herbick	....	sound re-recording mixer
Hilda Hodges	....	foley artist
William Jacobs	....	foley editor
Mary Jo Lang	....	foley mixer
Mark Lewer	....	stereo sound consultant: DTS
Robert J. Litt	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Harrison D. Marsh	....	boom operator (as Harrison Duke Marsh)
Charles Maynes	....	sound effects editor
Kathleen McCart	....	sound recordist
Bob McNabb	....	dialogue editor (as Robert McNabb)
Donald O. Mitchell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Frank A. Montaño	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Frank A. Montano)
Thomas J. O'Connell	....	adr mixer
Gary Ritchie	....	sound recordist
John Roesch	....	foley artist (as John B. Roesch)
Greg P. Russell	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Solange S. Schwalbe	....	supervising foley editor
Charles Ewing Smith	....	dialogue editor
Carolyn Tapp	....	foley recordist
Elliot Tyson	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Marvin Walowitz	....	dialogue editor
James E. Webb	....	production sound recordist (as James E. Webb Jr.)
Linda Yeaney	....	first sound assistant
Donald C. Rogers	....	technical director of sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Donald T. Black	....	special effects crew
Gary L. King	....	special effects crew
Thomas Love	....	special effects crew (as Thomas W. Love)
Samuel E. Price	....	special effects foreman
Thomas R. Ward	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Blondel Aidoo	....	digital effects producer: D.Rez Hollywood
Enid Dalkoff	....	digital artist: D.Rez Hollywood
Russell Frazier	....	digital artist: D.Rez Hollywood
Dan Hamilton	....	film scanning and recording: D.Rez Hollywood
TJ Morgan	....	supervising digital artist: D.Rez Hollywood (as T.J. Morgan)
Steve Rundell	....	visual effects designer
Steve Rundell	....	visual effects supervisor
Robert Scifo	....	3D digital artist: D.Rez Hollywood (as Bob Scifo)
Marc Scott	....	digital artist: D.Rez Hollywood
Janice Tso	....	digital artist: D.Rez Hollywood

Stunts
Pete Antico	....	stunts
Bobby Bass	....	stunts
Mark Borghorst	....	stunt pilot
Jeff Brockton	....	stunts
Troy Brown	....	stunts
William H. Burton Jr.	....	stunts (as William H. 'Billy' Burton Jr.)
John Cenatiempo	....	stunts (as Johnny C.)
Clarke Coleman	....	stunts
Jeffrey J. Dashnaw	....	stunts (as Jeff Dashnaw)
Steve M. Davison	....	stunts (as Steve Davison)
Gary Douris	....	stunt pilot (as Gary D. Douris)
Dick 'Skip' Evans	....	stunt pilot
Cliff Fleming	....	stunt pilot
Thomas H. Friedkin	....	stunt pilot (as Thomas Friedkin)
James W. Gavin	....	stunt pilot
Clifford Happy	....	stunts
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunt coordinator
Steve Hulin	....	stunts
Keii Johnston	....	stunts
Gary Littlejohn	....	stunts
Neil Looy	....	stunt pilot (as Neil M. Looy)
Johnny Martin	....	stunts (as Johnny M. Martin)
Don McGovern	....	stunts (as Don Charles McGovern)
Jimmy Nickerson	....	stunts
Ralph W. Odum	....	stunts (as Ralph Odum)
Shane K. Odum	....	stunts (as Shane Keith Odum)
Michael Papajohn	....	stunts
Steve Picerni	....	stunts
Don Pulford	....	stunts
Chad Randall	....	stunts
Pat Romano	....	stunts (as Patrick Romano)
R.A. Rondell	....	stunts
Steve Santosusso	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Mark 'Boylee' Boyle	....	camera loader (as Boylee)
Colin J. Campbell	....	chief lighting technician (as Colin Campbell)
Scott Crabbe	....	video assist operator
Don Duffield III	....	second assistant camera (as Don 'Jr.' Duffield III)
Sam Emerson	....	still photographer (as Sam Young Emerson)
Robert Garcia	....	grip
Frank M. Holgate	....	director of photography: aerial second unit (as Frank Holgate)
Jimmy E. Jensen	....	first assistant camera
Gerald A. King	....	key rigging grip
Brett Mabry	....	electrician (as Brett A. Mabry)
Jerome L. Posner	....	electrician
Clive Richards	....	electrician
P. Scott Sakamoto	....	camera operator
Frank Scheidbach	....	assistant lighting technician
Mike Schwake	....	dolly grip (as Michael Schwake)
Don Selsor	....	second company grip (as Donald L. Selsor)
Kurt E. Soderling	....	aerial camera operator: aerial second unit (as Kurt Soderling)
Daniel L. Turrett	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Danny Williams	....	grip
Rex Allan Worthy	....	grip
Bill Young	....	key grip (as William C. Young)
Mark W. Hindle	....	video playback operator (uncredited)
Debb Lee Phillips	....	rigging electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Lesa Lotito	....	casting associate
Christine Rhodes	....	casting assistant
Cate Praggastis	....	location casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ann Culotta	....	costumer
Kendall Errair	....	costumer
Gilbert S. Hernandez	....	costumer
Deborah Hopper	....	costume supervisor
Joe McCloskey	....	costumer
Anthony J. Scarano	....	key costumer (as Anthony Scarano)
Cheryl Scarano	....	costumer (as Cheryl P. Scarano)
Peggy A. Schnitzer	....	costumer
D. Barak Stribling	....	wardrobe provider: selected pieces of "Allison's" wardrobe (as Barck Stebling)
Larry Velasco	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Andrew Dickler	....	assistant editor
Phil Hetos	....	color timer
Stephanie Johnson	....	apprentice editor
Katie Mack	....	assistant editor
Ray Neapolitan	....	assistant editor
Theresa Repola Mohammed	....	negative cutter
Tatiana S. Riegel	....	first assistant editor
Kathy Thomson	....	telecine colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Scott Grusin	....	music editor
Frank Macchia	....	music preparation
Shawn Murphy	....	music scoring mixer
John Joseph Thomas	....	music editor
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist (uncredited)
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)
Dave Grusin	....	conductor (uncredited)
Dave Grusin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Dave Freed	....	transportation assistant (as David A. Freed)
Robert K. Johnson	....	transportation captain
Kenny Searle	....	transportation coordinator
Steve Boyd	....	transportation coordinator: second unit (uncredited)

Other crew
Joene Acord	....	assistant accountant
Maria Arago	....	assistant: Mr. Palminteri
Dale Becker	....	production office assistant
Brenda Berrisford	....	assistant: Mr. Zanuck
Dave Brown	....	hat maker
Kerry Campos	....	assistant: Ms. Griffith
Donna Cline	....	medical technical advisor
Steve Cowie	....	set production assistant
Lorrie Cross	....	payroll accountant
Darragh Croyle	....	assistant: Mr. Tamahori
Bob Dambacher	....	coroner technical advisor
Alicia Delfoss	....	first aid: construction department
Cheryl Fong	....	assistant production coordinator (as Cheryl Li Fong)
Miranda Garrison	....	choreographer
Dylan Goss	....	aerial assistant: aerial second unit (as Dylan Gross)
Stuart Grusin	....	assistant: Mr. Grusin
Tommy Harper	....	set production assistant (as Thomas Harper)
Tom Hoeck	....	first aid
James G. Holmes Jr.	....	technical advisor: military
Michael G. Kehoe	....	craft service: Utah/Los Angeles (as Michael Kehoe)
Kimberly D. Lane	....	set production assistant
John M. Marcello	....	technical consultant
James McCabe	....	location manager (as James M. McCabe)
Karen McKinnon	....	assistant: Ms. Zanuck
Judd Nissen	....	production secretary
Anthony Optican	....	set production assistant
Jennifer Owensby	....	assistant: Mr. Madsen
Gilbert O. Parra	....	technical consultant (as Gilbert Parra)
Dan Perri	....	title designer
Julie Pitkanen	....	script supervisor
William Reed	....	police technical advisor (as Chief William Reed)
Steve Sass	....	aerial assistant: aerial second unit
Greg Shapiro	....	assistant: Nick Nolte
Spooky Stevens	....	unit publicist
Lisa W. Strout	....	assistant location manager
Marilyn Tasso	....	accountant
Bill Tyler	....	set production assistant
Joe Wilson	....	production office assistant
Dean Zanuck	....	production office assistant
Angeline Renee Cook	....	lead stand-in (uncredited)
Bill Davis	....	weapons handler (uncredited)
Paul Harrison	....	key assistant location manager (uncredited)
Alecia LaRue	....	production coordinator (uncredited)
Ed Lipscomb	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)
Raul Moreno	....	police advisor (uncredited)
Tonya Richardson	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Lee Steadman	....	location scout: Utah (uncredited)
Brad Wilson	....	craft service: second man (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Largo Entertainment
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Polygram Filmed Entertainment
• Zanuck Company, The

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1996) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan for MGM/UA Home Entertainment)
• Finnkino (1998) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Líder Films (1998) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Gativideo (1998) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (1998) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1999) (Finland) (TV) (2000) (TV2)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Nelonen (2003) (Finland) (TV)
• Top Tape (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Spectra Nova (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (????) (UK) (theatrical)
• Sogepaq Distribución (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Nea Kinisi Video (1998) (Greece) (VHS)
• Top Tape (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Video Quattro (1998) (Greece) (video)

Other Companies

• Bill Dance Casting  extras casting
• Edel American Music  soundtrack
• Inter Video  24 frame video services
• Pacific Studios Inc.  chromatrans background

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, violence and language

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Largo Entertainment

Trivia:

Cameo: [Rob Lowe]Hoodlum.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Hoover and his men are caught trespassing by Colonel Fitzgerald and the MP's, there is an offstage ADR line heard as one of the men speak on the radio, "Sierra, Tango, Zero, One." "Sierra, Tango" is the phonetic alphabet representing the letters "S" and "T". However, this is the current phonetic alphabet which became effective in 1957. The ADR line should have read, "Sugar, Tare, Zero, One" to be authentic to the period.

Quotes:

General Timms:A hundred die so that a thousand may live.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Open Water (2003)

Soundtrack:

Mr. Anthony's Boogie

Rambles off in strange direction...

Decent enough movie, with decent performances. Nolte is very good as the leader of an elite, slightly secret police squad dedicated to battling organized crime in 1940's Los Angeles. If the movie had developed something along this line, this may very well have been a terrific movie. This may have allowed the terrific actors who made up Nolte's squad to be developed better (played by Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Chazz Palmintieri).

However, this movie inexplicably goes off into a plot of murder, sexual intrigue, politics, corruption, military cover-up and the Atomic Energy Commission! What!? The movie seemed to meander so much, and the plot reached a point of ridiculousness. It's unfortunate because this had real possibilities, and Nolte was just superb. There are brief scenes in which we see the squad do what they do best - deal with gangsters trying to gain a foothold in L.A. The look and atmosphere were right on, and there was certainly a solid cast on hand to make this work. Unfortunately, the ridiculous plot made this difficult to accept.

At one point in the film, a military officer sends Nolte's wife a film of Nolte making love to another woman, as a way of blackmailing him. Nolte comes home to see his unsuspecting wife watching this film of him with another woman. The stunned humiliation is played out very well by Nolte and Melanie Griffith. You can see and feel the revulsion that Nolte's character feels, as he tries to answer for what is playing out on the film screen.

Brief pieces of good acting and atmosphere, ruined by a plot with too much stuffed into it. It just reached too far...for what?