Someone to Watch Over Me (1987)

A married New York cop falls for the socialite murder witness he's been assigned to protect.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writer:

Howard Franklin

Stars:

Tom Berenger, Mimi Rogers, Lorraine Bracco

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Berenger	...	Mike Keegan
Mimi Rogers	...	Claire Gregory
Lorraine Bracco	...	Ellie Keegan
Jerry Orbach	...	Lt. Garber
John Rubinstein	...	Neil Steinhart
Andreas Katsulas	...	Joey Venza
Tony DiBenedetto	...	T.J. (as Tony Di Benedetto)
James E. Moriarty	...	Koontz (as James Moriarty)
Mark Moses	...	Win Hockings
Daniel Hugh Kelly	...	Scotty
Harley Cross	...	Tommy
Joanne Baron	...	Helen Greening
Anthony Bishop	...	Waiter
David Berman	...	Cop #1
Sharon K. Brecke	...	Bimbo (as Sharon Brecke)

Storyline

In Queens, Mike Keegan is celebrating with his wife Ellie, his son Tommy and friends his recent promotion to detective in a precinct in Manhattan. Meanwhile, in a fancy club, the socialite Claire Gregory witnesses the murder of the owner of the place by the powerful mobster Joey Venza. Mike is assigned to protect her in the night shift in her apartment in Manhattan. When Venza threatens Claire, the contact of Mike with Claire gets closer and conflicts him, dividing between the love for his family and the heat passion for Claire and the fascination for her world.

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Plot Keywords:

infidelity | love triangle | extramarital affair | witness | hostage | 

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Taglines:

He's a streetwise cop who just made detective. She's a stunning sophisticate who just saw a murder. A killer is the only thing they had in common. Until tonight.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Screenwriter "Howard Franklin delivered the script in the winter of 1982", said director Ridley Scott who added, "for various reasons, I was already into my next project, Legend (1985), which took me to England for two years. The film really stayed on the shelf without much movement on it until I finished in England". In the summer of 1986, Scott began casting Someone to Watch Over Me (1987). Scott explained: "I go on instinct and frankly, I'd been casting for months, and couldn't quite place the individual to portray the central character of Hike Keegan. I had seen Tom Berenger's work in The Big Chill (1983) and was very impressed by it. In a funny kind of way, the role he played was a tough one because the character he was portraying was a cliché, an actor playing an actor. However, he completely pulled it off and managed to make the character both sympathetic and vulnerable".

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Goofs

The newspaper which Mike is carrying on his way to his first shift guarding Claire has the word "SUPERMEN!" on the back page. He is carrying an identical newspaper three or four days later.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Det. Mike Keegan: Hey! We got food back there, you know; all right? Hey, thanks for comin' - good to see ya. Come on in, get a drink. T.J...
T.J.: Yeah?
Det. Mike Keegan: Set 'em up with a drink.

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Connections

Referenced in Hitchhike to Hell: John Rubinstein Remembers 'The Car' (2013)

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Soundtracks

Walk Right In
Written by Gus Cannon and Hosea Woods (as H. Woods)
Performed by Tex Seneka
Courtesy of Ardee Music, Ltd.

User Reviews

A Sentimental Favorite

I saw this movie when I was younger and for some reason it always stuck with me. I'll always remember the music (the title song as well as the classical pieces used throughout), the vestibule of Mimi Roger's apartment palace, the scene of Tom Berenger having breakfast with his family, Lorraine Bracco's fiery performance as his wife, and the haunting opening aerial shots of NYC lit up at night. I watched it again for the first time in probably nine or ten years and it was like visiting with an old friend or curling up with a good book you had read before. You knew the story, but it was all fascinatingly interesting. The plot here is pretty basic: working class cop has to babysit upper class babe who witnesses heinous murder. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how it all ends, but director Ridley Scott somehow manages to keep it compelling thanks to some great direction and wonderful performances from the cast. Somewhere I saw this billed as an erotic thriller, which is way off base. Scott keeps everything here extremely classy. It's more of a romantic thriller and throwback to the noir films of the 1940's. This may not be the best film you'll ever see, but it's one of the better thrillers of the 1980's, and a worthy testament to Ridley Scott's versatility as a director. It's also nice to see Jerry Orbach in a supporting role that probably paved the way for his part in the never ending "Law and Order" TV series.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Someone to Watch Over Me

Filming Locations:

Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,908,796, 12 October 1987

Gross USA:

$10,278,549

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,278,549

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1