A bitter ex-husband wants his former spouse dead. A put-upon momma's boy wants his mother dead. Who will pull it off?
Director:
Danny DeVitoWriter:
Stu Silver
From metacritic.com
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Title: Throw Momma from the Train (1987)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Danny DeVito | ... | Owen | |
| Billy Crystal | ... | Larry | |
| Kim Greist | ... | Beth | |
| Anne Ramsey | ... | Momma | |
| Kate Mulgrew | ... | Margaret | |
| Branford Marsalis | ... | Lester | |
| Rob Reiner | ... | Joel | |
| Bruce Kirby | ... | Detective DeBenedetto | |
 |
Joey DePinto | ... | Sargeant |
| Annie Ross | ... | Mrs. Hazeltine | |
| Raye Birk | ... | Pinsky | |
| Oprah Winfrey | ... | Herself | |
| Olivia Brown | ... | Ms. Gladstone | |
| Philip Perlman | ... | Mr. Perlman | |
|
|
Stu Silver | ... | Ramon |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
See All (51) »
Storyline
Larry Donner is an author and writing professor who tutors people that want to write books. Larry's life has become a misery when his ex-wife Margaret has published a book he wrote under her name and has gotten rich over it. Owen Lift, one of Larry's students, offers Larry to kill Margaret, and in return Owen, wants Larry to kill his horrible mother. Larry thinks it's a joke, until he learns Owen killed his ex-wife. And Larry has now become the prime suspect. Written by Daniel Williamson
Plot Keywords:
writing | ex husband ex wife relationship | crisis of conscience | teacher student relationship | writer |Taglines:
Owen asked his friend, Larry, for a small favor...Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
11 December 1987 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Tira a mamá del tren See more »Filming Locations:
Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$14,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$7,318,878, 13 December 1987Gross USA:
$57,915,972Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$57,915,972Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby SRColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Police Sergeant: Well, then, who do you suppose did?
Beth Ryan: [after a pause to think] Somebody else!
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Danny DeVito once noted in an interview with Playboy Magazine that the scene where Owen shows his coin collection to Larry was inspired by his childhood habit of sharing things with friends that involved whatever he was into at the time. As director, he insisted on including such a sequence in the movie. Writer Stu Silver wrote the scene. See more »Goofs
at around 1 min, somebody's hand is at the right in the frame. See more »Quotes
Beth Ryan: He didn't do it!Police Sergeant: Well, then, who do you suppose did?
Beth Ryan: [after a pause to think] Somebody else!
See more »
Crazy Credits
The credit for Assistant Sound Editor Robert Martel has a gap in the vertical stroke of the L. See more »Alternate Versions
When Larry reads out the title of a student's "coffee table book" hesays "One hundred girls I'd like to fuck". This like was (badly) dubbed over by the MPAA to say "pork" (presumably to achieve a PG-13 rating as use of that word in a sexual context results in an R). The edited version was exported around the world. See more »Contribute to This Page
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Larry Donner (Billy Crystal) has a crazy life: His wife (Kate Mulgrew) stole his book and left him, he has a new budding romance with a girl named Beth (Kim Greist), he doesn't know how to start his book, and his students of his screen writing class are stranger than most. However, one student (Danny DeVito) is extra strange. He lives with his evil Momma (Anne Ramsey) and he can't get up the courage to kill her. So than he goes to Larry for help, making his life go from normal crazy, to extra crazy!
Stu Silver should have done more! The dialog, the characters, the whole script is near perfect! And Danny DeVito has proved to me he's more than a great actor: he's a great director! His kid's movie Matilda is among my favorite family movies and now this is one of my favorite comedies.
It's a black comedy, most jokes are about murder, but it's damn funny! All of the actors are doing their full potential, whether they're main characters (Billy Crystal) or just one-bit minor characters (Olivia Brown).
If you like comedy (Who doesn't?) than you'll like this! 8/10 stars.