The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)

After her humiliated husband kills himself, an embittered pregnant widow loses her child, and embarks on a mission of vengeance against a woman and her family.

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writer:

Amanda Silver

Stars:

Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy

5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Annabella Sciorra	...	Claire Bartel
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Mrs. Mott / Peyton Flanders
Matt McCoy	...	Michael Bartel
Ernie Hudson	...	Solomon
Julianne Moore	...	Marlene Craven
Madeline Zima	...	Emma Bartel
John de Lancie	...	Dr. Victor Mott
Kevin Skousen	...	Marty Craven
Mitchell Laurance	...	Lawyer
Justin Zaremby	...	Roth, the Schoolyard Bully
Eric Melander	...	Joey 'Joe' Bartel
Jennifer Melander	...	Joey 'Joe' Bartel
Ashley Melander	...	Joey 'Joe' Bartel
Cliff Lenz	...	Seattle Today Host
Penny LeGate	...	Seattle Today Host

Storyline

Peyton Flanders (Rebecca De Mornay) seemed to be the perfect nanny, but secretly she was out to wreck the lives of the family she was supposed to be helping. Before becoming the nanny, Peyton had a miscarriage due to the stress caused by the death of her husband, Dr. Victor Mott (John de Lancie), and blamed it on Claire (the mother, played by Annabella Sciorra),. Claire suspects nothing, having never met Peyton before.

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Plot Keywords:

sexual assault | gynecologist | female nudity | lifting a female into the air | fired from the job | 

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Taglines:

The Bartels couldn't believe how fortunate they were to find Peyton. But they didn't find her, she chose them.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for terror, violence, a scene of sexual molestation, and for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

La mano que mece la cuna

Filming Locations:

810 N. Yakima Avenue, Tacoma, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,700,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$88,036,683

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Interscope Communications, Nomura Babcock & Brown

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Matt McCoy appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Price (1989) and John de Lancie was a recurring character as Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995).

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Goofs

What Claire has isn't asthma it is actually panic attacks. Asthma attacks are not brought on by sudden stress or anxiety, they are brought on by bacterial, infection, stuff of that nature. You can tell with how quickly she is breathing during her "asthma" attack that it is a panic attack and not an asthma attack.

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Quotes

Peyton Flanders: When your husband makes love to you, it's my face he sees!

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Crazy Credits

As the end credits roll, we see the Bartel residence.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Breakthrough Stars of 1992 (1992)

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Soundtracks

O DRY THE GLISTENING TEAR
from "Pirates of Penzance"
Written by W.S. Gilbert (uncredited) and Arthur Sullivan (uncredited)
Performed by The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
Courtesy of London Records
A Division of PolyGram Classics

User Reviews

good psychological thriller marred by a few cliches

the hand that rocks the cradle was a very gripping psychological thriller, there is hardly any action or violence in the movie till the very end. the suspense and the thrills are at a very psychological level and this is what makes this movie rise above the ordinary, rebecca de mornay as the psychologically imbalanced nanny is terrific. the script was surprisingly good for a large part and the thrills were built up very convincingly.

there is obviously a lot of situations that defy belief, but with a little suspension of disbelief, they can be accepted. the cast is ordinary, and the performances of the young couple was very amateurish, as also the performance of ernie hudson as the mentally challenged person.

this movie would have been a lot more thrilling and dark and satisfying if it had not towards the end fallen in a whole deluge of cliches and predictable lame movie ending traps. call me sick, but i think the movie would have been far better with a darker ending.

on the whole a thrilling 8!