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.

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Plot Keywords:

being followed in a car | manhattan | new york state | new york | cheap hotel | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un misterioso asesinato en Manhattan

Filming Locations:

21 Club - 21 West 52nd Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$11,285,588

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (Mono) SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the early 1970s, Woody Allen was working on a script about two New Yorkers who try to solve a murder, when he got stuck. While blocked, he noticed a book on Russian history at his home. As the deadline was fast approaching for delivery of a contracted screenplay, Allen got inspired and decided to spoof the entire genre of novels based on Russian history, and this became Love and Death (1975). He put the mystery script on the back-burner. That script eventually became the genesis for this film.

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Goofs

At their neighbors' house, Carol prepares coffee in the kitchen. She makes filter coffee and puts a can of water under the filter. You have to pour water in the machine to warm it up and then go through the filter. The can will be filled with coffee in the end.

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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.

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Connections

References A Song, a Kiss, a Girl (1932)

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Soundtracks

Misty
(1954)
Written by Erroll Garner
Performed by Erroll Garner
Courty of PolyGram Special Markets
A Division of PolyGram Group Distribution, Inc.

User Reviews

Breezy but not lightweight, a total fun and warm and human adventure...

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

This movie almost defines delightful--at least for people who already like Woody Allen. (For some, Allen will always be irritating, no matter how brilliant the movie.)

Without a shred of pretension, and without really any suspense in the usual murder mystery way, we get sucked into what is perhaps the most believable of murder mysteries ever. The reason is simple. It's told as if two very ordinary, slightly bookish, not so slightly neurotic New Yorkers stumble on a murder.

It's the story of what we would all do if we thought our neighbor had murdered his wife. The bumbling, the doubts, the revelations, the sneaking around, the giggling.

It helps (a lot) that we have the reuniting of Allen with Diane Keaton, and it's a nice breeze in the room to have both Alan Alda at his ordinary guy best and Angelica Huston as a true New Yorker brimming with confidence and savvy. (Huston is from California, a daughter in the famous movie family. Alda, nicely enough, is a New Yorker for real.)

Don't expect anything deep, hilarious, or clever (three of the many intentions in Allen's movies). But it's really well made, superbly written, acted with utter believability, paced with snap, and filled with small surprises. Using the crack team Allen had in place in this period (set designer, photographer, editor, etc.), almost nothing could go wrong. As long as you like this kind of thing in the first place--a Woody Allen movie in the easy going vein.

I loved it.