Getting Away with Murder (1996)

A moral college ethics professor plans to kill his neighbor, a Nazi death camp commander.

Director:

Harvey Miller

Writer:

Harvey Miller

Stars:

Jack Lemmon, Dan Aykroyd, Lily Tomlin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dan Aykroyd	...	Jack Lambert
Lily Tomlin	...	Inga Mueller
Jack Lemmon	...	Max Mueller / Karl Luger
Bonnie Hunt	...	Dr. Gail Holland
Brian Kerwin	...	Marty Lambert
Jerry Adler	...	Judge
Andy Romano	...	Psychiatrist
Robert Fields	...	Sergeant Roarke
J.C. Quinn	...	Detective Stanley
Susan Forristal	...	Waitress Patti
Marissa Chibas	...	Liz Lambert
Jon Korkes	...	Chemistry Lab Professor
Kathleen Marshall	...	Student #1
Jacqueline Klein	...	Student #2
Alex Appel	...	Student #3

Storyline

When the very moralistic college ethics instructor (Aykroyd) finds himself living next door to an accused German death camp commander (Lemmon), he takes it upon himself to rid the world of this man. And even though he manages to kill him, he does it so cleanly that no one accuses him and it isn't until he guiltily marries the German's daughter (Tomlin) that he discovers the truth about the man...

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Plot Keywords:

fbi federal bureau of investigation | car | automobile | swedish car | volvo motor vehicle | 

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Taglines:

One bad apple can spoil the whole line-up.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual situations

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last film of Harvey Miller.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Max Mueller: Auf wiedersehen.

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Crazy Credits

"Shower Curtain: Marion Crane"

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #26.26 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Eres Subrosa
Written by Harvey Miller

User Reviews

Boringly mediocre attempt at `comedy'

Professor Lambert lectures on ethics and morals at a local University and lives alone in a quiet suburban area. However when his neighbour, is accused of war crimes as a Nazi he isn't sure what to think. When he is told that Mueller is about to leave for Ecuador, where he will be free to live out his life without extradition he cannot morally accept it and decides to take action by murdering him. However Lambert's ethics and need for justice soon cause the whole plan to crumble in a moral mess.

I'd never heard of this film when I watched it but Dan Aykroyd is usually an OK bet – even if he's not as funny as Bill Murray often manages. However after watching this I understand why I hadn't heard of it. The plot is OK at the start but the moral reasoning that drives much of the latter stages doesn't ring true and it feels like the film is just trying to muddle through to a very unsatisfactory ending that also feels like they weren't sure how it should end so they just stopped!

As a drama it doesn't work at all, sadly as a comedy it has no laughs at all. Not a smile, I assumed it was a bad drama until a glance at the listings told me it was meant to be a comedy! A misguided drama I can understand, but to pitch something so lame as a comedy is beyond justification.

The cast are wasted here. Names like Tomlin, Lemmon, Aykroyd and Adler really need better material than this to show what they can do. Here they do the best they can but they can turn a sow's ear into a purse.

Overall this is a failed comedy and a drama that is failing with every plot step. The end result is a film that is neither funny or dramatic – it is merely mediocre and very dull.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Getting Away with Murder

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$127,691, 14 April 1996

Gross USA:

$197,322

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$197,322

Company Credits

Production Co:

Price, Savoy Pictures, The Rank Organisation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1