The Morning After (1986)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writer:

James Cresson (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

25 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Last night she drank to forget. Today she woke up to a murder. Is he her last hope or the last man she should trust?

Plot:

A woman wakes up next to a murdered man. Did she do it herself, and if not, is she in danger herself?

Plot Keywords:

Ex Cop | Corpse | Alcoholism | Airport | Divorce

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Jane Fonda	...	Alex Sternbergen
Jeff Bridges	...	Turner Kendall
Raul Julia	...	Joaquin Manero
Diane Salinger	...	Isabel Harding
Richard Foronjy	...	Sergeant Greenbaum
Geoffrey Scott	...	Bobby Korshack
James 'Gypsy' Haake	...	Frankie
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Red
Don Hood	...	Hurley
Fran Bennett	...	Airline Clerk
Michael Flanagan	...	Airline Supervisor
Bruce Vilanch	...	Bartender
Michael Prince	...	Mr. Harding
Frances Bergen	...	Mrs. Harding
José Angel Santana	...	Driver (as José Santana)
Bob Minor	...	Man
George Fisher	...	Cabbie
Rick Rossovich	...	Detective
Laurel Lyle	...	Secretary
Kathy Bates	...	Woman on Mateo Street
Anne Betancourt	...	Nurse
Patti Song	...	Hairstylist #1
Betty Lougaris	...	Salon Customer
Drew Berman	...	Detective
Sam Scarber	...	Detective
Michael Zand	...	Detective
Gladys Portugues	...	Body Builder
Corinna Everson	...	Miss Olympia
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Selga Sanders	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Lumet

Writing credits
James Cresson		(written by) (as James Hicks)
David Rayfiel		uncredited

Produced by
Lois Bonfiglio	....	associate producer
Bruce Gilbert	....	producer
Wolfgang Glattes	....	associate producer
Faye Schwab	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Paul Chihara

Cinematography by
Andrzej Bartkowiak

Film Editing by
Joel Goodman

Casting by
Nancy Klopper

Production Design by
Albert Brenner

Art Direction by
Kandy Stern

Set Decoration by
Lee Poll

Costume Design by
Ann Roth

Makeup Department
Pete Altobelli	....	makeup artist
Kathryn Blondell	....	hair stylist
Gary Liddiard	....	makeup artist

Production Management
C. Tad Devlin	....	unit production manager
Lilith Jacobs	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wolfgang Glattes	....	first assistant director
Brenda Kalosh	....	second second assistant director
Aldric La'Auli Porter	....	second assistant director

Art Department
David B. Brenner	....	general foreman
Michael C. Claypool	....	set dresser (as Michael Claypool)
Mark Hite	....	lead man
Bob Lawless	....	stand-by painter (as Robert Lawless)
C.J. Maguire	....	property master
Hope M. Parrish	....	assistant property master
Richard Dean Rankin	....	construction coordinator (as Richard D. Rankin)
Michael Schmidt	....	set dresser
Darrell L. White	....	set designer

Sound Department
Edward Beyer	....	sound editor
Louis Cerborino	....	sound editor (as Lou Cerborino)
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Robert Crosby	....	boom operator
Jay Dranch	....	sound editor
Bruce Kitzmeyer	....	sound editor
David M. Ronne	....	production sound mixer
Maurice Schell	....	supervising sound editor
Dick Vorisek	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Thomas R. Ward	....	special effects coordinator (as Tom Ward)

Stunts
George Fisher	....	stunt coordinator
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunts
Clifford Happy	....	stunts
Gene LeBell	....	stunts
Karen Price	....	stunts (as Karen Elayna Price)
George Marshall Ruge	....	stunts
Loyd Catlett	....	stunt player (uncredited)
Mark Lonsdale	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Dustin Blauvelt	....	first assistant camera
Joseph Cosko Jr.	....	second assistant camera
R. Michael De Chellis	....	best boy
Craig Denault	....	camera operator
Mikael Glattes	....	camera loader
Steve Greaves	....	dolly grip
Cary Griffith	....	key grip
Gregg Guellow	....	best boy
Harry Langdon	....	photographer: loft photographs
Jim Marquette	....	assistant camera
Hank Sheppherd	....	rigging grip
Peter Sorel	....	still photographer
Christopher C. Strong	....	gaffer
Scott C. Williman	....	electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Dennison	....	wardrobe supervisor
Linda Serijan	....	wardrobe supervisor
Neil Spisak	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Dawn Chiang	....	apprentice editor
Richard J. Rossi	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jolene Cherry	....	music supervisor
George Howard	....	musician: saxophone solo
Chris Tergesen	....	music engineer
Pat Woods	....	music supervisor
John Moses	....	musician: clarinetist (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Gregory Dultz	....	driver
Helen Mercier	....	transportation captain
Rick Mercier	....	transportation coordinator
Dennis Ward	....	transportation captain
Shawn Coulter	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Faye Brenner	....	script supervisor
John Ross Bush	....	location manager
Bruce Carter	....	production assistant
Gwendolyn Files	....	production auditor
Debi Karolewski	....	assistant: Jane Fonda
Ingrid C. Michaels	....	production office coordinator
Karl Lewis Miller	....	animal action
Douglas E. Stoll	....	location manager
Nancy Willen	....	unit publicist
Michelle Zeisel	....	assistant: Bruce Gilbert

Thanks
Diane Lord	....	thanks: Tyler Lord Beauty Establishment
Keith Lord	....	thanks: Tyler Lord Beauty Establishment

Production Companies

• American Filmworks
• Lorimar Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1989) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1987) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• California Film Office, The  thanks
• Hollywood Center Studios  filmed at
• Humana Hospital, West Hills  thanks
• KABC Los Angeles  thanks
• Mark Niclas Casting  extras casting
• Optical House, The  titles
• Pacific Southwest Airlines  thanks
• Vidal Sassoon Academy  special thanks

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | West Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Center Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Filmworks

Quotes:

Turner Kendall: You'll notice that your spades spend disproportionately on transportation and clothing their young.
Alex Sternbergen: What are you, some kind of Klan anthropologist?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

ADDICTED TO LOVE

Lumet in California, bravo Bartkowiak

This movie was much better than I had reason to expect after reading the comments on IMDb. Its biggest flaw must be the way The Morning After is marketed. It is not really a taut whodunit thriller but rather a study of a particular place in a particular era with particular characters – a dark comedy and a love drama at the same time. The second biggest flaw is the grating, almost ever present musical score. But for the rest this movie is nearly perfect.

I should call The Morning After an expose of Southern California in the mid 1980s. The sets and the photography (a lot frontal or near frontal wide angle shots of curbside sceneries) are very accomplished – Schrader's American Gigolo came to mind. The sun is always shining, the air seems to be absolutely pure, even places that should be dirty (back yards, industrial sites etc.) are painted in gaudy colors and squeaky clean. But the minds of the principal protagonists are desperately foggy and muddled. California appears to be a big, decaying fake idyll. People go there to die, I once read in a novel by Nathanael West (The Day of the Locust – also made into a great, underrated California movie, by the way). And that more or less sums up the feel of it.

The cast is kept wonderfully small. Jane Fonda is brilliant and she would have deserved the Oscar for this part. For several long scenes she acts alone in front of the camera and she really conveys the desperation and the natural charm of the character (and she's really attractive, too, despite the boozing). Jeff Bridges is a reliable support here. Also very good is Raul Julia as Fonda's somehow estranged husband. He plays a high end hairdresser with a snazzy salon and at times displays an unexpected but highly welcome gentlemanly charm.

Until now I always thought of Sidney Lumet as an American East Coast director. It is the only one of his movies I know that is set in California. He seems to have his own way of appreciating that place. There is a director's comment on the DVD I purchased and I am looking forward to listening to that.