Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writers (WGA):

Woody Allen (written by) and
Marshall Brickman (written by)

Release Date:

18 August 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Crime

Plot:

A middle-aged couple suspects foul play when their neighbor's wife suddenly drops dead.

Plot Keywords:

Investigation | Neighbor | Middle Age | Murder | Coronary

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations

Cast

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
George J. Manos	...	'21 Club' Staff (as George Manos)
Linda Taylor	...	'21 Club' Staff
Aida Turturro	...	Hotel Day Clerk
John Costelloe	...	Policeman (as John A. Costelloe)
Frank Pellegrino	...	Policeman
Philip Levy	...	Policeman
Wendell Pierce	...	Policeman
Steven Randazzo	...	Policeman
Yanni Sfinias	...	Hotel Night Clerk
Gloria Irizarry	...	Hotel Maid
Ruth Last	...	Lillian's Sister
Suzanne Raffaelli	...	Theater Auditioner
Al Cerullo	...	Helicopter Pilot
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John D. Bair	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Harry Lavin	...	Himself (21 Club Greeter) (uncredited)
Michael Luggio	...	Detective (uncredited)

Directed by
Woody Allen

Writing credits (WGA)
Woody Allen		(written by) and
Marshall Brickman		(written by)

Produced by
Robert Greenhut	....	producer
Joseph Hartwick	....	co-producer
Charles H. Joffe	....	executive producer
Thomas A. Reilly	....	associate producer (as Thomas Reilly)
Helen Robin	....	co-producer
Jack Rollins	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Carlo Di Palma

Film Editing by
Susan E. Morse

Casting by
Juliet Taylor

Production Design by
Santo Loquasto

Art Direction by
Speed Hopkins

Set Decoration by
Susan Bode

Costume Design by
Jeffrey Kurland

Makeup Department
Fern Buchner	....	make-up artist
Romaine Greene	....	hairstylist

Production Management
Joseph Hartwick	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Evan Labb	....	dga trainee
Richard Patrick	....	second assistant director
Thomas A. Reilly	....	first assistant director (as Thomas Reilly)

Art Department
Frank Didio	....	head carpenter
Vincent Guarriello	....	chief construction grip
Glenn Lloyd	....	art department coordinator
James Mazzola	....	property master
Wayne Moss	....	standby carpenter
Ron Petagna	....	construction coordinator
Peter Rogness	....	assistant art director
Cosmo Sorice	....	standby scenic artist
James Sorice	....	master scenic artist
Dave Weinman	....	set dresser
Brick Mason	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)
Vinny Mazzarella	....	assistant property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Lee Dichter	....	re-recording mixer
Frank Graziadei	....	sound recordist
Robert Hein	....	sound editor (as Bob Hein)
Kristen M. Johnson	....	assistant sound editor
Dan Korintus	....	assistant sound editor
James Sabat	....	production sound mixer
Louis Sabat	....	boom operator

Visual Effects by
John Andrew Berton Jr.	....	computer graphics supervisor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ronald Burke	....	best boy grip
Michael Caracciolo	....	second assistant cameraperson
John Fortunato	....	camera trainee (as Jon Fortunato)
Michael Green	....	first assistant cameraperson
Brian Hamill	....	still photographer
Jim Manzione	....	best boy electric
Dick Mingalone	....	camera operator
Ray Quinlan	....	gaffer
Robert Ward	....	key grip (as Bob Ward)

Casting Department
Judie Fixler	....	additional casting
Aleen Keshishian	....	casting assistant
Laura Rosenthal	....	casting associate
Todd M. Thaler	....	additional casting (as Todd Thaler)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Adkins	....	wardrobe supervisor: men's
Bill Christians	....	wardrobe supervisor: men's
Patricia Eiben	....	wardrobe supervisor: women's
Suzanne McCabe	....	assistant costume designer
Virginia D. Patton	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Kent Blocher	....	assistant film editor
William Kruzykowski	....	assistant film editor
Dale E. Grahn	....	color timer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Harold 'Whitey' McEvoy	....	transportation captain
Peter Tavis	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Neil Astrow	....	production assistant
Tracy Bonbrest	....	production assistant
Kay Chapin	....	script supervisor
Drew Dillard	....	location scout
Antoine Douaihy	....	location scout
Lisa Emerson	....	production assistant (as Lisa K. Emerson)
Tony Fleming	....	production assistant
Jennifer Gerould	....	production assistant (as Jenefer Gerould)
Lauren Gibson	....	assistant: Mr. Allen
Jennifer Greenhut	....	production assistant
David Hummel	....	location scout (as Dave Hummel)
Sam Hutchins	....	location scout
Scott Kordish	....	assistant production auditor
Leslie Loftis	....	production assistant
Peter Lombardi	....	production auditor
Brian Mannain	....	studio manager
Megan Monaghan	....	location scout
Lois Nalepka	....	assistant production coordinator
Ilyse A. Reutlinger	....	assistant: Mr. Greenhut (as Ilyse Reutlinger)
Dana Robin	....	location manager
Helen Robin	....	production coordinator
Robin F. Samson	....	location scout (as Robin Samson)
Jodi Shapera	....	production assistant
Pamela Thur	....	location scout
Carl Turnquest Jr.	....	projectionist
Rick Vasquez	....	production assistant
Gilbert S. Williams	....	production assistant (as Gilbert S. Williams Jr.)
Nicholas Wolfert	....	production assistant
Tom Yeager	....	production assistant
John Mingalone	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Lucille Smith	....	studio representative (uncredited)
Pamela Thur	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)
Douglas Tirola	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Joseph Zolfo	....	location assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Charles Chaisson	....	the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank for their assistance

Production Companies

• TriStar Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• TriStar Pictures (1993) (USA) (theatrical) (a Sony Pictures Entertainment company)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (Argentina)
• Columbia TriStar Films de España (Spain)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (video)

Special Effects

• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) (digital effects)

Other Companies

• Alexandria Condominium, The  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance
• Broadway / 72nd Associates  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance
• Chelsea Hotel, The  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance
• Daily News, The  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance (as Daily News)
• Effects House, The  titles (as The Effects House Corp.)
• General Camera Corporation  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance
• Hansard  process compositing
• HarperCollins Publishers  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance
• J.G. Films  negative matching (as J.G. Films, Inc.)
• Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance
• MCA/Universal  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance: film clip from "Double Indemnity" courtesy of
• Madison Square Garden  special thanks (as Madison Square Garden Corporation)
• Magno Sound and Video  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance (as Magno Sound & Video)
• Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting, The  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance
• NHL Enterprises  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance (as NHL Enterprises, Inc.)
• New York Rangers Hockey Club, The  special thanks
• PMK Public Relations  publicity
• Sound One Corporation  the producers gratefully acknowledge and wish to thank the following for their assistance
• TriStar Pictures  acknowledgement: is the author of this motion picture for purposes of copyright and other laws
• Washington Capitals Hockey Club, The  special thanks

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (Mono)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Netherlands:6 | Ireland:PG | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-10 | Germany:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG (PCA #32432) | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

"Manhattan Murder Mystery" was actually the generic working title during production - Allen films usually have generic titles during production like "Woody Allen Fall Project" - but since no new title could be thought of, Woody Allen decided to leave that as the title.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Marcia is giving her ideas to Larry, Carol and Ted regarding the murder, at one point she excuses herself to go to the restroom. As she leaves, in the long shot, Carol puts her hands behind her head and interlocks her fingers to rest her head against them. In the next closeup shot, her hands are down.

Quotes:

Larry Lipton: My favorite thing in life is, you know, to look at cancelled postage.

Movie Connections:

References The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Soundtrack:

I'm In the Mood for Love

Light comedy from Woody Allen

This is a nice and light Woody Allen comedy about a death in a building that could be a murder. At least Diane Keaton's character thinks so, without really having a reason for that. She plays Carol Lipton, married to Larry Lipton (Woody Allen). They have just met their neighbors Paul (Jerry Adler) and Lillian House (Lynn Cohen) when Lillian dies. Because Paul is not that sad and is too ready to move on Carol becomes suspicious. When she is realizing certain strange events that has occurred her suspicion grows. Larry thinks it is pretty stupid but when a friend named Ted (Alan Alda) does believe her and helps her with the investigation he gets jealous and offers to help after all.

Whether a real murder has committed is not the point, I guess. Allen gives us standard movie situations, ridicules them a little, and betters them then. There is a scene where Allen and Keaton go from an elevator into a basement when the lights fall out. It is completely dark, something we have seen more in thrillers, and for some reason Allen is able to make this cliché thriller scene suspenseful. There are more of these moments. Since this is an Allen film there are a lot of links to other famous movies (the script itself is a little like Hitchcock's 'Rear Window') and famous scenes, the ending in particular does a terrific job in reliving one of the most memorable scenes out there. (It has to with mirrors, I guess you know what movie I am talking about). This light Allen comedy is a terrific mystery story with brilliant touches that will be liked not only by Allen-fans, but by everyone who loves either comedy or mystery suspense.