Murphy's Romance (1985)

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Max Schott (story)
Harriet Frank Jr. (writer) ...

Release Date:

31 January 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Just when you think you've found the right guy, someone even worse comes along.

Plot:

Emma is a divorced woman with a teen aged boy who moves into a small town and tries to make a go of a horse ranch...

Plot Keywords:

Horse Ranch | Small Town | Ex Husband | Horse | Love

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Sally Field	...	Emma Moriarty
James Garner	...	Murphy Jones
Brian Kerwin	...	Bobby Jack Moriarty
Corey Haim	...	Jake Moriarty
Dennis Burkley	...	Freeman Coverly
Georgann Johnson	...	Margaret
Dortha Duckworth	...	Bessie
Michael Prokopuk	...	Albert
Billy Ray Sharkey	...	Larry Le Beau
Michael Crabtree	...	Jim Forrest
Anna Levine	...	Wanda
Charles Lane	...	Amos Abbott
Bruce French	...	Rex Boyd
John C. Becher	...	Jesse Parker
Henry Slate	...	Fred Hite

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Florence, Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Gene Blakely's final film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Any experienced Bingo player knows that it would NOT have taken that many numbers for Emma to get a Bingo in the N's. Sally Field's character won the biggest jackpot of the night - normally, a special game (for example, forming the letter T) would have been played in order for her to win so much money.

Quotes:

Murphy: I'm sixty.

Movie Connections:

Features Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

Soundtrack:

POETRY

Chick Flick Guys Will Enjoy Too

Aging Garner makes the most of this showcase role, arguably among his best work. Sally Field is also appealing and believable as the much younger woman torn between romancing a ne'er-do-well but age appropriate peer or the warm-n'-fuzzy but still studly sexagenarian Garner. The dialogue exchanges between Garner and Field pop nicely and the direction is tight. Less polished is the plotline, which veers between the simplistic soap operatics in Field's life (boring and largely cliched) and the gradual courtship process between Garner and Field (sly, entertaining and winning).

Overall, though, this is a satisfying portrayal of may-december romance with the mush women will love and just enough conflict and tension to keep the men around, too. We all know the outcome before the start but it's still a gentle and loving rendition of the blossoming of true love.