''Love Walked In'' is a 1997 Argentine-American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

co-written and directed by

Juan José Campanella Juan José Campanella (born 19 July 1959) is an Argentine television and film director, writer and producer. He achieved worldwide attention with the release of ''The Secret in Their Eyes'' (2009), for which he was awarded the Academy Award for B ...

and starring

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. A native of Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song "Asshole") and throu ...

Terence Stamp Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Stamp is known for his sophisticated villain roles. He was named by ''Empire Magazine'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades inc ...

and

Aitana Sánchez-Gijón Aitana Sánchez-Gijón de Angelis (born 5 November 1968) is a Spanish-Italian film actress. Biography She was born in Rome on 5 November 1968, to a Spanish father , a history lecturer exiled from Francoism, and an Italian mother, Fiorella d ...

. It was based on the novel ''Ni el tiro del final'' ("Not Even The Final Shot") by Argentine writer

José Pablo Feinmann José Pablo Feinmann (29 March 1943 – 17 December 2021) was an Argentine philosopher, writer, playwright, and television host. He also penned several screenplays for domestic film production and international coproductions. Born to Abraham a ...

. The film takes its title from

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's song " Love Walked In".

Plot synopsis

Jack (

) is a world-weary pianist and writer in a lounge named the Blue Cat. His wife, Vicki (

), is a songstress who has a way with the "pseudo-Gershwin" tunes her husband writes. The couple is desperately poor after 10 years of touring crummy clubs. Meanwhile, Fred Moore (

), the club owner, is captivated by the beauty of Vicki. Moore is married to a wealthy woman, known only as Mrs. Moore (

Marj Dusay Marjorie Ellen Mahoney Dusay (; née Mahoney; February 20, 1936 – January 28, 2020) was an American actress known for her roles on American soap operas. She was especially known for her role as Alexandra Spaulding on ''Guiding Light'', a role ...

), whom he admits to having married for her money. Although Fred is a faithful husband, the jealous Mrs. Moore has hired Eddie (

Michael Badalucco Michael Badalucco (born December 20, 1954) is an American actor. He made his screen debut in the film ''Raging Bull'' (1980) and subsequently appeared in many films such as ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' Miller's Crossing'' (1990), ''Ju ...

), a private detective who happens to be an old friend of Jack's, to gather evidence of Fred's infidelity. Having come up with nothing, the sleazy detective begs Jack to help by arranging for Vicki to seduce Fred in front of a hidden camera. Together Jack, Vicky and Eddie plan to blackmail Moore. At the same time Jack is also writing a crime short story set in the 1930s, a noiresque crime thriller, which the viewer sees inter cut in imaginary scenes as Jack narrates. This secondary narration is also a telling of what happens with Jack and Vicki in a different and subtle way.

Cast

as Jack Hanaway *

as Fred Moore *

as Vicky Rivas *

as Eddie Bianco *

Danny Nucci Daniel Nucci (born September 15, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in blockbuster films, including his roles as Danny Rivetti in ''Crimson Tide'' (1995), Lieutenant Shepard in ''The Rock'' (1996), Deputy Monr ...

as Cousin Matt *

as Mrs. Moore * Neal Huff as Howard * J.K. Simmons as Mr. Shulman *

Moira Kelly Moira Kelly (born on March 6, 1968 in Queens, New York) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Kate Moseley in the 1992 film ''The Cutting Edge'' as well as single mother Karen Roe on the teen drama '' One Tree Hill''. She is also k ...

as Vera * Justin Lazard as Lenny * Rocco Sisto as Ilm Zamsky * Gene Canfield as Joey * Jimmy McQuaid as Young Howard *

Murphy Guyer Murphy Guyer (born December 25, 1952) is an American actor, playwright, writer and director, best known for his plays and for appearances in the films '' The Devil's Advocate'' (1997), '' The Jackal'' (1997), ''Arthur'' (2011) and '' Joker'' (20 ...

as Howard's Boss * Paul Eagle as Landlord * Fiddle Viracola as Aunt Ethel * Jeremy Webb as Hampton's Waiter * Gregory Scanlon as Valet * Gary DeWitt Marshall as Broken Ivory Bartender *

D.C. Benny D. C. Benny, born Ben Wartofsky is an American stand-up comedian. Wartofsky was born in Washington, D.C., and lives and works in New York. Career Wartofsky has performed on ''Comedy Central Presents''. He has performed at many different comedy c ...

as Comedian * Patrick Boll as Porter

Reception

Dennis Schwartz gave the film a grade D. Roger Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4. Stephen Holden of the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

wrote: "Nothing in "Love Walked In" makes psychological or even economic sense. In one preposterous plot turn after another, the movie does awkward somersaults to try to drum up tension and generate heat."

TWA Flight 800 Disaster

On the evening of July 17, 1996, at 8:31 pm, the production was filming in the banquet hall of a Westhampton, NY beach club. Camera and sound equipment were recording when

TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Internationa ...

exploded directly south of the beach. Sounds of the blast were caught on sound recording equipment. Two blasts were heard by crew members.

References

External links

* * * 1997 films 1997 crime thriller films 1997 drama films 1990s thriller drama films Films set in the United States American thriller drama films TriStar Pictures films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{crime-thriller-film-stub