''Murphy's Romance'' is a 1985 American romantic-comedy film directed by

Martin Ritt Martin Ritt (March 2, 1914 – December 8, 1990) was an American director, producer, and actor, active in film, theatre and television. He was known mainly as an auteur of socially-conscious dramas and literary adaptations, described by Stanley K ...

. The screenplay by Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch was based on the 1980 novella by Max Schott. The film stars

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has performed in movies, Broadway theater, television, and made records of popular music. Known for her extensive work on screen and stage, she has received many accola ...

James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...

Brian Kerwin Brian Kerwin (born October 25, 1949) is an American actor who has starred in feature films, Broadway shows, and television series and movies. Life Kerwin was born in Chicago and raised in Flossmoor, Illinois. He has three siblings, Anne, Dennis, ...

, and

Corey Haim Corey Ian Haim (December 23, 1971 – March 10, 2010) was a Canadian actor who rose to fame in the 1980s as a teen heartthrob. He starred in '' Silver Bullet'' (1985), '' Murphy's Romance'' (1985), '' Lucas'' (1986), '' License to Drive'' (1988 ...

, and was produced by

Laura Ziskin Laura Ellen ZiskinGale Research Company (2002). ''Contemporary theatre, film, and television,'' p. 388. Gale Research Co., (March 3, 1950 – June 12, 2011) was an American film producer. She was the executive producer of '' Pretty Woman'' (1990 ...

for Field's production company Fogwood Films. The film's theme song, "Love for the Last Time", is performed by

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

Plot summary

Emma Moriarty is a 33-year-old, divorced mother who moves to a rural Arizona town to make a living by training and boarding horses. She becomes friends with the town's pharmacist, Murphy Jones, an idiosyncratic widower. A romance between them seems unlikely because of Murphy's age and because Emma allows her ex-husband, Bobby Jack Moriarty, to move back in with her and their 12-year-old son Jake. Emma struggles to make ends meet, but is helped by Murphy. While refusing to help her outright with charity or personal loan, Murphy gives a part-time job to Jake and buys a horse with her assistance, boarding it with Emma and encouraging others to do the same. He also provides emotional support for Emma and Jake. A rivalry develops between Murphy and Bobby Jack, who is immature and dishonest. Emma and Murphy fall in love despite Bobby Jack's efforts to hamper their romance. Bobby Jack finally leaves town after an 18-year-old he had a fling with appears at the ranch with their newborn twin sons. With him gone, Murphy and Emma are free to pursue a relationship.

Cast

Production

Columbia did not want to make the picture at all because it had no "sex or violence" in it. However, Columbia agreed because of the success of ''

Norma Rae ''Norma Rae'' is a 1979 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt from a screenplay written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton – which was told in the 1975 book ''Crystal ...

'' (1979), with the same star (Field), director, and screenwriting team ( Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch), and with Field's new production company Fogwood Films producing. Columbia then wanted

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

, or someone with "greater box-office allure", to play the part of Murphy. Field and Ritt fought Columbia to cast Garner, whom then studio viewed at that point as primarily a television actor, despite having enjoyed a flourishing film career in the 1950s and 60s and having co-starred in the box-office hit '' Victor/Victoria'' in 1982. When Ritt gave the Max Schott story to Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch, the same married screenplay team that worked on '' Hud'' (1963) with Ritt and

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

, they wanted Newman to be in ''Murphy's Romance''. Field had worked successfully with Newman in 1981's ''

Absence of Malice ''Absence of Malice'' is a 1981 American drama neo noir thriller film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Paul Newman, Sally Field, Wilford Brimley, Melinda Dillon and Bob Balaban. The title refers to one of the defenses against libe ...

'', but Newman declined the project, and Garner was the only other actor that Ritt and Field had asked. Lumenick, Lou. "For Sally Field, A Two-Sided Romance." ''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

'', January 17, 1986. Retrieved: 2008-08-03 Part of the deal from the studio, which at that time was owned by

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...

, included an eight-line sequence of Field and Garner saying the word "Coke", and having Coke products and signs appear prominently in the film. On the A&E television program ''Biography'' of Garner, "James Garner: Hollywood Maverick", Field reported that her on-screen kiss with Garner was the best cinematic kiss she had experienced.Nelson, Ted. - "James Garner: Hollywood Maverick." - ''A&E Biography''. - October 2, 2000. - New York, NY: A & E Home Video. - Filming took place on location in Florence, Arizona, and the town's preserved Main Street appears throughout the movie.Filming locations for ''Murphy's Romance''
-

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The film was scheduled for general release during the weekend for 1985 Christmas Day, but Columbia moved it to the weekends of January 17 and January 31, 1986, to avoid competing with the holiday lineup of films. It did a limited, selected, release for the film on December 25, 1985, so that it would qualify for that year's

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

. The screenplay is very different from the Max Schott novella. In the Schott story, Murphy and Emma stay just platonic friends. Murphy marries someone else, and then tries to find Emma a suitable husband. The film was one of the final titles to be released on the now defunct

CED Videodisc The Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) is an analog video disc playback system developed by Radio Corporation of America (RCA), in which video and audio could be played back on a TV set using a special stylus and high-density groove system sim ...

format in 1986.

Reception

Reviews were generally favorable. Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave the film 3 stars (out of 4), stating "Much depends on exactly what Emma and Murphy say to each other, and how they say it, and what they don't say. The movie gets it all right." The film holds a rating of 74% on review-aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 27 reviews.

Awards and honors

''Murphy's Romance'' received Academy Award nominations for

Best Actor in a Leading Role The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading ro ...

(James Garner) and for Best Cinematography ( William A. Fraker).

References

External links

* * * *
James Garner
interview on the ''Charlie Rose Show''
James Garner
interview at the

Archive of American Television The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (formerly titled the Archive of American Television) is a project of the nonprofit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, that records interviews with notabl ...

{{Martin Ritt 1980s American films 1980s English-language films 1985 films 1985 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films Columbia Pictures films English-language romantic comedy films Films based on American novels Films directed by Martin Ritt Films produced by Laura Ziskin Films set in Florence, Arizona Films shot in Arizona