Murphy's Romance (1985)

Murphy's Romance is a 1985 American romantic-comedy film directed by Martin Ritt, and starring stars Sally Field, James Garner, Brian Kerwin, and Corey Haim. The screenplay by Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch was based on the 1980 novella by Max Schott. The film was produced by Laura Ziskin for Field's production company Fogwood Films. The plot is about a single mother (Field) who moves to a town in rural Arizona, and gets caught in a love triangle between a middle-aged widower (Garner) and her ex-husband (Kerwin).

The film received positive reviews, with James Garner earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, the only Oscar nomination of his career. Murphy's Romance also received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Field) and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Garner).

Plot

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, both because of the significant age difference 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. Murphy also encourages others to do the same. Eventually, people show an interest in boarding up their horses & Emma's business grows. He also provides emotional support for both her and Jake, especially when someone without car insurance rams into Emma & she ends up with a mild concussion. Murphy spends quite a bit of time with Emma because of his horse being boarded up at her place & a connection forms.

A rivalry develops between Murphy and Bobby Jack, who is immature, dishonest & jealous; 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 finally free to pursue a relationship.

Cast

Production

Development

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 (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, or someone with "greater box-office allure", to play the part of Murphy. Field and Ritt fought Columbia to cast Garner, whom the 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, they wanted Newman to be in Murphy's Romance. Field had worked successfully with Newman in 1981's Absence of Malice, but Newman declined the project, and Garner was the only other actor that Ritt and Field had asked.

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.

Filming

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.

Part of the deal from the studio, which at that time was owned by The Coca-Cola Company, included an eight-line sequence of Field and Garner saying the word "Coke", and having Coke products and signs appear prominently in the film.

Release

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.

Home media

The film was one of the final titles to be released on the now defunct CED Videodisc format in 1986.

Soundtrack

The film's theme song, "Love for the Last Time", is performed by Carole King.

Reception

Critical response

Reviews were generally favorable. Film critic Roger Ebert 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, based on 27 reviews.

Awards and honors

Murphy's Romance received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role (James Garner) and for Best Cinematography (William A. Fraker). It also received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Sally Field) and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Garner).

References

External links

Murphy's Romance at IMDb

Murphy's Romance at the TCM Movie Database (archived)

Murphy's Romance at Box Office Mojo

Murphy's Romance at Rotten Tomatoes

James Garner interview on the Charlie Rose Show

James Garner interview at the Archive of American Television