Radioland Murders
Radioland Murders | |
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Directed by | Mel Smith |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | George Lucas |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | David Tattersall |
Edited by | Paul Trejo |
Music by | Joel McNeely |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $15 million |
Box office | $1.3 million |
Radioland Murders is a 1994 American
George Lucas began development for the film in the 1970s, originally attached as director for
Plot
In 1939, a new
When trumpet player Ruffles Reedy falls dead from rat poisoning, a series of events ensue. Director Walt Jr. is hanged (the mysterious killer makes it look like a suicide), and his father, the General, has the Chicago Police Department (CPD) get involved to solve the murder mysteries as the nightly radio performance continues. Katzenback is then killed after attempting to fix the main stage when the machinery malfunctions. Penny is appointed both stage manager and director due to Walt Jr. and Katzenback's deaths. Roger tries to solve the killings, greatly annoying the police, led by Lieutenant Cross.
Because Roger unfortunately appears at every crime scene just as the murders take place, he is ruled as the prime suspect. Roger and Billy Budget then theorize that announcer Dexter Morris is the next to die. Dexter ignores their warning and is fatally electrocuted. By going through private documents in WBN's file room, Roger finds that the victims all previously worked together at a radio station in Peoria, Illinois, which he then correlates into a secretive FCC scandal. King (laughing gas) and General Whalen (falls down an elevator shaft) are the next to die after Roger's warning, making the police even more suspicious.
After escaping from custody, Roger uses Billy to communicate and send scripts to Penny. When rewriting one of the programs, Gork: Son of Fire, Roger attempts to write the script with self-referential events, proving to everyone that the mysterious killer is actually sound engineer Max Applewhite. Max explains that his killings were a revenge scheme that dealt with stockholders and patents, specifically detailing his invention of television, which other scientists have copied. Max takes Roger and Penny atop the radio tower at gunpoint, but is eventually killed when a biplane shows up and guns him down. Impressed by the nightly performance, the sponsors decide to fund WBN. Roger and Penny reconcile their complex relationship and decide not to divorce.
Cast
- Brian Benben as Roger Henderson, Ecstatic writer of WBN and husband to Penny. Much to the consternation of the police force, Roger solves the murder mystery.
- Mary Stuart Masterson as Penny Henderson: Stressed WBN secretary who is promoted to both director and stage manager after the deaths of Walt Jr. and Herman Katzenback. She initially intends to divorce Roger after mistakenly believing he was having an affair with Claudette Katzenback, but they later reconcile their relationship.
- Scott Michael Campbell as Billy Budget, WBN page boy who is used by Roger to communicate with Penny and send scripts, despite the fact that he is trying to hide from the police.
- Michael Lerner as Lieutenant Cross, Short-tempered policeman who has a vendetta against Roger.
- Ned Beatty as General Walt Whalen: Owner of WBN who commands his staff with a military-like work environment. The General dies after falling down an elevator shaft.
- Brion James as Bernie King, WBN's main sponsor who has no sense of humor. King eventually dies from laughing gas.
- Stephen Tobolowsky as Max Applewhite, WBN's sound engineer who is found to be responsible for the murders. Max dies after getting shot atop the radio tower.
- Michael McKean as Rick Rochester, WBN band conductor who despises Dexter (McKean also appeared as Benben's boss in Dream On).
- Corbin Bernsen as Dexter Morris, The station's announcer who has a smoking habit. Dexter dies of electrocution, ignoring Roger and Billy's warning.
- Bobcat Goldthwait as Wild Writer, Violent and melancholic WBN writer.
- Anita Morris as Claudette Katzenback, Famous singer and Herman's wife. Penny catches her with Roger, presumably having sex, but this appears to have been a prank Claudette created. Roger originally believes she was responsible for killings. This was Anita Morris' final acting role, as she died seven months before the film's release.
- Jeffrey Tambor as Walt Whalen Jr., The General's toupée-wearing son and show director.
- Larry Miller as Herman Katzenback: German stage manager of WBN. Herman is the third to die and is aware of Claudette's multiple affairs with other employees.
- Christopher Lloyd as Zoltan, Eccentric sound designer.
- Harvey Korman as Jules Cogley: Alcoholic writer who confirms that Ruffles' death came from poisoning.
- Dylan Baker as Detective Jasper, Cross' idiot assistant.
- Jack Sheldon as "Ruffles" Reedy, Drunk trumpet player of Rochester's band. He is the first to die.
Cameo appearances are provided by George Burns (in his final feature film, as Milt Lackey, a 100-year-old comedian), Joey Lawrence, Billy Barty, Peter MacNicol, Robert Klein, Ellen Albertini Dow, Candy Clark, Bo Hopkins (as Billy Budget's parents) and Wilbur Fitzgerald, as well as singers Rosemary Clooney and Tracy Byrd.
Production
Development
The genesis of Radioland Murders came from
Lucas eventually negotiated a deal to produce Radioland Murders for Universal shortly after the successful release of American Graffiti in late 1973.
In July 1978, Lucas revealed that Radioland Murders was still in development, and that both Steve Martin and Cindy Williams were approached for the two leads. The script was being rewritten and the planned start date was early 1979. However, throughout the 1970s to early 1990s, Radioland Murders remained in development hell.[3] Between this time, Lucas commissioned Theodore J. Flicker to perform a rewrite. In early 1993 Lucas told Universal that advances in computer-generated imagery from Industrial Light & Magic (owned by Lucasfilm), particularly in digital mattes, would help bring Radioland Murders in for a relatively low budget of about $10 million,[5] which eventually rose to $15 million.[4]
Pre-production
Universal agreed to greenlight Radioland Murders if Lucas would "update" the script. The Huyck/Katz script contained parodies of old-time radio that the general public in the 1970s would likely acknowledge. Universal reasoned that the script would have to be modified in an attempt to accustom audiences from the MTV Generation.[4] Based on Ron Howard's recommendation,[5] Lucas hired Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn (known for their work on Moonlighting) to "update" the screenplay.[4] The shooting script was prepared by Lucas, who combined his favorite elements of the Reno/Osborn draft with the original Huyck/Katz script from the 1970s. Lucas then hired Mel Smith to direct, who recommended Brian Benben for the lead role. Lucas specifically chose Smith because he believed the British comedian/filmmaker could handle Radioland Murders' form of slapstick comedy and dark humor.[5] Universal was adamant that the ensemble cast be filled with then-popular TV stars of the early 1990s.[4] Christopher Lloyd agreed to make a small appearance as the eccentric sound designer Zoltan on the agreement that all of his scenes were shot in one day.[5]
Filming
Release
To market Radioland Murders, Universal attached a
Critical reception
Radioland Murders received negative reviews with
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave a mixed reaction, feeling the filmmakers failed in attempting to woo audiences with nostalgia.[15] Internet reviewer James Berardinelli called the film a "horrible concoction synthesizing elements of The Hudsucker Proxy and Brain Donors, and setting them in the world of David Lynch's On the Air. This film has more gags in it than anything this side of a Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker production, too few of which work."[16]
Year-end lists
- 1st worst – Michael Mills, The Palm Beach Post[17]
- 1st worst – Stephen Hunter, The Baltimore Sun[18]
- 4th worst – Desson Howe, The Washington Post[19]
- Top 10 worst (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer[20]
- Top 10 worst (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Mike Mayo, The Roanoke Times[21]
Home media
The first
See also
- Danger on the Air, a 1938 mystery-comedy film set in a radio station
- Up in the Air, a 1940 mystery-comedy film set in a radio station
- Who Done It?, a 1942 mystery-comedy film set in a radio station
References
- ^ Bernard Weinraub (1994-10-20). "The Ultimate Hollywoodian Lives an Anti-Hollywood Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ISBN 0-380-97833-4.
- ^ ISBN 0-8109-4968-7.
- ^ a b c d e Baxter, pp. 380-382
- ^ a b c d e f Hearn, pp. 180-182
- ^ a b c Army Archerd (1994-06-20). "'Affair' looks to duplicate O.J. drama". Variety. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
- ^ Ann Hornaday (1994-05-15). "The Attack of the Big Summer Movies; Coming Soon: Whatever They Sent Us A Trailer Of". The New York Times.
- ^ "Radioland Murders". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
- ^ Staff (1994-11-04). "An 'Affair' To Forget". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ "Biggest Second Weekend Drops". boxofficemojo.com. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- ^ "Radioland Murders". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
- ^ "Radioland Murders movie review (1994) | Roger Ebert".
- ^ Richard Schickel (1994-10-24). "Radio Active". Time. Archived from the original on May 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ Caryn James (1994-10-21). "Radioland Murders". The New York Times.
- ^ Mick LaSalle (1995-04-28). "Radioland Murders". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ James Berardinelli. "Radioland Murders". ReelViews. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ Mills, Michael (December 30, 1994). "It's a Fact: 'Pulp Fiction' Year's Best". The Palm Beach Post (Final ed.). p. 7.
- ^ Hunter, Stephen (December 25, 1994). "Films worthy of the title 'best' in short supply MOVIES". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
- ^ Howe, Desson (December 30, 1994), "The Envelope Please: Reel Winners and Losers of 1994", The Washington Post, retrieved July 19, 2020
- ^ Arnold, William (December 30, 1994). "'94 Movies: Best and Worst". Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Final ed.). p. 20.
- ^ Mayo, Mike (December 30, 1994). "The Hits and Misses at the Movies in '94". The Roanoke Times (Metro ed.). p. 1.
- Amazon.com. 11 March 1998. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
- Amazon.com. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
- ^ "Radioland Murders Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com.
External links
- Radioland Murders at Lucasfilm.com
- Radioland Murders at IMDb
- Radioland Murders at AllMovie
- Radioland Murders at Box Office Mojo
- Radioland Murders at Rotten Tomatoes