Throw Momma from the Train
Short description
Throw Momma from the Train centers on Larry Donner, a writing teacher and novelist whose ex-wife, Margaret, turned his manuscript into her own success. Among his students is Owen Lift, a grown man stuck under the rule of his harsh, overbearing mother. After Owen watches a Hitchcock thriller about two strangers who agree to commit murder for each other, he takes the idea literally and proposes a swap: he will kill Margaret if Larry kills his mother. Larry dismisses the notion, but events start moving before he can stop them.
The 1987 comedy was directed by Danny DeVito and written by Stu Silver, with Larry Brezner producing for Orion Pictures. It was DeVito's first outing as a director, followed chronologically by The War of the Roses, Hoffa, Matilda, Death to Smoochy and Duplex. DeVito plays Owen opposite Billy Crystal as Larry, with Kim Greist, Anne Ramsey, Kate Mulgrew and Branford Marsalis in supporting roles. Anne Ramsey's performance as the mother became one of the film's defining elements.
Made for about 14 million dollars, the film took in roughly 58 million worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds a 6 out of 10 critics' rating from 36 reviews, while on TMDB it sits at 6.2 out of 10 from 688 votes, putting the two measures close together.
What's left behind the scenes
- This film marked Danny DeVito's directorial debut.
- During filming, actress Ann Ramsey was undergoing treatment for throat cancer and was in severe pain. However, according to Danny DeVito, she never asked to be excused from work. The role of 'Mom' became the actress’s brightest and most memorable role, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award in the 'Best Supporting Actress' category in 1988.
- Director Rob Reiner made a cameo appearance in the film as Agent Larry.
- The film parodies the thriller genre and is simultaneously a comedic remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" (1951) – a film that Owen goes to see in the cinema, where he comes up with the idea to "exchange murders" with Larry.
- The frying pan that Danny DeVito hits Billy Crystal in the face with was made of rubber.
- When Mama hits Larry in the groin with her cane, he falls to the floor and whispers: "That's not a woman. That's the Terminator." Arnold Schwarzenegger played the role of the Terminator, and Danny DeVito starred with him the following year in "Twins" (1988), and later again in "Junior" (1994).
- The events in the film take place in 1987. At the end of the film, Larry and Owen meet again a year later – in 1988. Larry asks Owen: "How's your Mom?", to which he replies: "She's dead." Actress Ann Ramsey, who played the role of Mom, actually died in 1988, a year after the film's release.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
