Absence of Malice (1981)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writer:

Kurt Luedtke (written by)

Release Date:

18 December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Suppose you picked up this morning's newspaper and your life was a front page headline... And everything they said was accurate... But none of it was true.

Plot:

Michael Colin Gallagher is the son of a long dead Mafia boss who is a simple liquor warehouse owner...

Plot Keywords:

Blouse Ripping | Newspaper | Boat | Ethics | Mafia

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Michael Colin Gallagher
Sally Field	...	Megan Carter
Bob Balaban	...	Elliott Rosen
Melinda Dillon	...	Teresa Perrone
Luther Adler	...	Uncle Santos Malderone
Barry Primus	...	Bob Waddell
Josef Sommer	...	McAdam
John Harkins	...	Davidek
Don Hood	...	Dist. Atty. James A. Quinn
Wilford Brimley	...	Asst. U.S. Atty. Gen. James A. Wells
Arnie Ross	...	FBI Agent Eddie Frost
Anna Marie Napoles	...	Nickie
Shelley Spurlock	...	Sarah Wylie
Shawn McAllister	...	Santos Hood 1
Joe Petrullo	...	Santos Hood 2

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

South Korea:12 | USA:PG (certificate #26332) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | West Germany:12 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Writer Kurt Luedtke, a veteran newspaperman, based the protagonist of this film on the real-life son of a reputed gangster in Detroit. The alleged gangster was tried and convicted of the crime. At his retrial potential jurors were asked if they had seen this movie, to determine if they would be prejudiced in their evaluation of the evidence. Ultimately the gangster and his partner were both convicted and sentenced to jail terms for labor-related extortion.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Megan sends Gallagher a copy of the front page of the next morning's daily newspaper at least 12 hours before the edition even went to print. In reality, the front page is never laid out until the last minute before deadline to insure the most current news.

Quotes:

Michael Colin Gallagher: Why aren't you married?
Megan Carter: How do you know I'm not?
Michael Colin Gallagher: I don't see a ring.
Megan Carter: Haven't you heard of women's lib?
Michael Colin Gallagher: Most of them are ugly.
Megan Carter: Is that supposed to be a compliment?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Newhart: Presence of Malice (#6.15)" (1988)

How to outsmart a covey of smartasses

Mighty good drama depicting corruption in the justice department intending, on the surface, to solve a crime, but, beneath the waters, to further political careers. Sally Field played the self centered, self deluded reporter perfectly against Newman's confused, angry victim. Worth seeing.