An obese, embittered nurse doesn't mind if her toupee-wearing boyfriend romances and fleeces other women, as long as he takes her along on his con jobs.An obese, embittered nurse doesn't mind if her toupee-wearing boyfriend romances and fleeces other women, as long as he takes her along on his con jobs.An obese, embittered nurse doesn't mind if her toupee-wearing boyfriend romances and fleeces other women, as long as he takes her along on his con jobs.
- Jackson
- (as Mike Haley)
- Justice of the Peace
- (as Col. William Adams)
- Directors
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOriginally to be directed by Martin Scorsese, but he was replaced after a week of shooting due to creative differences by Donald Volkman who was subsequently replaced by Leonard Kastle. Scorsese was fired because he was filming every scene in master shots and not shooting close-ups or other coverage, making the film impossible to edit. According to Kastle's interview with the Criterion collection, the ultimate moment that caused Scorsese's firing was trying to get close-up on a beer can lit perfectly for the intended tone.
- GoofsIn the scene on the bus with the dead victim of Martha and Ray, there is a long shot of the woman's face with her eyes somewhat googly and her tongue sticking out, as you hear the bus driver exclaiming her death, etc. Towards the end of the shot, if you watch the woman's face, you can see her tongue move.
- Quotes
Martha Beck: What's the matter, can't you sleep? You woke me up.
Myrtle Young: Oh I'm sorry, I guess I'm just restless.
Martha Beck: You want a sleeping pill? I've got some.
Myrtle Young: You have any other kind?
Martha Beck: What do you mean?
Myrtle Young: Never mind. You wouldn't, you're too square!
[sighs]
Martha Beck: You sigh a lot, don't you? In nursing school they taught us that people who sigh a lot are unstable. Is that your problem?
Myrtle Young: No! I was just thinkin' about your brother; and how handsome he looked in that toupee I gave him. He lied to you.
Martha Beck: I don't believe it, he never lies to me!
Myrtle Young: I think he's a little bit afraid of you, that's probably why he never married before. I think I'm gonna have to show him what to do!
Martha Beck: You must think you're an authority!
Myrtle Young: Well I *am* pregnant!
Martha Beck: Not only are you pregnant, you are disgusting! You're the hottest bitch I've ever seen!
Myrtle Young: I don't have to take that from you! And let me tell you something. I am in love with your brother. And if we decide to make a go of this marriage, which I think we'll do, and sooner than you think, why we'll get out of here before you can say 'Jack Robinson'. We will go to Little Rock. Why, as a matter of fact, I will make all the arrangements on the phone with my Papa tomorrow! Charles will fit right in with us, he has STYLE. And you, you can go right back to that, that, that, that hospital of yours where you can boss everybody around! Now I'm going back to my husband!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: Hidden Horror (1988)
- SoundtracksSymphonies Nos. 5, 6 & 9
Composed by Gustav Mahler
Well, felix culpa! I emerged shocked. At the time of its release there was nothing quite like it. Two small-time murdering cons deeply in love with one another in some twisted kind of way. Balding, overacting Tony Lo Bianco. Plumply menacing battleaxe of a nurse, Shirley Stoler. The photography is grainy and primitive. Indoor lamps don't simply cast light -- they glare. The movie's idea of a proper family home looks like something that might be owned by a worker in the Pabst Brewery in Newark.
Lo Bianco as Ray is a minor Latin con type, adroit with lonely women, while Stoler, as Martha Beck (great name) is the passionate one, filled with jealousy and rage. I don't know if the victims were supposed to be seen as somehow contemptible, what with their obtuseness and whining, but we never forget that we're dealing with human beings here. The first murder is relatively genteel. Death on a bus follows a poisoning. The next is bone-chilling. To appreciate the shock value of the violence a viewer needs to remember that this was filmed before all the extended gore and homicides we see now in movies like "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer," "Atlantic City," and "Torn Curtain."
Previously, when the victim was whacked hard on the head with a claw hammer, he or she slumped forward, decorously dead. Not here. As in "The Assassination of Trotsky," the victim is momentarily stunned, then recovers screaming. The second homicide involves the only use of a directorial touch unusual enough to draw attention to itself. The victim is lying on her back in bed while her two attackers discuss the best way to murder her. The camera concentrates on her uncomprehending and frightened eyes flicking from side to side, then a sharp pan to a pistol pressed against her head, and the sound of a shot. (A contemporary review of the film criticized one of the scenes because we could hear Ray urinating into the toilet bowl offscreen.)
The last duet of murders exceeds the limits of any sympathy we might have felt towards the lovers. Ray has promised Martha that he's not going to boff the last victim, whereas, it is revealed, he's been unfaithful -- to Martha, that is. Well, that's enough for Martha. After disposing of both her last rival and child she drops the dime on the two of them. If she can't own Ray exclusively then no one's going to have a piece of him. Ray writes her a love letter in jail. His ability to forgive is almost religious in its magnitude. Either that or he just can't stop telling lies.
This is a true story, and it has the digressions and non sequiturs we find in a real-life script. People get into unexpected and awkward arguments that are accidentally heard offscreen. Ray's sleep is constantly interrupted by Martha arguing with a victim in the next bedroom. The fact that this is based on real events make it all the more scary. Skip Freddy and the rest if you want to be scared out of your wits. Catch this instead.
- rmax304823
- Dec 13, 2002
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Dear Martha
- Filming locations
- Kenmore Hotel, Albany, New York, USA(Exterior shot)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $200,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 47 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1