Main Cast: Kelly McGillis, Jeff Daniels, Mandy Patinkin, Christopher Rhode, Jessica Tandy
Release Year: 1988
Country: US
Run Time: 111 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Yes, there are commies under the bed. But are there Nazis there too? Emily Crane (Kelly McGillis) is a modestly successful Life photo editor living in 1950s New York, until she is called before the Senate Un-American Activities Committee to testify about her "communist" associations. When she refuses to divulge the names of friends in her civil liberties group, she loses her employment and her friends. In desperation, she takes a job reading books for Miss Venable, a somewhat crotchety lady (Jessica Tandy) who lives in a quiet residential neighborhood. Then, while taking a break in Miss Venable's back yard, Emily overhears something from the house behind that compels her to investigate and leads her eventually to conclude that it is the headquarters of a group smuggling in ex-Nazi scientists for some mysterious purpose. Meanwhile, she is being harassed by two FBI men, on behalf of the Senate Committee, as well as by a sinister, McCarthyite, Senate investigator named Salwen (Mandy Patinkin). One of the FBI men, Cochran (Jeff Daniels), takes a liking to Emily and humors her by agreeing to investigate her suspicions. This quiet mystery is a nostalgia piece. It's '50s backgrounds are authentic and the plot device -- an innocent becoming entangled in an unbelievable conspiracy -- is closer to one of Hitchcock's masterpieces of that period (e.g., North by Northwest) than to Reservoir Dogs or Speed. The people seem to be from a simpler time, too, when the distinction between good and evil was clearer. Emily shines with idealistic integrity and the naive Cochran is so honest that he finds it impossible to deceive the target of his investigation. There is even a terrifying, "acrophobe's nightmare" scene played out in a dome high above Grand Central Station. For those tired of endless shoot-em-ups and car chases, this is the mystery to choose. ~ Michael P. Rogers, All Movie Guide
Jonathan Hogan - Alan; Trey Wilson - Lieutenant Sloan; James Babchak - Salwen Aide in Senate Hearing; J.J. Barry - Barber; Anna Berger - Funeral Woman; Brian Davies - Warren; Mary Diveny - Maid; Alice Drummond - Woman at Hearing; William Duff-Griffin - FBI Librarian; George Ede - Conductor; Michael Flanagan - Senator; John Randolph Jones - Agent Simpson; Boris Leskin - Horwitz; Charles McCaughan - Salwen Aide; Maeve McGuire - Mrs. Byington; Randle Mell - Salwen Aide; Bill Moor - Dr. Teperson; Maureen Moore - Manicurist; Remak Ramsay - Senator Byington; James Rebhorn - Official; Frederick Rolf - FBI Director; Jamey Sheridan - Porter; Howard Sherman - Boris; Paul Sparer - Randolph Slote; Robert Stanton - Dionysus; Kenneth Welsh - Hackett; Cliff Cudney - McKay; David Hart - Stage Manager; Tony Carreiro - Xanthias; Christopher Cusack - Theater-goer; Todd de Freitas - Senator Byington's Son; Patricia Falkenhain - Woman In The House; Rabbi Morris S. Friedman - Rabbi; Stephen Gleason - Man at Theater Bar; John-Kenneth Hoffman - Walter; Gregory Jbara - Office Boy; Melba LaRose - Receptionist; Gaylord C. Mason - Theater Manager; Daniel Mills - Bartender; Polly O'Malley - Manicurist; Frank Patton - Sergeant; Elizabeth A. Reilly - Theater-goer; Skip Rose - Sloan's Partner; Suzanne Slade - Senator Byington's Daughter; James Tew - Sam; Alexis Yulin - Sackadorf; Marat Yusim - Bistrong; John Carpenter - Gateman
Credit
Stuart Wurtzel - Art Director, Nellie Nugiel - Associate Producer, Howard Feuer - Casting, Rita Ryack - Costume Designer, Joseph P. Reidy - First Assistant Director, Peter Yates - Director, Ray Lovejoy - Editor, Arlene Donovan - Executive Producer, Robert Benton - Executive Producer, Georges Delerue - Composer (Music Score), A. Hammerstein - Songwriter, D. Wilkinson - Songwriter, Richard Dean - Makeup, Steven W. Graham - Production Designer, Michael Ballhaus - Cinematographer, Robert F. Colesberry - Producer, Peter Yates - Producer, David Weinman - Set Designer, Tod A. Maitland - Sound/Sound Designer, Ken Bates - Stunts, Walter Bernstein - Screenwriter, Robin Clarke - Music Editor, George De Titta, Jr. - Set Decorator
