Murphy's Romance (1986)
Emma is a divorced woman with a teen-aged son who moves into a small town and tries to make a go of a horse ranch. Murphy is the widowed town druggist who steers business her way. Things are going along predictably until her ex-husband shows up, needing a place to stay. The three of them form an intricate circle, with Emma's son liking Murphy but desperately wanting his father back.
Just when you think you've found the right guy, someone even worse comes along.
Murphy: I'm in love for the last time in my life.
Emma: I'm in love for the first time in my life.
Florence, Arizona, USA
(setting: Eunice, Arizona)
Tubac, Arizona, USA
(exterior scenes)
Tucson, Arizona, USA
(street scenes)
Keating Building, 310 N Main Street, Florence, Arizona, USA
(exterior scenes)
Eloy, Arizona, USA
Sally Field once said on the A&E television show James Garner: Hollywood Maverick (2000) that her kissing scene with Garner in this picture was the best on-screen kiss she had ever had.
James Garner received his only Academy Award Nomination for his portrayal of Murphy Jones.
One of the few films to successfully appeal its MPAA rating. In a pivotal scene with Murphy, Bobby Jack asks him if he and Emma have been "f
". The MPAA "automatic language rule" normally does not allow even a single instance of a "sexually derived" vulgarity, in a sexual context, in a PG-13 release.
The movie's director Martin Ritt said to The Gainesville Sun of the battle over the casting of James Garner in this film in an article published on 12th January 1986, "There was resistance to him. A lot of exhibitors didn't want Jim. But this part is for him. Jim is Murphy." Ritt added, "I've won 90% of those arguments. I'm very good at spotting people, and if I feel a person's going to be good, hell and high water will not get me off it".
Columbia Pictures really wanted Marlon Brando for his "box office allure", even though he hadn't been in a film since 1980. James Garner had played the lead male role in Victor/Victoria (1982). Martin Ritt and Sally Field insisted on Garner being in this film, resulting in his only Academy Award nomination.
Continuity
When Murphy visits Emma in the hospital, the items on the patient's tray beside her bed keep changing throughout the scene.
When Murphy and Emma return from their walk in the hospital, he tells her she only has one problem - her hospital gown is open all the way down her back. Earlier though, when they are leaving the room to take their walk, her gown is open only a few inches near the bottom.
Revealing mistakes
Emma walks out of the kitchen, holding Murphy's birthday cake with lit candles. Not one single person sang, "Happy Birthday."
Audio/visual unsynchronized
When Emma Moriarty's son Jake comes home from school, he gets off a school bus. The school bus is a 1970s-era Ford with the same engine used to power regular Ford pickups. The soundtrack plays the powerful engine of a 18-wheel tractor trailer which could be a Mack, Peterbilt, or Kenworth. Tractor trailer engines were not fitted to school buses.
Character error
Incorrectly Regarded as Goofs: When Murphy and Emma return from their walk in the hospital, he tells her that her hospital gown is open all the way down her back. This is an example of Murphy's humor; he is simply joking with Emma.
The Bingo card checker calls the Bingo caller by his real actor name Henry (Henry Slate) rather than his character name Fred.
When Murphy Jones is playing the fiddle at the dance hall, his bow strokes and fingerings are totally unrepresentative of the music heard on the soundtrack. Obviously, James Garner doesn't know how to play the violin, and the sequence was over-dubbed.