Throw Momma from the Train

"Owen asked his friend Larry for a small favor."

1987 1h 28m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 693

ComedyCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Larry Donner, an author with a cruel ex-wife, teaches a writing workshop in which one of his students, Owen, is fed up with his domineering mother. When Owen watches a Hitchcock classic that seems to mirror his own life, he decides to put the movie's plot into action and offers to kill Larry's ex-wife, if Larry promises to murder his mom. Before Larry gets a chance to react to the plan, it seems that Owen has already set things in motion.

“Owen asked his friend Larry for a small favor.”

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Cast

Danny DeVito
Owen Lift
Billy Crystal
Larry Donner
Kim Greist
Beth Ryan
Anne Ramsey
Mrs. Lift
Kate Mulgrew
Margaret Donner
Branford Marsalis
Lester
Rob Reiner
Joel
Bruce Kirby
Detective DeBenedetto

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Danny DeVito
Writers: Stu Silver
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Danny DeVito, shot by Barry Sonnenfeld. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by David Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Jablow shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal and Kim Greist carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Owen asked his friend Larry for a small favor.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Danny DeVito directs. Barry Sonnenfeld behind the camera. David Newman scores. Michael Jablow cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.
339 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by Danny DeVito, shot by Barry Sonnenfeld. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by David Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Michael Jablow shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal and Kim Greist carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Owen asked his friend Larry for a small favor.".
9IMDB entry: tt0094142 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "writer's block", "train", "overbearing mother", "ex-wife".

The technical file

Cinematography: Barry Sonnenfeld
Original score: David Newman
Editing: Michael Jablow
Production design: Ida Random
Costume design: Marilyn Vance
Makeup / hair: Ken Chase
Stunt coordinator: Vince Deadrick Sr.
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $14,000,000
Box office: $57,915,972
Return: 414% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Throw Momma from the Train (1987)

Awards

Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Danny DeVito

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2023-06-06
★ 7/10
A little all over the place, granted, but I still felt entertained by <em>'Throw Momma from the Train'</em>. Danny DeVito stars in what is his theatrical directorial debut. I chose to watch this because of him being in it, as I want to watch more of his stuff, and he is the film's strongest element, I'd say. Billy Crystal is good too, him and DeVito work nicely together throughout. Anne Ramsey's character annoyed me a lot, I can't lie. I'm actually flabbergasted to read that the performance got Ramsey an Oscar nomination - 1987 must've been a slow year for Best Supporting Actress. No hate for Ramsey though, btw - happy for her! I know Momma is supposed to be annoying, but she's way too far along that particular scale for me. The aforementioned is my only complaint, however. It's a good time otherwise, even if I feel like it meanders here and there in setting up each part of the story. It's all worthy of your time, mind.
CinemaSerf2025-01-17
★ 6/10
Though she doesn't really feature enough, Anne Ramsey does steal the show with her scenes as the mother whom henpecked son "Owen" (Danny DeVito) wants to chuck from the train! Meantime, stagnating author "Larry" is shouting as the television whilst his ex-wife "Margaret" (Kate Mulgrew) is doing the chat show circuit with a book he claimed to have written. He would cheerfully see her dead, and that's exactly what happens when his student "Owen" takes advantage of a scenario on a luxury yacht. Thing is, he owns up to "Larry" and demands - à la "Strangers on a Train" (1951) - a quid pro quo. "Larry" isn't keen on becoming a murderer though, but having encountered the harridan mother first-hand and having become a police suspect in the demise of his former wife he might find his options limited! I'm not really a lover of buddy comedy as such. Usually the scenarios are so obviously contrived to get a series of laughs before a dead cert conclusion that you could have written them yourself. This one isn't really very different on that front, but DeVito and Crystal do work well together keeping the story from becoming too formulaic and at times it provides quite a poignant assessment of friendship and marriage. I had forgotten just how big Oprah's hair was in the 1980s!