Murphy's Law

1986
R
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

6.8K

YOUR RATING

Charles Bronson and Kathleen Wilhoite in Murphy's Law (1986)

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Dark Comedy Action Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

Framed for his ex-wife's murder by a parolee he once put behind bars, Los Angeles cop Jack Murphy escapes from custody to capture the killer, but he is now handcuffed to a foul-mouthed thief... Read allFramed for his ex-wife's murder by a parolee he once put behind bars, Los Angeles cop Jack Murphy escapes from custody to capture the killer, but he is now handcuffed to a foul-mouthed thief he had only just arrested.Framed for his ex-wife's murder by a parolee he once put behind bars, Los Angeles cop Jack Murphy escapes from custody to capture the killer, but he is now handcuffed to a foul-mouthed thief he had only just arrested.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

6.8K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
When there would be delays between takes, Charles Bronson would often get frustrated and could be heard saying "Let's shoot! Let's shoot!" causing the crew to scramble. One reason for this is that family man Charles Bronson liked to go home after shooting each day and have dinner with his family.

Goofs
Murphy and Arabella leave Murphy's friend's cabin (right before he's murdered by Joan Freeman) and that very evening, Arabella sees a newspaper with the heading "Escaped Cop Kills Again". The newspaper even writes that Arabella is his accomplice. However, there's no reason for the police to assume that the murderer was Murphy. Joan Freeman shoots the victim with his own rifle, not Murphy's gun. Moreover, it's highly implausible that the police could even know about a murder in a very remote cabin in the woods, make inquiries and somehow mark Murphy as a suspect, and get the story into the evening papers, all in the space of a few hours.

Quotes
Frank Vincenzo: [threateningly] Oh, Murphy, let me ask you: you ever hear of Murphy's law? "If anything can possibly go wrong, it will." A lot of things could happen to someone like you: you can get run over by a truck; the gas heater in your apartment could blow up; or you could lose a wheel going down the freeway at 80 miles an hour. Got to remember that.
[Murphy, unimpressed by the mobster's threats, bends forward, smiling]
Jack Murphy: The only law I know is "Jack Murphy's law." It's very simple: don't *fuck* with Jack Murphy. You remember that.

Connections
Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Bob Uecker/Kathleen Wilhoite/Zippy the Chimp (1986)

Soundtracks
Murphy's Law
Written and Performed by Paul McCallum, Kathleen Wilhoite and John Bisharat

User reviews74

Review

Featured review

A+ Bronson!

All right folks, we all know the late Mister Bronson wasn't a good "actor" in the traditional sense. When you went to see his films, you didn't go to see him do Shakespeare or Tennessee Williams, you went to see him blow scum away and he always delivered. I think he had a higher body count then Clint Eastwood. Murphy's Law is probably the closest thing he ever did to a comedy. He and Kathleen Wilhoite made a good team as a foul mouthed street girl and a drunken framed for murder cop on the run. Wilhoite has to set some kind of a record in this film for the most swear words (the most imaginative swear words). Bronson is stony faced as usual but that was just him. I like the scene where he plays Russian Roulette on that one mobster (he literally catches him with his pants down). Jack Murphy is a burnt out drunk but you still feel for him. The only thing I couldn't figure out is why he didn't show them that bump on the back of his head after those guys killed his ex wife and tried to make it look like he did it? Lapse of logic there. The jail break and helicopter scene are the best part of the film as is the final shootout. Carrie Snodgrass is wonderful as the female psychopath and I love this exchange she has with Bronson (You go to hell!...Ladies first!). Bronson was never really able to have another hit as big as Death Wish (who could top that?). However this film is worth a look, after all in how many films does the hero throw his groceries at the bad guys and get kneed in the cojones by the heroine? Look for 1940s gangster star Lawrence Tierney in a cameo.