Mike's Murder (1984)

38% of users liked it
(39 ratings)

An ordinary woman is unwittingly led into California's criminal underbelly in this drama. Betty Parrish (Debra Winger) is a bank teller who is involved in a rather sporadic relationship with Mike (Mark Keyloun), a low-level tennis pro who supplements his income by dealing cocaine on the side. One… More An ordinary woman is unwittingly led into California's criminal underbelly in this drama. Betty Parrish (Debra Winger) is a bank teller who is involved in a rather sporadic relationship with Mike (Mark Keyloun), a low-level tennis pro who supplements his income by dealing cocaine on the side. One night, Betty finds herself stood up by Mike and discovers that there's a good reason why he hasn't shown up -- he's been killed. It seems that Mike and his friend Pete (Darrell Larson) were acting as middlemen in a deal for one of the city's major drug suppliers. Mike and Pete made the mistake of siphoning off some of the cocaine for their own purposes (Mike wanted product to sell to his customers, while Pete needed to satisfy his growing addiction to coke), and the dealer's thugs had Mike eliminated rather than allowing him to steal from their boss. Betty and Pete want to find out the truth about how and why Mike was murdered, and their journey leads them into the darkest regions of the Los Angeles underworld. Mike's Murder went through extensive revisions between its first previews and its final release; pop singer and songwriter Joe Jackson, then at the height of his popularity, composed a score for the film, and a soundtrack album of his music appeared in stores several months before the film's belated release. However, by that time much of Jackson's music had been replaced with a new score by John Berry. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: James Bridges
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Mar 9, 1984 Wide
On DVD: Jul 18, 1995
Studio: The Ladd Company

Critic Reviews

Anthony Del Valle, Las Vegas Mercury
A wonderful performance by Debra Wiinger helps flesh out this intriguing thriller about a missing man.
James Sanford, rec.arts.movies.reviews
an unorthodox thriller that's less concerned with scaring viewers than it is with building a carefully controlled atmosphere of menace... a beautifully evoked, vaguely creepy atmosphere hangs over every scene...

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Cast

            Debra Winger as Betty Parrish

            Mark Keyloun as Mike

            Darrell Larson as Pete

            Brooke Alderson as Patty

            Paul Winfield as Phillip

            Robert Crosson as Sam

            William Ostrander as Randy

            Dawn Abraham as Beautiful Girl

            Frank Cavestani as Charles

            Mark High as Ben

            Gregory Hormel as Kid Drug Buyer

            Annie Jones as Party Goer

            Robert Kincaid as Bodyguard

            Freeman King as Killer

            Kym Malin as Beautiful Girl

            Ken Y. Namba as Sushi Chef

            Víctor Pérez as Tough Guy

            Dan Shor as Richard

            Alphonse V. Walter as Killer

            Randy Wayne White as Boss Man

            Ruth Winger as Betty's Mother

            Sarah Zinsser as Girl in Videotape

            April Ferry as Boss Lady

            Bruce Marder as Cafe Worker

            John Michael Stewart as Tough Guy

            Lorraine Butler as Beautiful Girl

            James Carrington as Jim

            Johnny B. Frank as Blonde Punker

            Steven Solberg as Party Goer
See full cast

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