RADIOLAND MURDERS (1994) - Kino Lorber

Radioland Murders
Kino Lorber

Original Release Date Oct. 21st, 1994
Written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz, Jeff Reno, Ron Osborn, story by George Lucas
Directed by Mel Smith
Starring Brian Benben, Mary Stuart Masterson, Ned Beatty, Michael McKean, Larry Miller
Language English

Purchase your copy HERE from Kino Lorber

by "Doc" Hunter Bush
MovieJawn Podcast Director & Staff Writer, cohost of the Hate Watch / Great Watch Podcast

The Movie: Good

Radioland Murders is an interesting beast. Half relationship on the rocks drama, and half classic Hollywood whodunnit romp complete with mile-a-minute repartee, pithy rejoinders, and wacky shenanigans. Allegedly the original version of the script was balanced more on the relationship side with the radio station storyline as the backdrop, before overcorrecting the other way and finally ending up somewhere in the middle. But along the way, we're given a whirlwind look at what putting on an old school variety radio show might have looked like under some very specific circumstances.

It's the night of the maiden broadcast of upstart radio station WBN in Chicago and everything is in a madcap state of chaos, and that's before the murders begin. When the station's number one sponsor demands last-minute script changes, assistant director Penny (Mary Stuart Masterson) has to wrangle her soon-to-be ex-husband Roger (Brian Benben) and the rest of the writers to rework a whole night's worth of entertainment! As every department makes their last minute preparations and the show's broadcast time creeps steadily closer, no one is expecting that a murderer may be in their midst, but shortly after the curtain rises, the bodies begin to fall.

I love murder mysteries and whodunnits, but this isn't really much of one. Even setting aside the sheer number of theoretical suspects, I don't think there's ever really any clues set out for the audience to follow, yet the movie spends a lot of its run time following that thread, to the detriment of the relationship story between Penny and Roger. We never really get a great idea what their issues were, they just seem vaguely exasperated by each other. While that is very much in keeping with the film's inspiration, and is very cute, it really just means that the main obstacle keeping them apart is that Roger pretty quickly becomes the police lieutenant (Michael Lerner)'s prime suspect. This leads to perhaps the film's strongest facet: the screwball comedy of it all. There are outlandish costume changes, police chases through the hallways, even some gunplay for comedic effect! Roger even ends up climbing the enormous letters on the exterior of the building and later holds off the cops with a firehose! It is genuinely quite zany.

Competing with these plots is the radio broadcast itself. We keep cutting away from the film's dueling focal points (the murder and the romance) to the booth, to the writers' room, to the foley dept., to the various bands and orchestras performing on the stage, to backstage as folks quickly change sets on the enormous rotating turntable preparing for the next number. Maybe it's just me, but I was almost more interested with those, perfectly ordinary, comings and goings than I was with the more bombastic storylines.

Like I said, an interesting beast. I don't think there's really a "bad" aspect to the film. All the performances are fun and memorable and attention-grabbing, the murders are creative and varied enough to keep your interest, and Masterson and Benben have a real livewire chemistry that makes their relationship fun to track. But at some point it becomes impossible to keep caring equally about ALL these disparate elements. About halfway through, the film narrows its focus more to follow the wrongfully accused Roger as he tries to prove his innocence, but it still doesn't ever give you room to breathe. As good as it is, I found it hard to stay engaged as things went on.

The Packaging: Good

This is your typical slim, blue plastic Blu-ray case with a cover image that feels like a throwback to the posters of yesteryear: Penny and Roger peeking around the stage curtain at someone collapsed, presumably dead, in the spotlight onstage. All this is lacking from those old Hollywood posters are the inset illustrations of other notable stars and, usually, quite a lot of text. This cover is recreated on the cardboard sleeve as well. It's nothing remarkable, but it is quietly very appealing.

The Audio + Video: Excellent

This looks and sounds fantastic, but isn't showy about it. The film as a whole is very, not dark exactly, but muted. The overall color scheme of the film is composed of deep, velvety blue tones, and peachy ambers, with pops of a cherry red dress here, or the purple curtain behind Claudette Katsenback (Anita Morris), the station' "Va Va Voom Girl". The lighting is very soft in a lot of the film, like the bounce lighting in the booth, and instead of looking dim, everything feels really warm, intimate and comforting.

Likewise, the sound mix isn't showy, but is just really solid. I mentioned the mile-a-minute dialogue up above, and underneath that, there's always a lot going on sonically. People backstage are always yelling or talking over each other, there is frequently music coming from the stage, or a performance, and the folks in the booth are using the headset mics to communicate to certain characters almost constantly. But you're always perfectly able to clearly hear all the dialogue and appreciate how witty it is.

Special Features: Average

The bonus features here are a little thin, though I will say I really enjoyed the Brian Benben interview, which is where I got that tidbit about the script's original focus that I mentioned above. He also states that apparently this film, which was the brainchild of George Lucas, is in a shared universe with American Graffiti (1973), with the parents of Richard Dreyfuss' character in that film also being named Penny and Roger Henderson. Georgie boy was really all about that cinematic universe business right from the jump, hunh?

Be forewarned: for some reason, the trailer for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is incredibly loud. Why?

• Audio commentary by entertainment journalists / authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
• Brian Benben's Radioland Murders Memories: Interview (17:32)
• TRAILERS
• Radioland Murders (1994) (2:05)
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) (1:28)
• Brain Donors (1992) (1:30)
• Cry-Baby (1990) (1:58)
• Kingpin (1996) ( (1:28)
• MouseHunt (1997) (2:05)

In Summary: Snag it at a yard sale

Radioland Murders isn't bad by any means, but it can't commit to being any one of the things it's paying homage to, which makes it just okay across several genres. While I think all the individual pieces are very well done from the writing, to the performances, to the look, the tone, and the gags; somehow it fails to cohere into a unified-feeling whole. It just feels very scattered. However, if you're big into the style of old Hollywood films, or whip crack back-and-forth dialogue I would definitely recommend checking it out.

There's one last aspect of Radioland Murders worth mentioning: the incredible cast. George Burns, Michael McKean, Stephen Tobolowski, Christopher Lloyd, Corbin Bernsen, Rosemary Clooney, Bobcat Goldthwait, Dylan Baker, Billy Barty, Harvey Korman, Joey Lawrence; Radioland Murders is worth a watch for the murderer's row (no pun intended) of supporting cast members alone, and maybe you'll find the rest of it hooks you as well. At the very least, you'll be much better at Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.