Throw Momma From the Train

 On this date in 1987, "Throw Momma From the Train" was released.

Danny DeVito once noted in an interview with Playboy Magazine that the scene where Owen shows his coin collection to Larry was inspired by his childhood habit of sharing things with friends that involved whatever he was into at the time. As director (in fact, he was making his directorial debut), he insisted on including such a sequence in the movie.

Anne Ramsey's speech impediment was caused by operations she underwent in order to treat throat cancer. During filming she was undergoing additional oral surgery and endured intense pain. However, according to director Danny DeVito, she never requested to be excused from work. "Momma" went on to become Ramsey's most critically-lauded performance, culminating with Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1988. Sadly, she died only six months after the ceremony because of that very same throat cancer. Ramsey has ten minutes screen time total in the film.

Orion Pictures, the studio which produced the film, needed to approach Warner Bros about getting permission to use the references to "Strangers on a Train" (1951) but Warner wasn't keen to cooperate. Warner realized that Orion still owned the rights to "Arthur" (1981), so they traded the 1951 Alfred Hitchcock classic to make an "Arthur" sequel. "Arthur 2: On the Rocks" (1988) turned out to be a complete disaster at the box office, whereas "Throw Momma from the Train" was the 13th most successful movie of 1987.