| Killing 'em Softly | |
| Director: | Max Fischer |
| Producer: | Claude Léger |
| Starring: | George Segal Irene Cara Joyce Gordon Andrew Martin Thompson Barbara Cook Clark Johnson Nicholas Campbell |
| Based On: | The Neighbor (novel) by Laird Koenig |
| Distributor: | Interglobal Home Video |
| Music: | Art Phillips |
| Cinematography: | François Protat |
| Editing: | Jean-Guy Montpetit Fabien D. Tordjmann |
| Language: | English |
| Country: | Canada |
Killing em Softly is a 1982 Canadian thriller film directed by Max Fischer, starring Irene Cara, George Segal, Clark Johnson and Nicholas Campbell.[1] It is most noted for production problems which led to it becoming one of the first Canadian films ever to be released direct to video,[2] and led to a court case over production funding which was not resolved until 1995.[3]
Based on Laird Koenig's novel The Neighbor, the film's plot centres on the girlfriend of a murdered man, who falls in love with her boyfriend's killer.[1]
Irene Cara also performs the opening theme song "City Nights".
The film was originally announced with the working title Neighbor,[3] and was originally slated to star Peter O'Toole in the role that Segal ultimately played.[1] Due to cost overruns, however, producer Claude Léger approached Télé-Métropole and the Dutch firm Mueller International as guarantors for a $3.15 million loan from the Mercantile Bank of Canada.[3] When a dispute emerged over story rights, Mercantile Bank called in the loan, bankrupting Léger.[4] Mercantile Bank then sued Télé-Métropole and Mueller International to recover its costs, and gave the film a minimal theatrical run under the title The Man in 5A,[1] before selling it to Palan Entertainment for $480,000.[3]
In 1989, the Quebec Superior Court ordered Télé-Métropole to pay $4.6 million to the National Bank of Canada, which had by this time acquired the Mercantile Bank.[4] Télé-Métropole appealed the decision to the Quebec Court of Appeal, which upheld the decision in 1995; with compound interest, however, Télé-Métropole was now ordered to pay $8 million.[3]
Screenwriter Leila Basen acknowledged in good humor that she had written what was widely considered "the worst Canadian movie ever made".[5] According to Basen, however, "at least the script for The Man in 5A was good. The problem was that the producers ran out of money. I paid to see the movie at a theatre - and asked for my money back at the end."[5]
Campbell received a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 4th Genie Awards in 1983.[6] Writing for Cinema Canada, critic J. Paul Costabile stated that the nomination had been given "for no discernible reason".[1]