MOVIE DIALOGUE OF THE DAY ― THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN (1987)

Connection to the previous post (DEATH TO SMOOCHY): DANNY DeVITO directed both films. 

Ratings: IMDB ― 6.2/1o, Rotten Tomatoes ― 61%, ME ― 58%  



[Owen is typing on his typewriter when Momma comes and slams his hands on the keyboard]
Momma: Stop it, damn it! I got a wax ball in my ear. Get it out.
[Cut to bathroom. Momma slaps Owen]
Owen: Oh, Momma...
Momma: You're writing to her, aren't you Owen?
Owen: Don't start that again, Momma, and don't hit me anymore!
Momma: You love her.
Owen: There's no "her", Momma.
[Momma bends down above the bathtub as Owen brushes her hair back]
Momma: You're writing a letter!
Owen: I'm writing a story for class, Momma. Don't you see? I take a class, I take a nice class.
Momma: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Owen: And I'm gonna be a writer someday.
Momma: You know how that typing upsets me!
Owen: I'm sorry, Momma. A writer writes.
Momma: You're gonna be nothing. You're gonna be nothing. You'll never get to first base. All you do is type, type, type, type, type, type. You sit there typing all day like a fat little pigeon.
[Owen notices a pair of long scissors on a nearby shelf, picks them up and raises them]
Owen: You won't ever hear it again, Momma. I promise.
[Owen stabs Momma through the ear with the scissors. Momma stands up screaming]
Owen: [Confused] Momma...
Momma: [Cleaning her ear] I think you got it, sonny.
[Owen suddenly comes to his senses, realising he was imagining killing her]
Momma: I don't know what I'd do without you, Owen baby.
[Kisses him on the cheek and hugs him]
Owen: I know, Momma. I know.
Momma: Owen, my little baby. Owen, my little baby boy.
[Owen still looks confused as to how he cleared Momma's ear]

Anne Ramsey as Momma and Dan DeVito as Owen.


Trivia (From IMDB):

Anne Ramsey's speech impediment was caused by operations she underwent in order to treat throat cancer. During filming, Ramsey 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.

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. It was his insistence as a director to include a sequence like this in the movie. Writer Stu Silver then wrote the scene.

The title comes from the Patti Page song "Throw Mama From the Train, a kiss, a kiss, Wave Mama from the train a goodbye..." It is written in Pennsylvania Deutsch dialect which speaks English with German syntax, so "throw momma from the train a kiss" means "throw momma a kiss from the train."

The frying pan used on Billy Crystal by Danny DeVito was made of rubber.

When Momma whacks Larry in the groin with her cane, Larry says "She's not a woman, she's The The Terminator (1984)!". Danny DeVito (Owen) would later go on to star with Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator) in Twins (1988) and Junior (1994).

Larry on the train talks to Owen about the perfect beginning of a novel and mentionsCharles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities'. "It was the best of times it was the worst of times..". Momma then says, 'The night was sultry'. This is a variation of the line, 'The night was so very sultry.'. A quote from the same novel.

Cameo ― 

Rob Reiner: Larry's agent.