The original title for the film was Dear Martha, in reference to Raymond's letters to Martha. Cinerama wanted to go with a more "exploitative" title, hence leading to the more sensational The Honeymoon Killers.
Director Martin Scorsese was the original director for the film, but was fired due to "creative differences". He was replaced with Donald Volkman who was subsequently replaced by Leonard Kastle.
According to Stoler and Kastle, actress Marilyn Chris tried out for the role of Martha Beck. She wasn't quite what they were looking for, so Chris suggested Stoler. However, Marilyn Chris was still used in the film, cast as the doomed Myrtle Young (the wife poisoned via pills administered by Beck).
- The story of Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez has been filmed several times since the release of The Honeymoon Killers: Lonely Hearts (1991) with Beverly D'Angelo and Eric Roberts, the Spanish languageDeep Crimson (1996) and, most recently, Lonely Hearts (2006) with Salma Hayek and Jared Leto.
Compiled by Eric Weber
SOURCES:
AFI
NYT review
Cult Movies by Danny Peary
imagesjournal.com
www.criterion.com
en.wikipedia.org
home.comcast.net/~flickhead/Shirley-Stoler.html
mleddy.blogspot.com
www.notcoming.com
dvdmg.com/honeymoonkillers.shtml
www.crimelibrary.com
www.speakersinternational.com/celebrities/lo_bianco_tony/
www.current.org
Insider Info (The Honeymoon Killers) - BEHIND THE SCENES
by Eric Weber | November 30, 2006

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