The summary and note for this entry were completed with participation from the AFI Academic Network. Summary and note were written by participant Michael Thielvoldt, a student at University of Texas at Austin.

The working titles of the film were Dancing Shiva and The Couple Next Door. End credits contain an acknowledgement from the producers, thanking several companies and individuals for their assistance in making the film: The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting; General Camera Corp.; Magno Sound & Video; Sound One Corporation; Daily News; HarperCollins Publishers Inc.; The Chelsea Hotel; Charles Chaisson; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.; Broadway/72nd Associates The Alexandria Condominium; and NHL Enterprises, Inc. A “Special Thanks” is given to Madison Square Garden Corporation; The New York Rangers Hockey Club; and The Washington Capitals Hockey Club. The acknowledgements also state that a film clip from the 1944 production, Double Indemnity (see entry), appeared courtesy of MCA/Universal. In the shootout scene, the picture screening in the movie theater was the 1948 film noir, The Lady From Shanghai (see entry).
       Woody Allen co-wrote the screenplay for Manhattan Murder Mystery with Marshall Brickman, marking their first film collaboration since the 1979 production, Manhattan (see entry). The two also collaborated on the screenplays for Allen’s 1978 Academy-Award-winning picture, Annie Hall, and his 1973 science fiction comedy, Sleeper (see entries). According to a 15 Aug 1993 NYT article, Allen delayed making Manhattan Murder Mystery for years, thinking the material was too light, or “an airplane book read,” as Allen put it. However, Allen admittedly welcomed the opportunity to make a film driven by a mystery, rather than a relationship, in the wake of his breakup and court battles with actress Mia Farrow, his leading lady and romantic companion since 1980. Through the custody hearings over Allen and Farrow’s two jointly adopted children, it was publicized that Farrow learned of an affair between Allen and another of Farrow’s adopted daughters, then twenty-one-year-old Soon-Yi Previn, after Farrow discovered nude pictures of Soon-Yi reportedly taken by Allen.
       Although a 31 Jul 1992 Screen International news item identified Allen and Farrow as the stars of Manhattan Murder Mystery and added Joan Cusack and Daryl Hannah to the cast, only Allen appeared in the final film. A 2 Oct 1992 EW article, citing “a source close to the production,” claimed Allen “retooled the script” in reaction to his breakup and legal skirmish with Farrow and the public uproar over his relationship with Previn. Allen cast an older Anjelica Huston in the role of “Marcia Fox,” a character originally outlined as a much younger, first-time novelist. Additionally, Allen pruned the romance angle between Marcia and his character, “Larry Lipton.”
       An 8 Sep 1992 Var news item revealed that Allen was covertly scouting Madison Square Garden for locations and that he intended to film a scene during a basketball game. In the finished film, however, the opening scene at The Garden was filmed during a New York Rangers hockey game. A 15 Sep 1992 HR production chart reported that shooting started in New York on 14 Sep 1992. A 26 Aug 1992 Var news item quoted the production budget in the “mid-teens” and listed Elaine’s, the legendary Upper East Side restaurant and favorite Allen haunt, among the shooting locations. A 1 Oct 1992 Var news item reported that restaurateur Elaine Kaufman was in attendance during the shoot. Elaine’s closed its doors on 27 May 2011, according to a 17 May 2011 NYT article.
       A 16 Aug 1993 Var review revealed that, in an unprecedented move for an Allen picture, production/distribution company TriStar held nationwide sneak previews over the weekend leading up to the film’s Wednesday, 18 Aug 1993 New York and Los Angeles openings. A 23 Aug 1993 NYT article stated that, according to industry executives, Manhattan Murder Mystery initially did good business in six Los Angeles and New York theaters, but business declined as it expanded to 268 theaters around the country for the weekend. Overall, the film grossed $2.1 million during its opening weekend. A Tri-Star executive termed the film’s limited releases in New York and Los Angeles, “a good opening—for a Woody Allen film,” while an unnamed film distributor identified it as a “slow opening,” adding, “It’s the old Woody Allen story: good pictures, good reviews, not-so-good box office.” Up to the release of Manhattan Murder Mystery, Allen’s 1986 film, Hannah and her Sisters, was his biggest financial success, having grossed $40 million. According to the article, Hollywood was watching Manhattan Murder Mystery’s success closely to see if Allen’s reputation survived his public court battles with Farrow.
       Allen additionally dissolved his professional relationship with long-time production company and distributor TriStar Pictures in the wake of his personal scandals and in the months leading up the release of Manhattan Murder Mystery. According to a 21 Jun 1993 DV article, Allen parted ways amiably with TriStar—reportedly with studio permission and one film shy of their contracted total—in lieu of a three picture deal with New York-based Sweetland Films. The deal with Sweetland contained “financial terms more favorable to Allen,” including higher budgets to be financed with private funding. Sweetland was founded by Allen’s long time friend and former Saturday Night producer, Jean Doumanian. Also reported were Doumanian’s plans to make a distribution deal for future Allen projects, with TriStar listed among the possible candidates. Allen’s 1994 period comedy, Bullets Over Broadway (see entry), marked the first film of the deal.
       An 18 Oct 1993 LADN item reported that Manhattan Murder Mystery had brought in only $11 million dollars at the box office, since its August debut, despite “excellent reviews.” The piece attributed the lackluster returns to Allen’s personal conflicts. Robert Greenhut, the film’s producer, added that the film was doing about as well as Husbands and Wives (see entry), which was released in Sep 1992 at the height of the scandal. However, Greenhut was confident that Manhattan Murder Mystery would pick up in the European markets, particularly France, where he expected it to earn $6 million alone.
       A 2 Sep 1993 DV article noted that Manhattan Murder Mystery played alongside Martin Scorsese’s film, The Age of Innocence (see entry), at the 50th Venice Film Festival, though both films were screened out-of-competition.
       Critical reception was mildly positive and often marked with qualifications and reservations. For example, in a lukewarm 18 Aug 1993 LAT review, Kenneth Turan wrote, “there is much to enjoy in this light PG-rated film, though giggles will be heard more than outright laughter.” Similarly, Janet Maslin, in her 18 Aug 1993 NYT review, suggested the film “offers glimmers of its stars’ charming, quarrelsome old teamwork” but proposed: “It would be far more interesting to watch these two work out the aftermath of ‘Annie Hall’ than to hear them theorize endlessly about an empty, genre-bound crime.” In a 16 Aug 1993 review, Var critic Todd McCarthy wrote that the “pic can be forgotten as easily as it can be digested,” and is “utterly devoid of the heavier themes Allen has grappled with in most of his recent outings.”
       For her performance as “Carol Lipton,” Diane Keaton was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical. Additionally, Huston was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, while Allen was nominated for a César for Best Foreign Film.