History Film / MurderAt1600

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The Interstate Commerce Commission was a real government organization at the time the original book was written, and possibly when the movie was filmed. However, it had been declining in importance since the end of WWII and was disbanded in 1996.

* JurisdictionFriction: As a Washington D.C. police homicide detective investigating a murder of a secretary at the White House, Regis has all kinds of jurisdiction friction with the Secret Service (which guards the White House). As a Federal building, the investigation of crimes committed in the White House would actually fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The fate of the U.S. troops being held hostage and tortured in North Korea hasn't been resolved at the end of the film.

* MsFanservice: An odd and version-specific case. If you saw this film on pay-TV in the late 90s or early 2000s, that is to say, if you saw the PanAndScan version, the scene at Spikings' house is very different from what you would have seen in the theater or in a widescreen version. When Chance runs in to back up Regis, the shot is tightly cropped and [[MaleGaze follows her closely]] as [[JiggleShow she runs across the lawn]]. In the widescreen version, it's pretty much a static shot on a ''much'' wider field, with Lane's bouncing bosom considerably less noticeable.

''Murder at 1600'' is a 1997 American thriller film starring Creator/WesleySnipes and Creator/DianeLane. The film is based on ''Murder in the White House'' by Margaret Truman, daughter of U.S. President UsefulNotes/HarrySTruman.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: A minor subplot is Regis' home being subject to an eminent domain seizure for demolition by an obscure government agency called the Interstate Commerce Commission, and his efforts to try to stop it being thwarted because he is unable to navigate the labyrinthine DC bureaucracy to even find the commission and try to talk with anyone. At the end of the movie he asks the President if he's heard of it, and it turns out that he has, and is willing to at the very least let Regis get his foot in the door to plead his case.

''Murder at 1600'' is a 1997 American thriller film starring Creator/WesleySnipes and Creator/DianeLane. The film is based on ''Murder in the White House'' by Margaret Truman, daughter of U.S. President UsefulNotes/HarryTruman.

Parallel to this, the White House has to deal with an impending international crisis: U.S. President Jack Neil (Creator/RonnyCox) has been trying to deal with a situation where Americans are being held hostage in North Korea, and some people—including several members of his inner circle, led by Vice President Gordon Dylan—think the President is not handling it the right way. When the first suspect, the White House janitor, is dismissed the evidence against him is found to be set up, Regis begins to suspect that a conspiracy may be involved.

* DieHardOnAnX: An odd case in which it seems that the film takes cues from other ''Die Hard'' derivatives rather than ''Die Hard'' itself. It's basically ''Film/InTheLineOfFire'' (incorporates much of the same ''Die Hard'' elements, with phone conversations and building brawls in all) with a tunnel finale much like the SEAL team siege in ''Film/TheRock'' (which is ''Die Hard'' on Alcatraz).

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: The defining premise of the film, that a Washington D.C. detective must team up with a Secret Service agent to investigate a murder at the White House, is fictional. Any murders on federal property (like the White House) are handled by the FBI.

* {{Fanservice}}: An odd and version-specific case. If you saw this film on pay-TV in the late 90s or early 2000s, that is to say, if you saw the PanAndScan version, the scene at Spikings' house is very different from what you would have seen in the theater or in a widescreen version. When Chance runs in to back up Regis, the shot is tightly cropped and [[MaleGaze follows her closely]] as [[JiggleShow she runs across the lawn]]. In the widescreen version, it's pretty much a static shot on a ''much'' wider field, with Lane's bouncing bosom considerably less noticeable.

* JurisdictionFriction: As a Washington D.C. police homicide detective investigating a murder of a secretary at the White House, Regis has all kinds of jurisdiction friction with the Secret Service (which guards the White House).

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Any murders on Federal property (like the White House) are handled by the FBI, not by the Secret Service or let alone Washington D.C. police detectives.

!!This film provides examples of:

* PluckyComicRelief: Creator/DennisMiller, for some reason. Apparently he didn't do enough damage in ''Film/TheNet''.

''Murder at 1600'' is a 1997 American thriller film starring Creator/WesleySnipes and Creator/DianeLane. The film is based on ''Murder in the White House'' by Margaret Truman, daughter of U.S. President UsefulNotes/HarryTruman. The 1600 in the title refers to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address of TheWhiteHouse.

In a restroom in the White House in UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, a janitor finds White House secretary Carla Town dead. Metropolitan Police homicide Detective Harlan Regis (Snipes) is put on the case. At the White House, Regis is introduced to Secret Service agent Nina Chance (Lane), who's assigned to keep an eye on Regis.

* StopOrIShootMyself: The opening scene features the protagonist (a D.C. homicide cop) trying to talk down a cracked government bureaucrat who is holding a gun to his own head in the middle of a busy street. (Don't ask why is a homicide detective filling in for a hostage negotiator, though.)
** He's not. He intervened because they learned that the gunman worked for the same agency that was in the process of [[ItsPersonal evicting Regis from his home]]. Once he was up close, he noticed that [[NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont the gun was on safety]], so he [[GoodOldFashionedFisticuffs took the guy down]].

* PlayingAgainstType: [[spoiler: Creator/AlanAlda as the treacherous villain Jordan, with Creator/RonnyCox as the noble President.]]

* EnhanceButton: Averted. After Regis has gotten Carla's film developed, he sees something half out of frame that he wants more information on, and takes it to a guy who digitizes the negative (which has a good deal of image that the drug store photo developer cropped out), and zooms in on it. But it's not a ''digital image'', it's a digital scan of a film negative, so the amount of detail is not limited by the original image, but by the digital scanner's ability to resolve it. Apparently, they can do pretty hi-res stuff.

* PluckyComicRelief: Dennis Miller, for some reason. Apparently he didn't do enough damage in ''Film/TheNet''.

''Murder at 1600'' is a 1997 American thriller film starring Creator/WesleySnipes and Creator/DianeLane. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Margaret Truman, daughter of U.S. President UsefulNotes/HarryTruman. The 1600 in the title refers to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address of TheWhiteHouse.

* {{Fanservice}}: An odd and version-specific case. If you saw this film on pay-TV in the late 90s or early 2000s, that is to say, if you saw the PanAndScan version, the scene at Spikings' house is very different from what you would have seen in the theater or in a widescreen version. When Diane Lane's character runs in to back up Wesley Snipes, the shot is very cropped and follows her closely as [[JiggleShow she runs across the lawn]]. In the widescreen version, it's pretty much a static shot on a ''much'' wider field, with Lane's bouncing bosom ''much'' less noticeable.

In a restroom in the White House in Washington, D.C., a janitor finds White House secretary Carla Town dead. Metropolitan Police homicide Detective Harlan Regis (Snipes) is put on the case. At the White House, Regis is introduced to Secret Service agent Nina Chance (Lane), who's assigned to keep an eye on Regis.