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Maverick (film)
Encyclopedia
Maverick is a 1994
Western
comedy film
based on the 1950s television series of the same name
, created by Roy Huggins
. The film was directed by Richard Donner
from a screenplay by William Goldman
and features Mel Gibson
, Jodie Foster
and James Garner
, as well as several cameo appearances. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
, is a first-person account by a wisecracking gambler Bret Maverick (Mel Gibson
), of his misadventures on the way to a major five-card draw
poker tournament
. Besides wanting to win the poker championship for the money, he also wants to prove, once and for all, that he is "the best". However, complications keep getting in the way.
Maverick rides into the fictional town of Crystal River intending to collect money owed to him, as he is $3,000 short of the poker tournament entry fee of $25,000. His efforts to make up this $3,000 provide some plot motivation, as well as diversions caused by, and in the company of, three people he encounters at Crystal River: an antagonist named Angel (Alfred Molina
), a young con-artist calling herself Mrs Annabelle Bransford (Jodie Foster
), and legendary lawman Marshal Zane Cooper (James Garner
, who played Bret Maverick
in the original TV series
). The first two are also rival poker players.
Maverick, Bransford and Cooper share a stagecoach (the driver of which dies at the reins at full gallop), agree to help a wagon train of migrant evangelist settlers who have been waylaid by ruffians (for a fee which Maverick in the end is too big-hearted to accept) and are headed-off by a troop of Indians
led by Joseph (Graham Greene
). Unknown to his companions, Joseph and Maverick are good friends, and Maverick allows himself to be "captured." Joseph is another one of his unreliable debtor
s, and in and around his tribal grounds they collaborate on a scheme to swindle
a Russian Grand Duke
.
During this time, Angel has received a mysterious telegram ordering him to not allow Maverick to reach the poker game, and has also learned that Maverick had conned him in Crystal River. Angel catches up with Maverick after he has left Joseph's tribe, beats him up and attempts to hang
him. Despite being tied to both a tree and to his horse, Maverick escapes and reaches the poker game, which is taking place on a paddle steamer
. Bransford and Angel have also reached the game, and Cooper has been engaged to oversee its security. Learning that Bransford is still short several thousand dollars of the entry fee, Maverick finds the Grand Duke on board and cons him out of the needed amount so she can get in the game.
After the others are eliminated, the four finalists are Maverick, Bransford, Angel, and Commodore
Duvall (James Coburn
), the boat's owner and the tournament organizer. Maverick almost fails to reach the final table by the 5:00 AM deadline, having had his stateroom door chained shut (by an unknown person) after a short tryst with Bransford. The game proceeds, with Bransford the first eliminated, and shortly thereafter a "fixed" hand is dealt to the three remaining players. The Commodore is given four 8s and Angel is given a low straight flush, whilst Maverick has the 10, jack, queen and king of spades. The Commodore and Angel each bet "all in". Maverick observes the dealer bottom-dealing to the others, protests the conduct of the hand, and eventually accepts one card dealt by Angel and calls without checking the card. It turns out to be the ace of spades, giving Maverick an unbeatable royal flush and the championship. An enraged Angel draws his gun, but he and his stooges in the audience are gunned down by Cooper and Maverick.
Three plot twists follow Maverick's win. First, Cooper steals the $500,000 prize money instead of presenting it to Maverick. Second, it is revealed that the Commodore and Cooper were secretly in cahoots on the theft and that Angel had actually been working for the Commodore. Third, the Commodore betrays Cooper, but before he can shoot him, Maverick ambushes the two around a campfire and steals back the money, leaving them a single gun to settle their affairs. The gun turns out to be unloaded, and Cooper beats up the Commodore, then sets out to take revenge on Maverick.
Later, Maverick is relaxing in a bath-house when Cooper finds him, and drops the facade to reveal (to the audience) that he is in fact Maverick's father. The real conspiracy was in fact between the two of them. However, Bransford enters the bath-house and robs Cooper and Maverick (whose relationship she had surmised from their similar mannerisms). After she escapes, Bret reveals she only got away with half of the money, as Maverick had hidden the rest in his boots. Maverick and his father smile as he comments that it will be a lot of fun getting the rest of the money back from her.
) he attempts to demonstrate it for tells him that he really does have the magic in him.
This was the final film of William Marshall, Doug McClure, Leo Gordon, Denver Pyle and Dub Taylor, one of few films with so many actors in their final film roles.
, Roger Ebert
gave the film three stars out of a possible four, stating "The first lighthearted, laugh-oriented family Western in a long time, and one of the nice things about it is, it doesn't feel the need to justify its existence. It acts like it's the most natural thing in the world to be a Western." The film has received generally favorable reviews.
The movie currently holds a freshness rating of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes
with the consensus that it "isn't terribly deep, but it's witty and undeniably charming, and the cast is obviously having fun" with a rating of 100% on the 'Top Critics' section.
1994 in film
1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
based on the 1950s television series of the same name
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
, created by Roy Huggins
Roy Huggins
Roy Huggins was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including Maverick, The Fugitive, and The Rockford Files....
. The film was directed by Richard Donner
Richard Donner
Richard Donner is an American film director, film producer, and comic book writer.The production company The Donners' Company is owned by Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for the hailed creation of the first modern...
from a screenplay by William Goldman
William Goldman
William Goldman is an American novelist, playwright, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
and features Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
and James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
, as well as several cameo appearances. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
Plot
The story, set in the American Old WestAmerican Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
, is a first-person account by a wisecracking gambler Bret Maverick (Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
), of his misadventures on the way to a major five-card draw
Five-card draw
Five-card draw is a poker variant that is the simplest and often the first variant learned by most players. It is common in home games but rare in casino and tournament play...
poker tournament
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
. Besides wanting to win the poker championship for the money, he also wants to prove, once and for all, that he is "the best". However, complications keep getting in the way.
Maverick rides into the fictional town of Crystal River intending to collect money owed to him, as he is $3,000 short of the poker tournament entry fee of $25,000. His efforts to make up this $3,000 provide some plot motivation, as well as diversions caused by, and in the company of, three people he encounters at Crystal River: an antagonist named Angel (Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
), a young con-artist calling herself Mrs Annabelle Bransford (Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
), and legendary lawman Marshal Zane Cooper (James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
, who played Bret Maverick
Bret Maverick
Bret Maverick is an American Western series starring James Garner in the role that made him famous in the 1957 series Maverick: a professional poker player traveling alone year after year through the Old West from riverboat to saloon...
in the original TV series
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
). The first two are also rival poker players.
Maverick, Bransford and Cooper share a stagecoach (the driver of which dies at the reins at full gallop), agree to help a wagon train of migrant evangelist settlers who have been waylaid by ruffians (for a fee which Maverick in the end is too big-hearted to accept) and are headed-off by a troop of Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
led by Joseph (Graham Greene
Graham Greene (actor)
Graham Greene is a Canadian actor who has worked on stage, and in film and TV productions in Canada, England and the United States.-Early life:...
). Unknown to his companions, Joseph and Maverick are good friends, and Maverick allows himself to be "captured." Joseph is another one of his unreliable debtor
Debtor
A debtor is an entity that owes a debt to someone else. The entity may be an individual, a firm, a government, a company or other legal person. The counterparty is called a creditor...
s, and in and around his tribal grounds they collaborate on a scheme to swindle
Swindle
The term swindle may refer to:* Swindle, a confidence trick* Swindle, a kind of fraud* Swindle , a ruse by which a chess player in a losing position tricks his opponentIn media and popular culture, Swindle can refer to:...
a Russian Grand Duke
Grand Duke
The title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
.
During this time, Angel has received a mysterious telegram ordering him to not allow Maverick to reach the poker game, and has also learned that Maverick had conned him in Crystal River. Angel catches up with Maverick after he has left Joseph's tribe, beats him up and attempts to hang
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
him. Despite being tied to both a tree and to his horse, Maverick escapes and reaches the poker game, which is taking place on a paddle steamer
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
. Bransford and Angel have also reached the game, and Cooper has been engaged to oversee its security. Learning that Bransford is still short several thousand dollars of the entry fee, Maverick finds the Grand Duke on board and cons him out of the needed amount so she can get in the game.
After the others are eliminated, the four finalists are Maverick, Bransford, Angel, and Commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
Duvall (James Coburn
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
), the boat's owner and the tournament organizer. Maverick almost fails to reach the final table by the 5:00 AM deadline, having had his stateroom door chained shut (by an unknown person) after a short tryst with Bransford. The game proceeds, with Bransford the first eliminated, and shortly thereafter a "fixed" hand is dealt to the three remaining players. The Commodore is given four 8s and Angel is given a low straight flush, whilst Maverick has the 10, jack, queen and king of spades. The Commodore and Angel each bet "all in". Maverick observes the dealer bottom-dealing to the others, protests the conduct of the hand, and eventually accepts one card dealt by Angel and calls without checking the card. It turns out to be the ace of spades, giving Maverick an unbeatable royal flush and the championship. An enraged Angel draws his gun, but he and his stooges in the audience are gunned down by Cooper and Maverick.
Three plot twists follow Maverick's win. First, Cooper steals the $500,000 prize money instead of presenting it to Maverick. Second, it is revealed that the Commodore and Cooper were secretly in cahoots on the theft and that Angel had actually been working for the Commodore. Third, the Commodore betrays Cooper, but before he can shoot him, Maverick ambushes the two around a campfire and steals back the money, leaving them a single gun to settle their affairs. The gun turns out to be unloaded, and Cooper beats up the Commodore, then sets out to take revenge on Maverick.
Later, Maverick is relaxing in a bath-house when Cooper finds him, and drops the facade to reveal (to the audience) that he is in fact Maverick's father. The real conspiracy was in fact between the two of them. However, Bransford enters the bath-house and robs Cooper and Maverick (whose relationship she had surmised from their similar mannerisms). After she escapes, Bret reveals she only got away with half of the money, as Maverick had hidden the rest in his boots. Maverick and his father smile as he comments that it will be a lot of fun getting the rest of the money back from her.
Cast
- Mel GibsonMel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
as Bret MaverickBret MaverickBret Maverick is an American Western series starring James Garner in the role that made him famous in the 1957 series Maverick: a professional poker player traveling alone year after year through the Old West from riverboat to saloon... - Jodie FosterJodie FosterAlicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
as Annabelle Bransford - James GarnerJames GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
as Marshal Zane Cooper / Bret Maverick, Sr. - Graham GreeneGraham Greene (actor)Graham Greene is a Canadian actor who has worked on stage, and in film and TV productions in Canada, England and the United States.-Early life:...
as Joseph - Alfred MolinaAlfred MolinaAlfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
as Angel - James CoburnJames CoburnJames Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
as Commodore Duvall - Dub TaylorDub TaylorWalter Clarence Taylor, Jr. , better known as Dub Taylor, was an American actor who worked extensively in Westerns, but also in comedy from the 1940s into the 1990s.-Early life:...
as Room Clerk - Geoffrey Lewis as Matthew Wicker / Eugene, Banker
- Paul L. SmithPaul L. SmithPaul L. Smith is an American character actor. Burly, bearded, and imposing, he has appeared in films and occasionally on TV since the 1970s, generally playing "heavies" and bad guys...
as The Archduke - Dan HedayaDan HedayaDaniel G. “Dan” Hedaya is an American character actor. He often plays sleazy villains or uptight, wisecracking individuals; three of his best-known roles are as Italian Mafia boss Tony Costello in Wise Guys, a cuckolded husband in the Coen brothers' crime thriller Blood Simple, and the scheming...
as Twitchy, Riverboat Poker Player - Dennis FimpleDennis FimpleDennis Clarke Fimple was an American character actor. Throughout his career, he made guest appearances in a variety of TV shows, including Here Come the Brides, Petticoat Junction, M*A*S*H, Simon & Simon, Sledge Hammer!, Knight Rider, Quantum Leap and ER...
as Stuttering - Denver PyleDenver PyleDenver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing Uncle Jesse in The Dukes of Hazzard .-Early life:...
as Old Gambler on Riverboat - Clint BlackClint BlackClint Patrick Black is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country...
as Sweet-Faced Gambler - Max PerlichMax Perlich-Biography:He was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother was a teacher and his father, Martin Perlich, a writer and radio programming director and announcer, worked for a time with the Cleveland Orchestra. The Perlich family moved to Los Angeles, California when Max was four...
as Johnny Hardin - Art LaFleurArt LaFleur-Life and career:La Fleur was born in Gary, Indiana. He played football in 1962 as a redshirt at the University of Kentucky under Coach Charlie Bradshaw as chronicled in a 2007 book, The Thin Thirty....
as Poker Player (as Art La Fleur) - Danny GloverDanny GloverDanny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
as Bank Robber - Leo GordonLeo GordonLeo Vincent Gordon was an American movie and television character actor as well as a screenplay writer and novelist. He specialized in playing brutish bad guys during more than forty years in film and television....
... Poker Player (billed as Leo V. Gordon) - Paul BrinegarPaul BrinegarPaul Brinegar was an American character actor.Brinegar made over 100 appearances between 1946 and 1994, appearing in many western films, and played the barman in Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter in 1973...
... Stage Driver - Corey FeldmanCorey FeldmanCorey Scott Feldman is an American film and television actor. He became known during the 1980s, with roles in the Hollywood films Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Goonies, Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream, Gremlins and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
... Bank Robber - Waylon JenningsWaylon JenningsWaylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
... Man with Concealed Guns - Kathy MatteaKathy MatteaKathleen Alice "Kathy" Mattea is an American country music and bluegrass performer who often brings folk, Celtic and traditional country sounds to her music. Active since 1983 as a recording artist, she has recorded seventeen albums and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot...
... Woman with Concealed Guns - Vince GillVince GillVincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
... Spectator - William SmithWilliam Smith (actor)William Smith is an American actor who has appeared in almost 300 feature films and television productions.Smith began his acting career at the age of 8 in 1942...
... Riverboat Poker Player - Doug McClureDoug McClureDouglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
... Riverboat Poker Player - Henry DarrowHenry DarrowHenry Darrow is a prolific Puerto Rican-American character actor of stage and film. Darrow is probably best remembered for his role as Big John Cannon's teasing brother-in-law, and Buck Cannon's favorite ranch hand, and best friend, Manolito Montoya, in the 1960s television series The High...
... Riverboat Poker Player - Robert FullerRobert Fuller (actor)Robert Fuller is an American former television Western actor and current rancher. In his five decades of television, he's best known for starring roles on the popular 1960s western series Laramie as Jess Harper, and Wagon Train as Cooper Smith, as well as his work for his lead role, Dr...
... Riverboat Poker Player - James DruryJames DruryJames Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...
... Riverboat Poker Player (uncredited) - John FogertyJohn FogertyJohn Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
... Street Spectator (uncredited) - Will HutchinsWill HutchinsWill Hutchins is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster in the Warner Brothers Western television series Sugarfoot on ABC from 1957-1961.-Biography:...
... Spectator (uncredited) - Margot KidderMargot KidderMargaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
... Margret Mary (uncredited) - Reba McEntireReba McEntireReba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
... Spectator (uncredited)
Deleted scene
In Five Screenplays with Essays, Goldman describes an earlier version of the script, in which Maverick explains he has a magic ability to call the card he needs out of the deck. Although he is not able to do so successfully, the old hermit (Linda HuntLinda Hunt
Linda Hunt is an American film, stage and television actress. After making her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in Popeye , Hunt portrayed Billy Kwan, her breakthrough performance in The Year of Living Dangerously...
) he attempts to demonstrate it for tells him that he really does have the magic in him.
Cameo appearances
There are appearances through the film as many familiar faces from Westerns of the past and Country Western music, particularly in the final riverboat poker tournament scenes. These include (in no particular order):- Danny GloverDanny GloverDanny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
(Gibson's co-star in the Lethal WeaponLethal WeaponLethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
franchise of films also directed by Richard DonnerRichard DonnerRichard Donner is an American film director, film producer, and comic book writer.The production company The Donners' Company is owned by Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for the hailed creation of the first modern...
) appears as the lead bank robber.
- He and Maverick (Gibson) share a scene where they look as if they recognize each other, but then shake it off. As Glover makes his escape with the money, he mutters "I'm gettin' too old for this shit", his character's catchphrase in all four Lethal Weapon films. In addition, a strain of the main theme from Lethal Weapon plays in the score when Glover is revealed.
- Steve KahanSteve KahanSteve Kahan is an American character actor who has appeared many films, his best known film role is in the Lethal Weapon film franchise as Capt. Ed Murphy. Kahan's cousin is director Richard Donner, who has cast Kahan in many of his films...
as a dealer during the poker match.
- Kahan, the cousin of director Richard Donner, is best known for playing "Captain Ed Murphy" in the Lethal Weapon movies (also directed by Donner). Of note, Kahan also appeared in Superman as a police detective and Predator 2Predator 2Predator 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, María Conchita Alonso, Rubén Blades, and Bill Paxton. Written by Jim and John Thomas and directed by Stephen Hopkins, the film is a sequel to 1987's Predator, with Kevin Peter Hall again playing the role of the...
, which starred both Danny Glover (who was in Maverick and Lethal Weapon) and Gary Busey (Lethal Weapon).
- Dub TaylorDub TaylorWalter Clarence Taylor, Jr. , better known as Dub Taylor, was an American actor who worked extensively in Westerns, but also in comedy from the 1940s into the 1990s.-Early life:...
as a room clerk.
- Taylor appeared as Doc Shultz with Garner (as Latigo Smith) in Support Your Local Gunfighter
- Leo GordonLeo GordonLeo Vincent Gordon was an American movie and television character actor as well as a screenplay writer and novelist. He specialized in playing brutish bad guys during more than forty years in film and television....
as a gambler at Maverick's first game.
- Gordon actually appeared in five episodes of the original series as Big Mike McComb as well as three appearances in Garner's other series The Rockford FilesThe Rockford FilesThe Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
- Robert FullerRobert Fuller (actor)Robert Fuller is an American former television Western actor and current rancher. In his five decades of television, he's best known for starring roles on the popular 1960s western series Laramie as Jess Harper, and Wagon Train as Cooper Smith, as well as his work for his lead role, Dr...
- The last gambler at Jodie Foster's first game from the television series LaramieLaramieLaramie may refer to Laramie, Wyoming, or one of the many things named after it.-Entertainment:*The Man from Laramie, a 1955 American western movie directed by Anthony Mann*The Laramie Project, a 2000 play written and directed by Moisés Kaufman...
and Wagon TrainWagon TrainWagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
.
- Geoffrey Lewis as Matthew Wicker, a.k.a. Eugene
- The banker who apppeared in Clint EastwoodClint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
Westerns.
- Hal KetchumHal KetchumHal Michael Ketchum is an American country music artist. He has released ten studio albums since 1986, including nine for the Curb and Asylum-Curb labels. Ketchum's 1991 album Past the Point of Rescue is his most commercially successful, having been certified gold by the Recording Industry...
and Corey FeldmanCorey FeldmanCorey Scott Feldman is an American film and television actor. He became known during the 1980s, with roles in the Hollywood films Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Goonies, Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream, Gremlins and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
as two of four bank robbers.
- Paul BrinegarPaul BrinegarPaul Brinegar was an American character actor.Brinegar made over 100 appearances between 1946 and 1994, appearing in many western films, and played the barman in Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter in 1973...
of RawhideRawhide (TV series)Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
as the stagecoach driver.
- Country singer Carlene CarterCarlene CarterCarlene Carter is an American country singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter and her first husband, Carl Smith....
as a waitress on the Commodore's ship.
- Country singers Waylon JenningsWaylon JenningsWaylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
and Kathy MatteaKathy MatteaKathleen Alice "Kathy" Mattea is an American country music and bluegrass performer who often brings folk, Celtic and traditional country sounds to her music. Active since 1983 as a recording artist, she has recorded seventeen albums and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot...
as a couple found with a gun.
- Read MorganRead MorganRead Morgan is a former American actor whose longest-running role was as a United States Army cavalry officer in the 1960-1961 season of The Deputy, a western television series on NBC created by Norman Lear. Morgan appeared in thirty episodes as the one-eyed Sergeant Hapgood Tasker, recognized by...
as a card dealer.
- Appeared in many episodes of American television Westerns.
- Denver PyleDenver PyleDenver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing Uncle Jesse in The Dukes of Hazzard .-Early life:...
, who is thrown off the boat for cheating at poker.
- From the television series The Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
and The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.
- Country singer Clint BlackClint BlackClint Patrick Black is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country...
is also thrown off the boat for cheating at poker.
- Country singer Vince GillVince GillVincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
and then-wife Janis Gill as spectators during the game.
- Country singer Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
as a gambler whose total screen time is less than five seconds.
- Doug McClureDoug McClureDouglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
as one of the riverboat gamblers, from the television series The VirginianThe Virginian-Literature:* The Virginian , a novel by American author Owen Wister-Film:* The Virginian , a silent film directed by Cecil B...
.
- Henry DarrowHenry DarrowHenry Darrow is a prolific Puerto Rican-American character actor of stage and film. Darrow is probably best remembered for his role as Big John Cannon's teasing brother-in-law, and Buck Cannon's favorite ranch hand, and best friend, Manolito Montoya, in the 1960s television series The High...
as one of the riverboat gamblers, from the television series The High ChaparralThe High ChaparralThe High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network...
.
- Margot KidderMargot KidderMargaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
, who played one of the villagers robbed of their mission money.
- Ms. Kidder starred as Lois Lane in Superman, also directed by Donner.In addition, Kidder also starred with James Garner in his 1971 television series Nichols in which she played Ruth, a barmaid opposite Garner as Sheriff Nichols. and also in the controversial Hollywood-crime drama The Glitter Dome (1985) with James Garner.
This was the final film of William Marshall, Doug McClure, Leo Gordon, Denver Pyle and Dub Taylor, one of few films with so many actors in their final film roles.
Reception
James Berardinelli, from reelviews.net, gave the film three and a half stars out of four. He stated, "The strength of Maverick is the ease with which it switches from comedy to action, and back again....it's refreshing to find something that satisfies expectations." Writing for the Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film three stars out of a possible four, stating "The first lighthearted, laugh-oriented family Western in a long time, and one of the nice things about it is, it doesn't feel the need to justify its existence. It acts like it's the most natural thing in the world to be a Western." The film has received generally favorable reviews.
The movie currently holds a freshness rating of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
with the consensus that it "isn't terribly deep, but it's witty and undeniably charming, and the cast is obviously having fun" with a rating of 100% on the 'Top Critics' section.
External links
- James Garner Interview on the Charlie Rose Show
- James Garner interview at Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....