Sunset (film)
Encyclopedia
Sunset is a 1988 film released by TriStar Pictures
. Written and directed by Blake Edwards
, the movie stars Bruce Willis
as legendary western actor Tom Mix
and James Garner
as legendary lawman Wyatt Earp
.
The story is based on Rod Amateau's
novel Sunset, which was loosely based on fact as Earp actually did serve as technical adviser for some early silent westerns.
Although Willis received top billing in the film, Garner actually has much more screen time during the movie. This was the second film in which Garner played Wyatt Earp
, the first being in John Sturges's
Hour of the Gun
, released in 1967.
, producer and studio head Alfie Alperin wants to produce a great Western movie about Wyatt Earp
. Tom Mix
is cast as the great United States Marshal and the real Earp is on set as a technical adviser. But before Earp and Mix can start their movie adventure
they are caught in a real case of murder
, prostitution
and corruption. Together they search for the missing son of Earp's former girlfriend
Christina. But now she is the wife of studio boss Alperin and he isn't amused by Earp's investigations. Soon Earp unveils the true sadistic character of Alfie Alperin and after the death of Christina matters become personal.
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
. Written and directed by Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
, the movie stars Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
as legendary western actor Tom Mix
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
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 legendary lawman Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
.
The story is based on Rod Amateau's
Rod Amateau
Rodney "Rod" Amateau was an American screenwriter, film and television director.Among programs that he directed were NBC's The Dennis Day Show, CBS's sitcoms The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, starring Dwayne Hickman, and The New Phil Silvers Show, an unsuccessful attempt by comedian Phil Silvers to...
novel Sunset, which was loosely based on fact as Earp actually did serve as technical adviser for some early silent westerns.
Although Willis received top billing in the film, Garner actually has much more screen time during the movie. This was the second film in which Garner played Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
, the first being in John Sturges's
John Sturges
John Eliot Sturges was an American film director. His movies include Bad Day at Black Rock , Gunfight at the O.K. Corral , The Magnificent Seven , The Great Escape and Ice Station Zebra .-Career:He started his career in Hollywood as an editor in 1932...
Hour of the Gun
Hour of the Gun
Hour of the Gun is 1967 Western film starring James Garner and depicting Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday during their 1881 battles against Ike Clanton and his brothers in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and the gunfight's aftermath in and around Tombstone, Arizona.The film is based on the non fiction...
, released in 1967.
Plot
Set in Hollywood of the late 1920s during the waning days of the industry's transition to sound filmSound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
, producer and studio head Alfie Alperin wants to produce a great Western movie about Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
. Tom Mix
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
is cast as the great United States Marshal and the real Earp is on set as a technical adviser. But before Earp and Mix can start their movie adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
they are caught in a real case of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
and corruption. Together they search for the missing son of Earp's former girlfriend
Girlfriend
Girlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
Christina. But now she is the wife of studio boss Alperin and he isn't amused by Earp's investigations. Soon Earp unveils the true sadistic character of Alfie Alperin and after the death of Christina matters become personal.
Cast
- Bruce WillisBruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
as Tom MixTom MixThomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features... - 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 Wyatt EarpWyatt EarpWyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known... - Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
as Alfie Alperin - Mariel HemingwayMariel Hemingway- Early life :Hemingway was born in Mill Valley, California, the third daughter of Byra Louise Hemingway and Jack Hemingway, a writer. Her sisters are Joan Hemingway and Margaux Hemingway...
as Cheryl King - Kathleen QuinlanKathleen QuinlanKathleen Denise Quinlan is an Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated American actress, mostly seen on television and in motion pictures.-Personal life:...
as Nancy Shoemaker - Jennifer EdwardsJennifer EdwardsJennifer Edwards is an American actress best known for playing the title role in the NBC made-for-television movie Heidi , which aired on November 17, 1968...
as Victoria Alperin - Patricia HodgePatricia HodgePatricia Ann Hodge is an English actor.-Early life:The daughter of the Royal Hotel owner/manager Eric and his wife Marion , Hodge attended Wintringham Girls' Grammar School on Weelsby Avenue in Grimsby and then St...
as Christina Alperin - Richard BradfordRichard BradfordRichard Bradford was a novelist, best known for his 1968 novel Red Sky at Morning, a film version of which was released in 1971. He also wrote So Far from Heaven, a novel about the adventures of a disillusioned executive who flees his life in the city for a New Mexico cattle ranch. Mr...
as Capt. Blackworth - M. Emmet WalshM. Emmet WalshMichael Emmet Walsh is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions.-Life and career:Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Kathrine and Harry Maurice Walsh, Sr., a customs agent...
as Chief Dibner - Joe DallesandroJoe DallesandroJoseph Angelo D'Allesandro , better known as Joe Dallesandro, is an American actor, and Warhol superstar. Although he never became a mainstream film star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century, as well as a sex...
as Dutch Kieffer - Andreas KatsulasAndreas KatsulasAndrew "Andreas" Katsulas was a Greek-American actor known for his roles as Ambassador G'Kar in the science fiction television series Babylon 5, as the one-armed villain Sykes in the film The Fugitive , and as the Romulan Commander Tomalak on Star Trek: The Next Generation...
as Arthur - Dann FlorekDann FlorekEzekial Dann Florek , professional name Dann Florek, is an American actor and director.-Early life:Florek was born in Flat Rock, Michigan. He attended Eastern Michigan University, but never graduated...
as Marty Goldberg - Bill Marcus as Hal Flynn
- Michael C. GwynneMichael C. GwynneMichael C. Gwynne is an American film, television and radio actor. Noteworthy film roles include Payday, The Terminal Man, Harry Tracy and more recent films like Private Parts....
as Mooch - Dermot MulroneyDermot Mulroney-Early life:Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of Ellen, a housewife and amateur actress originally from Manchester, Iowa, and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova University School of Law, originally from Elkader, Iowa. He has a sister, Moira, and three brothers, Conor,...
as Michael Alperin
Awards and nominations
- Nominee, Best Costume Design (Patricia Norris), 1989 Academy Awards.
- Winner, Worst Director, (Blake EdwardsBlake EdwardsBlake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
) 1989 Razzie Awards. - Nominee, Worst supporting actress (Mariel HemingwayMariel Hemingway- Early life :Hemingway was born in Mill Valley, California, the third daughter of Byra Louise Hemingway and Jack Hemingway, a writer. Her sisters are Joan Hemingway and Margaux Hemingway...
), 1989 Razzie AwardsRazzie Award for Worst Supporting ActressThe Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst supporting actress of the previous year...
.
External links
- 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....