Goin' South (1978)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Jack Nicholson

Writers:

John Herman Shaner (story) &
Al Ramrus (story) ...

Release Date:

6 October 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

Saved from the hangman, for a fate worse than death!

Plot:

Henry Moon is captured for a capital offense by a posse when his horse quits while trying to escape to Mexico...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Horse | Small Town | Black Comedy | Rape

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	Henry Lloyd Moon
Mary Steenburgen	...	Julia Tate / Moon
Christopher Lloyd	...	Deputy Towfield
John Belushi	...	Deputy Hector
Richard Bradford	...	Sheriff Andrew Kyle
Veronica Cartwright	...	Hermine, Moon's Old Gang
Jeff Morris	...	Big Abe, Moon's Old Gang
Danny DeVito	...	Hog, Moon's Old Gang
Tracey Walter	...	Coogan, Moon's Old Gang
Gerald H. Reynolds	...	Polty, Rail Road Manager
Luana Anders	...	Lorette Anderson
George W. Smith	...	Mr. Anderson
Lucy Lee Flippin	...	Diane Haber
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Whitey Haber
Maureen Byrnes	...	Mrs. Warren

Runtime:

105 min | USA:109 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Mono)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Jack Nicholson original want to direct and star in Moon Trap. The only studio offer the deal was United Artist, which volunteered $2-3 million (only if Nicholson would star in the film). But Nicholson didn't want to star in the film. He insisted the film was logistically too ambitious for him to divide his attention between acting and directing. His acting fee was over $1 million per picture. He volunteered to play Webb the grizzle old goat-to cover himself in gray hair and matted beard. But over the time George C. Scott,Lee Marvin,Marlon Brando, Jon Voight and Dennis Hopper were approached to play Webb. The movie was screenplay by Alan Sharpe. So Nicholson dropped the project and turned his attention to Goin' South.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the ladies had their chat in the kitchen, a whistle tells that the water is boiling. The kettle shown in close up is a plain water kettle and has no whistle.

Quotes:

[to a homely woman who's sizing him up for matrimony]
Henry Moon: I wouldn't take you to a dog-fight if you was the defendin' champ!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Back to the Future Part III (1990)

Soundtrack:

Scarf Dance

Deserved more praise than it got.

I saw it when it first came out in the 1970's and thought it deserved more praise than it got. It is mostly an entertainment comedy with such lines as "You weren't that hard to find. You were standing in the middle of town with a rope around your neck." I read someplace where Mary Steenburgen had been working as a waitress in an Arizona dinner and Nicholson stopped in and thought she would be perfect for the part. I think there is some very touching scenes between Nicholson and Steenburgen that are well written and acted. Except for Christopher Lloyd the rest of the cast is wasted. I think the only reason John Belushi is in the movie is because Nicholson wanted to meet him. At that time Saturday Night Live was considered radical chic.