The Earthling (1980)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Peter Collinson

Writer:

Lanny Cotler (written by)

Release Date:

24 July 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Plot:

Patrick Foley has been on the move all his live. Tired of drifting, he wants to spend his last days in an isolated Australian valley where he grew up...

Plot Keywords:

Australia | Young Boy | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

William Holden	...	Patrick Foley
Rick Schroder	...	Shawn Daley (as Ricky Schroder)
Jack Thompson	...	Ross Daley
Olivia Hamnett	...	Bettina Daley
Alwyn Kurts	...	Christian Neilson
Pat Evison	...	Meg Neilson
Redmond Phillips	...	Bobby Burns
Ray Barrett	...	Parnell
Tony Barry	...	Red
Allan Penney	...	Harlan
Willie Fennell	...	R.C
Walter Pym	...	Uncle
Cul Cullen	...	Dawson
Dawn Schroder	...	Dalton
Maggie Blinco	...	Jessica

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Arkoff International

Quotes:

[first lines]
Australian Customs Agent: Next please. Now what's the purpose of your visit?
Patrick Foley: Uh - passing through.

Soundtrack:

He'll Never Fill My Shoes

Becoming self-reliant in the Australian outback

Australia's outback has never looked as beautiful and rugged as in this 1980 film directed by Peter Conlinson. This Australian-American co-production shows the country as perhaps we have never seen it before. We are given a luxury tour of some of what appears to be an extremely wild area that hasn't been spoiled by man yet.

The story centers around Patrick Foley, a man that is dying. He has returned to the land where his parents settled, perhaps to die there as well. Of course, we don't have a clue about this until almost the last sequence, although we get hints about what's wrong with Patrick throughout the film.

We also are introduced to the Daleys that are seen vacationing in Australia. We see them crossing paths with Foley, only briefly, at a country store. When a freaky accident takes the lives of Shawn's parents, he is left alone to find his way back to civilization. Little does Shawn know that Foley has observed the accident, but he wants to stay away from the young boy. After all, he has his own problems, why bother to take on another?

Shawn decides to follow Foley, who shows him how to do things he normally wouldn't have even dreamed of doing. In the process, the young boy becomes attached to the mysterious man. The long trek both take makes a man out of Shawn, as we realize he will be all right and will live to a productive life.

The surprise of the movie is William Holden, an actor at the end of his career. Mr. Holden gives an extraordinary effortless performance. Rick Shroder, then a young child actor makes a valuable contribution holding his own against the more experienced Mr. Holden.

"The Earthling" is a film that should be seen by young people, as they can learn how to face the reality that Shawn went through in his quest for survival a beautiful land that presented so many challenges to overcome.