The Mighty Quinn (1989)

When police officer Xavier Quinn's childhood friend, Maubee, becomes associated with murder and a briefcase full of ten thousand dollar bills, The Mighty Quinn must clear his name. Or try ... See full summary »

Director:

Carl Schenkel

Writers:

A.H.Z. Carr (novel), Hampton Fancher (screenplay)

Stars:

Denzel Washington, James Fox, Mimi Rogers

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Xavier Quinn
James Fox	...	Thomas Elgin
Mimi Rogers	...	Hadley Elgin
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Fred Miller
Sheryl Lee Ralph	...	Lola Quinn
Art Evans	...	Jump Jones
Esther Rolle	...	Ubu Pearl
Norman Beaton	...	Governor Chalk
Alex Colon	...	Jose Patina
Robert Townsend	...	Maubee
Tyra Ferrell	...	Isola
Carl Bradshaw	...	Cocodick
Maria McDonald	...	Jax
Fitz Weir	...	Athens
Baldwin Howe	...	Bim

Storyline

When police officer Xavier Quinn's childhood friend, Maubee, becomes associated with murder and a briefcase full of ten thousand dollar bills, The Mighty Quinn must clear his name. Or try to catch him, which could be even trickier.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | police | rastafarian | wheelchair | paraplegic | 

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Taglines:

THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND THE CHIEF SUSPECT. They know each other too well to let a little thing like murder get in their way.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Finding Maubee

Filming Locations:

Folly Ruins, Port Antonio, Jamaica

Box Office

Gross:

$4,557,214 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

A&M Films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Star Partners II Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Washington, a scene of him and Mimi Rogers kissing was deleted due to negative reactions from test audiences. He told The Chicago Sun-Times: "Black women hated the scene. White men hated the scene."

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Goofs

When Fred Miller ties up Ubu Pearl in her wheelchair, he wraps her once then ties off the back, but from the front we see two wraps of the scarf around her.

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Quotes

Policeman: He knows the cops are after him, and the man is bang into the fourth dimension.

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Connections

Referenced in Century of Black Cinema (2003)

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Soundtracks

"LA HABANERA"
Written by Boris Blank and Dieter Meier
Performed by Yello
Courtesy of Polygram Special Projects
A Division of Polygram Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Great fun

While I don't consider this a "great" movie, I must say that it is one of those movies like a favorite pair of slippers: always so comfortable to put on. I can't stop watching this old movie because it's so much fun, the characters are so comfortable to be with, the locations are so relaxing, and Washington is, as always, a wonderful actor.

Though it is not the high point of the movie, my favorite moment occurs when Quinn (Washington) loosens up, sits down at the piano, and begins an amusing rendition of "Cakewalk into Town." Unfortunately, others subvert his song into "The Mighty Quinn," disturbing the atmosphere somewhat, but that's all part of the plot.

Quinn's "serious cop" is the straight man to another worthy character, Maubee (Robert Townsend), an impish rascal loved by everyone on the island.

"The Mighty Quinn" makes me want to go to the island and party with everyone there, but, alas, it's only a movie.