Maverick (1994)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers (WGA):

Roy Huggins (television series Maverick)
William Goldman (written by)

Release Date:

20 May 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Western

Tagline:

The greatest gambler in the West has finally met his match.

Plot:

Bret Maverick, needing money for a poker tournament, faces various comic mishaps and challenges, including a charming woman thief.

Plot Keywords:

Poker | Card | Riverboat | Russian | Gambling

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Bret Maverick
Jodie Foster	...	Annabelle Bransford
James Garner	...	Marshal Zane Cooper
Graham Greene	...	Joseph
Alfred Molina	...	Angel
James Coburn	...	Commodore Duvall
Dub Taylor	...	Room Clerk
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Matthew Wicker / Eugene, Banker
Paul L. Smith	...	The Archduke
Dan Hedaya	...	Twitchy, Riverboat Poker Player
Dennis Fimple	...	Stuttering
Denver Pyle	...	Old Gambler on Riverboat
Clint Black	...	Sweet-Faced Gambler
Max Perlich	...	Johnny Hardin
Art LaFleur	...	Poker Player (as Art La Fleur)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild sensuality, language and some western action.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Australia:M | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-10 | Germany:12 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Beacon Rock, Columbia River Gorge, Washington, USA

Company:

Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions

Trivia:

Cameo: [Margot Kidder]Margret Mary, one of the villagers robbed of their mission money. Kidder starred as Lois Lane in Richard Donner's Superman (1978).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Annabelle gives her dealer a $1000 chip in the poker tournament before the final table. This is common in cash games in which money is won after each hand. Unlike cash games however, tournament chips have no money value and cannot be exchanged for cash.

Quotes:

Annabelle: [speaking in a very southern drawl] A shouldn't be doin' this.
Maverick: You're just standing in the hallway, Mrs. Bransford, I think that's still legal in this state.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Amy Grant: Building the House of Love (1994) (V)

Soundtrack:

You Don't Mess Around With Me

Lots of fun

Always thought this was great. Makes me laugh no end. When he lets himself go, Mel Gibson is funny, and this pastiche of an almost forgotten TV cowboy show - complete with its original star cast in the main supporting role - is comedy gold. Better yet, this is Jodie Foster's only real brush with the comedy genre and she proves so adept at it that you can't help feeling this route would have been better than Nell and Anna And The King. The ending piles twist upon twist, and it's one of those movies where everyone involved is clearly having such a great time that you do too.