The Newton Boys (1998)

Four Newton brothers are a poor farmer family in the 1920s. The oldest of them, Willis, one day realizes that there's no future in the fields and offers his brothers to become a bank ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers:

Claude Stanush (book), Richard Linklater (screenplay),

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew McConaughey	...	Willis Newton
Skeet Ulrich	...	Joe Newton
Ethan Hawke	...	Jess Newton
Gail Cronauer	...	Ma Newton
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Dock Newton
Jena Karam	...	Orphan Singer
Julianna Margulies	...	Louise Brown
Casey McAuliffe	...	Orphan Singer
Dwight Yoakam	...	Brentwood Glasscock
Charles Gunning	...	Slim
Regina Mae Matthews	...	Orphan Fiddler
Becket Gremmels	...	Lewis
Lew Temple	...	Waiter
Glynn Williams	...	Farmer Williams
Charles 'Chip' Bray	...	Bank Teller

Storyline

Four Newton brothers are a poor farmer family in the 1920s. The oldest of them, Willis, one day realizes that there's no future in the fields and offers his brothers to become a bank robbers. Soon the family agrees. They become very famous robbers, and five years later execute the greatest train robbery in American history.

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Plot Keywords:

train | bank robber | 1920s | crime spree | oklahoma | 

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Taglines:

History is about to catch up with America's most successful bank robbers.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | History | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence including bloody aftermath of a shooting, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Newton fiúk

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$4,010,245 (USA) (27 March 1998)

Gross:

$10,297,897 (USA) (15 May 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Detour Filmproduction, Newton Boys Ventures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the movie, the Texas Ranger who arrests Jess Newton is Frank Hamer. The real Frank Hamer planned and participated in the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde.

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Goofs

After the armoured car robbery, when the boys stop the car and fight about why it had gone so badly, a modern day wheelchair-access drop-down curb is seen. During the 20s, no such curb would have existed. They would have been straight across.

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Quotes

Dock Newton: You ain't any less of a drunk now than you was when hooch was legal.
Jess Newton: Well, you see, there's my point. That particular law ain't really doin' it's job, now is it?

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Crazy Credits

As the credits roll, portions of two interviews are shown, each with one brother. One is from a 1980 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: Lost in Space/The Spanish Prisoner/Mercury Rising/Kurt & Courtney/Character (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Take the 'A' Train"
Written by Billy Strayhorn

User Reviews

"We're thieves stealing from bigger thieves."

Fans of the Director will probably be disappointed in this rather straight telling of the Real-Life, dirt poor Bank Robbers. There is a colorful often made story of Anti-Heroes waiting to be told here, but for some reason, while engaging and fun this Movie kind of disappoints and at the same time is a somewhat amusing, if not a terribly interesting misfire.

Here the talented and usually off-kilter Director has been restrained by the conventions of the Genre. It is all handled with taste and is a tactful representation of likable Criminals who never killed anybody, but they did rob 80 banks. That in itself is a feat worthy of any Comic Book Character.

There is a standout cast and the Movie looks great. But in the end it kind of loses momentum, but is never completely unworthy of the gist it created. Not a bad diversion and is worth a view as a rather lightweight entertainment that will let down more viewers than it captures. A bit different and deserves more credit than criticism. In this it did not succeed.