Goin' South (1978)

Due to the lack of men after the Civil War, a small western town allows a bachelorette with ulterior motives to save a horse thief from the gallows by marrying him. They must deal with his old gang, the Sheriff, the bank, and each other.

Director:

Jack Nicholson

Writers:

John Herman Shaner (story), Al Ramrus (story)

Stars:

Jack Nicholson, Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Lloyd

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Nicholson	...	Henry Lloyd Moon
Mary Steenburgen	...	Julia Tate Moon
Christopher Lloyd	...	Deputy Towfield
John Belushi	...	Deputy Hector
Veronica Cartwright	...	Hermine, Moon's Old Gang
Richard Bradford	...	Sheriff Andrew Kyle
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

Storyline

Texas, shortly after the Civil War. Henry Moon is an outlaw, on the run from the law. He is captured trying to escape to Mexico and taken back to town to be hanged. The town has a special law that a condemned man can walk free if one of the single women of the town offer to marry him. Henry is in luck - at the last moment Julia Tate offers to marry him, and pretty soon they are married. However, Henry soon discovers that Julia's motives are purely business-orientated - she needs someone to work the mine on her property. This makes for a very cold marriage.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | hairy chest | implied nudity | implied male nudity | man undressing | 

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Taglines:

For Henry Moon, life was just beginning.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Con el lazo al cuello

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,435,671, 31 December 1978

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 109 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Mono)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito portrayed archvillains in Tim Burton "Batman" franchise films, as the Joker and the Penguin, in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), respectively. Christopher Lloyd also played villains. He played Klingon Commander Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), as well as playing Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).

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Goofs

When the 'ordinance brides' come round for a chat, Julia offers them Lapsang Oolong. It should be either Lapsang Souchong or Oolong.

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Quotes

Henry Moon: Well, I ain't no slab of meat to be auctioned off, but, what the hell. Fine by me.

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Crazy Credits

The Paramount logo plays in reverse.

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Connections

Referenced in Tales from the Future: Third Time's the Charm (2010)

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Soundtracks

Beautiful Dreamer
Written by Stephen Foster
[Sung at the party when Moon's gang comes to visit him.]

User Reviews

A gem

This movie is one of my all time favorites. 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.