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:

Saved from the hangman, for a fate worse than death!

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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

John Belushi allegedly once said about working with Jack Nicholson on this picture: "Jack treated me like shit on Goin' South (1978). I hate him."

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Goofs

After the ladies had their chat in the kitchen, a whistle tells that the water is boiling. The kettle shown in close up is a plain water kettle and has no whistle.

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Quotes

Henry Moon: Well! Anybody hungry?
Big Abe: [deadpan] Hungry! Shit, I could eat a frozen dog.
Henry Moon: Well, we'll go on out to the kitchen and see if we got one already froze.

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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

Scarf Dance
By Cécile Chaminade

User Reviews

betcha most viewers'll like it

If you realize that a movie critique represents an INDIVIDUAL'S opinion which may be very different from your own, you probably also don't take these comments too seriously. But - for what it's worth - here's mine re: Goin' South: I found it very entertaining (and I'm probably fussier than most when it comes to movies). That's what I value most in a film: entertainment. Any negative comments about this flick come from the more erudite crowd which knows or looks deeper for such things. I was even able to get past Nicholson's character's need for a good nose-blowin', which usually really bothers me, but, in this case, I found it utterly hilarious. We're gonna leave out recapping the plot - THAT'S pretty well taken care of not too far from here. But I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to write something good about this picture because I think that it richly deserves it.