Songwriter

19841984
RR
1h 34m

Songwriter (1984)

Doc Jenkins (Willie Nelson) is a singer/songwriter who tries to leave his singer/songwriter roots to be a music "mogul," and gets tangled up in a bad publishing deal. He enlists a team of cronies, including a young singer and his former singing partner, Blackie Buck (Kris Kristofferson), and together they execute his plan to get out of the deal. He gets help from a stereotypical small-time concert promoter. Honey Carder (Melinda Dillon) is the love interest/ex-wife.

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Doc Jenkins (Willie Nelson) is a singer/songwriter who tries to leave his singer/songwriter roots to be a music "mogul," and gets tangled up in a bad publishing deal. He enlists a team of cr... Read allDoc Jenkins (Willie Nelson) is a singer/songwriter who tries to leave his singer/songwriter roots to be a music "mogul," and gets tangled up in a bad publishing deal. He enlists a team of cronies, including a young singer and his former singing partner, Blackie Buck (Kris Kristof... Read allDoc Jenkins (Willie Nelson) is a singer/songwriter who tries to leave his singer/songwriter roots to be a music "mogul," and gets tangled up in a bad publishing deal. He enlists a team of cronies, including a young singer and his former singing partner, Blackie Buck (Kris Kristofferson), and together they execute his plan to get out of the deal. He gets help from a st... Read all

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 nominations total

Videos1

Official Trailer

Official Trailer

Songwriter (1984)

Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson in Songwriter (1984)

Willie Nelson and Shannon Wilcox in Songwriter (1984)

Willie Nelson in Songwriter (1984)

Willie Nelson in Songwriter (1984)

Lesley Ann Warren and Willie Nelson in Songwriter (1984)

Willie Nelson and Richard C. Sarafian in Songwriter (1984)

Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson in Songwriter (1984)

Lesley Ann Warren and Willie Nelson in Songwriter (1984)

Kris Kristofferson in Songwriter (1984)

Willie Nelson and Shannon Wilcox in Songwriter (1984)

Kris Kristofferson in Songwriter (1984)

Honeysuckle Rose

6.3

Honeysuckle Rose

Trouble in Mind

6.5

Trouble in Mind

Walk on the Wild Side

6.7

Walk on the Wild Side

The Unsuspected

7.2

The Unsuspected

Chilly Scenes of Winter

7.1

Chilly Scenes of Winter

The Thing Called Love

6.4

The Thing Called Love

Choose Me

6.8

Return Engagement

7.8

Return Engagement

Cold Turkey

6.7

6.8

Hell Bound

6.3

The Moderns

6.6

Doc Jenkins (Willie Nelson) is a singer/songwriter who tries to leave his singer/songwriter roots to be a music "mogul," and gets tangled up in a bad publishing deal. He enlists a team of cronies, including a young singer and his former singing partner, Blackie Buck (Kris Kristofferson), and together they execute his plan to get out of the deal. He gets help from a stereotypical small-time concert promoter. Honey Carder (Melinda Dillon) is the love interest/ex-wife. —<marv@knology.net>

female nudity topless female nudity interrupted sex texas bare chested male 14 more

Taglines
- Willie and Kris on the road - sharing music...raising hell!
Genres
- Drama
- Music
Certificate
- R
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
Back in the 1970, Willie Nelson had grown discontented with the role that those in the music industry in Nashville had tried to impose upon him. He left the country music capitol and moved back to his native Texas. Sitting around in a hotel room in Austin with longtime friend Edwin "Bud" Shrake [Bud Shrake], the two devised a story about a songwriter who was going through hard times, trying to find himself. That discussion, and several others following it, would be the beginning of the script of "Songwriter." In fact, the very hotel in which the two first spoke, would later serve to lodge the cast and crew of the film.

Goofs
When Gilda shows up at Doc's hotel room she told him that "Doc" told her where he was.

Quotes
Blackie Buck: Do you suppose a mans got to be a miserable son of a bitch all the time, just to write a good song every now & then? That's a terrible thought.

Connections
Featured in At the Movies: Songwriter/Nineteen Eighty-Four/Witness/Mrs. Soffel (1985)

Top review

6/10

Good Music And Vengeance

Willie Nelson is a songwriter in the country/western genre and a very successful one -- artistically, anyway. Most of the money is taken by the producers, including Rip Torn. Eventually Wilson gets together with his old performing partner, Kris Kristofferson, Lesley Ann Warren, and Melinda Dillon to right old wrongs and get the rights to his song back.

Most of the pleasure in this movie is, of course, in the music; Kristofferson was nominated for the Best Score Oscar. There's fun, too, in watching the suits get worked over in their never-ending greed, and the Austin location shooting is excellent.

helpful•1

0

boblipton
Oct 5, 2021

Release date
- October 14, 1984 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Official site
- Sony Movie Channel (United States)
Language
- English
Also known as
- Der Songschreiber
Filming locations
- Austin, Texas, USA
Production company
- TriStar Pictures
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Gross US & Canada
- $865,915
Opening weekend US & Canada
- $497,406
- Oct 14, 1984
Gross worldwide
- $865,915

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
1 hour 34 minutes
Sound mix
- Dolby
Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1

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Songwriter (1984)

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