The Mighty Quinn (1989)

When police officer Xavier Quinn's childhood friend, Maubee, becomes associated with murder and a briefcase full of ten thousand dollar bills, The Mighty Quinn must clear his name. Or try to catch him, which could be even trickier.

Director:

Carl Schenkel

Writers:

Albert Z. Carr (novel) (as A.H.Z. Carr), Hampton Fancher (screenplay)

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Robert Townsend, James Fox

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Xavier Quinn
James Fox	...	Thomas Elgin
Mimi Rogers	...	Hadley Elgin
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Fred Miller
Sheryl Lee Ralph	...	Lola Quinn
Art Evans	...	Jump Jones
Esther Rolle	...	Ubu Pearl
Norman Beaton	...	Governor Chalk
Alex Colon	...	Jose Patina
Robert Townsend	...	Maubee
Tyra Ferrell	...	Isola
Carl Bradshaw	...	Cocodick
Maria McDonald	...	Jax
Fitz Weir	...	Athens
Baldwin Howe	...	Bim

Storyline

When police officer Xavier Quinn's childhood friend, Maubee, becomes associated with murder and a briefcase full of ten thousand dollar bills, The Mighty Quinn must clear his name. Or try to catch him, which could be even trickier.

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Plot Keywords:

caribbean island | resort hotel | fixer | wife | son | 

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Taglines:

THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND THE CHIEF SUSPECT. They know each other too well to let a little thing like murder get in their way.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Finding Maubee

Filming Locations:

Port Antonio, Jamaica

Box Office

Gross USA:

$4,557,214

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,239,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

A&M Films,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),Star Partners II Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is derived from a Bob Dylan song of the same name. In his autobiography, "Chronicles: Volume One", Dylan recalls seeing the film and gives it a positive review.

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Goofs

When Fred Miller ties up Ubu Pearl in her wheelchair, he wraps her once then ties off the back, but from the front we see two wraps of the scarf around her.

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Quotes

MacKeon: His brain's not working too good right now, but from what I can tell, Maubee bet him ten thousand dollars he couldn't do what he did.
Xavier: Which was what?
MacKeon: Drink whatever it is he's throwing up there.

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Alternate Versions

An interracial love scene between and was rumored to have been cut out of the film when it was learned both black and white test audiences didn't like it.

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Connections

Referenced in Psych: Cog Blocked (2014)

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Soundtracks

LA HABANERA
Written by Boris Blank and Dieter Meier
Performed by Yello
Courtesy of Polygram Special Projects
A Division of Polygram Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Denzel's "mighty" fine in this one!

Do you want to be magically transported to the islands? Do you want to hear raggae music that's out of this world? Do you want to see Denzel's beautiful brown skin against an all white uniform? The Mighty Quinn's got all three plus a pretty decent plot and some pretty well known actors. Robert Townsend is great as the wily Maubee, Mimi Rogers is convincing as a damsel in distress and Sheryl Lee Ralph showcases her talents as both an actress and a singer. But perhaps the best part of this movie, in my opinion, is Denzel's character Xavier. Oh yes he looks sexy, as he always does. But more that that it's the way he embodies a role so much so that by the end of the movie you can't tell him from smooth tongued Jamaican police officer that he's playing. Catch it one late night on television reruns and I bet you'll get caught up. You'll never feel the same way about a Jamaican accent again.