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

Quinn and Maubee fight briefly in a style resembling Capoeira, a martial art originally developed in Brazil.

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Goofs

When Quinn enters the beach structure towards the end, he is wearing an empty gun holsters. Shortly afterwards when he fights Maubee, the holster is mysterious gone.

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Quotes

Maubee: Ubu Pearl.
Xavier: Who, the witch?
Maubee: Yeah, man, Isola's aunt. She only let me visit on Monday night.
Xavier: What if you don't?
Maubee: I get the hex. My dick fall off and I wake up dead.
Xavier: Shit, you'd better stick to your schedule then.
Maubee: Yeah, man.

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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

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Breakthrough Stars of 1990 (1990)

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Soundtracks

(I'M) HURTING INSIDE
Written by Bob Marley
Performed by Sheryl Lee Ralph with Cedella Marley and Sharon Marley Prendergast
Produced by Tyrone Downie

User Reviews

Rum Punch and Reggae

I never tire of watching this movie. It is one of my favorites, and a great showcase for Denzel Washington. He gets to be the cool-headed Chief of Police that takes no crap from the rich white folks and, at the same time, is the butt of jokes from his own people.

The cast of characters all add to this interesting mystery set in Jamaica. Robert Townsend shows his amazing versatility as the childhood friend of Washington and the chief suspect in a murder. Mimi Rogers is just luscious as the philandering spouse of James Fox, the man who wants Washington to go away and stop doing his job. M. Emmet Walsh makes the perfect government hit man, who is after missing $10,000 bills. Then, there is Sheryl Lee Ralph as Washington's wife. When she sings "(I'm) Hurting Inside," you know it's true. Then she sings the title song as a dig at her husband. But, the whole film has a continuous soundtrack of fantastic music that adds island charm to the laughs and seduction and fun.

It is the next best thing to a trip to Jamaica.