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 & 1 nomination.

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 | snake bite | cia agent | childhood friend | based on novel | 

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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

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 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

Nick: Chief, am I gonna die?
Xavier: Yes, man... but we're gonna try to put it off for a little while, we're gonna take you to the hospital.

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Alternate Versions

An interracial love scene between Denzel Washington and Mimi Rogers 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 A Century of Black Cinema (2003)

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Soundtracks

SEND FI SPANISH FLY
Written by Lloyd James
Performed by Little Twitch

User Reviews

An outstanding and entertaining mystery with Denzel

This is one of the most entertaining movies I've seen all year. It takes place in a town on a carribean island not unlike Jamaica, and tells the story of a drifter named Maubee accussed of murder, and his best friend who happens to be the town sherrif. I loved this movie, because of it's wonderful characters, and the things they deal with over the course of this movie. The film may not be action-packed, or even contain a gripping plot, but I assure any readers this movie will not dissapoint you. Denzel Washington is delightful as the sherrif trying to prove his friends innosennce, and Robert Townsend plays the down-and-out drifter Maubee, in an equaly pleasing role. While the films premise may not initialy draw you in, its wonderful characters and colorful island setting will. And everytime things start to slow down, the movie drops another dead body in. See this movie.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Finding Maubee

Filming Locations:

Port Antonio, Jamaica

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,429,306, 20 February 1989

Gross USA:

$4,557,214

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,557,214

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1