The Newton Boys (1998)

The story of the Newton gang, the most successful bank robbers in history, owing to their good planning and minimal violence.

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers:

Claude Stanush (based on the book by), Richard Linklater (screenplay by)

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew McConaughey	...	Willis Newton
Skeet Ulrich	...	Joe Newton
Ethan Hawke	...	Jess Newton
Gail Cronauer	...	Ma Newton
Jena Karam	...	Orphan Singer
Casey McAuliffe	...	Orphan Singer
Regina Mae Matthews	...	Orphan Fiddler
Lew Temple	...	Waiter
Dwight Yoakam	...	Brentwood Glasscock
Charles Gunning	...	Slim
Glynn Williams	...	Farmer Williams
Charles 'Chip' Bray	...	Bank Teller
Chloe Webb	...	Avis Glasscock
Gary Moody	...	Crooked Banker
Julianna Margulies	...	Louise Brown

Storyline

Four Newton brothers are a poor farmer family in the 1920s. The oldest of them, Willis, one day realizes that there's no future in the fields and offers his brothers to become a bank robbers. Soon the family agrees. They become very famous robbers, and five years later execute the greatest train robbery in American history.

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Plot Keywords:

bank robber | train | brother brother relationship | explosive | crime spree | 

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Taglines:

Pests of the West

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | History | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence including bloody aftermath of a shooting, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Newton fiúk

Filming Locations:

Martindale, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,010,245, 29 March 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$10,297,897, 17 May 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Detour Filmproduction, Newton Boys Ventures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The oil rig tool pusher that Matthew McConaughey's character Willis Newton punches in the face, is actually McConaugheys older brother, Rooster McConaughey.

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Goofs

Brentwood and Joe watch Erich von Stroheim's Greed, in Canada, during what appears to be summer. Greed was not released until December of that year, and didn't see any wide release until late January of 1925. It's also doubtful that it would have made it to Canada any time before then.

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Quotes

Jess Newton: This is a hell of a way to make a livin' ain't it?

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Crazy Credits

This is the True Story of the Most Successful Bank Robbers in the History of The United States

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Connections

Featured in Great Directors (2009)

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Soundtracks

Barrelhouse Drag
Written & performed by Carl Sonny Leyland

User Reviews

Nicely Filmed & Better Than Anticipated

This was a pretty interesting based-on-a-true story account of a bunch of brothers who robbed more than 80 banks in the early 1920s. One thing for sure: it's better than the critics would have you believe. Oddly enough, it drags a bit near the end overall retained interest for most of the two hours. It is nicely filmed with good 1920s sets and music.

Matthew McConaughey is easily the star of this as the mastermind of the group, and he's the most interesting character of the Newton boys. He had a strange, funny smile in this role. I had to laugh out loud a few times looking at it. Some bad news: no one else here is likable and there is way too much usage of the Lord's name in vain.

I do agree with the critics that something is missing here, something that prevents it from being rated higher. Note: two of the actual robbers are shown in 1980 interviews, one on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson! In the other interview, the thief still sees nothing wrong with what he did! Amazing.