Maverick
Directed by	Richard Donner
Produced by	Bruce Davey Richard Donner Jim Van Wyck Alexander B. Collett (associate producer)
Written by	Roy Huggins (television series "Maverick") William Goldman
Starring	Mel Gibson Jodie Foster James Garner Graham Greene James Coburn Alfred Molina
Music by	Randy Newman
Cinematography	Vilmos Zsigmond
Editing by	Stuart Baird, Mike Kelly
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	May 20, 1994
Running time	127 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Maverick is a 1994 comedy Western movie, based on the 1950s television series Maverick, and created by Roy Huggins. It was directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by William Goldman and features Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (545x755, 131 KB) This image is of a film poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the film or the studio which produced the film in question. ... Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg on April 24, 1930) is an American film director and also producer through the production company, The Donners Company, he and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler-Donner, own. ... Bruce Davey is an Austrailian film producer in the United States. ... Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg on April 24, 1930) is an American film director and also producer through the production company, The Donners Company, he and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler-Donner, own. ... Roy Huggins (July 18, 1914 – April 3, 2002) was a novelist and an influential writer and producer of humorous, character-driven US television series. ... William Goldman (born August 12, 1931) is an American novelist, playwright and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ... This article is about the actor. ... Alicia Christian Foster (born November 19, 1962), better known as Jodie Foster, is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, director, and producer. ... James Garner (born April 7, 1928) is an American film and television actor. ... This article is about the Canadian actor. ... James Coburn in Sam Peckinpahs Cross of Iron (1977). ... Alfred Molina (born May 24, 1953) is an English actor of both the stage and screen. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Vilmos Zsigmond (born June 16, 1930) is a Hungarian-American cinematographer. ... Stuart Baird is a British film editor, producer, and director who is mainly associated with action films. ... “WB” redirects here. ... is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The word comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humor with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... Broncho Billy Anderson, from The Great Train Robbery The Western movie is one of the classic American film genres. ... Maverick is a comedy-western television series created by Roy Huggins that ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and featured James Garner, Roger Moore, and Jack Kelly as poker-playing travelling gamblers. ... Roy Huggins (July 18, 1914 – April 3, 2002) was a novelist and an influential writer and producer of humorous, character-driven US television series. ... Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg on April 24, 1930) is an American film director and also producer through the production company, The Donners Company, he and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler-Donner, own. ... William Goldman (born August 12, 1931) is an American novelist, playwright and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ... This article is about the actor. ... Alicia Christian Foster (born November 19, 1962), better known as Jodie Foster, is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, director, and producer. ... James Garner (born April 7, 1928) is an American film and television actor. ...

Synopsis

Mel Gibson as Maverick

The story, set in the American Old West, is a first-person account by a wisecracking gambler 'Bret Maverick' (Mel Gibson), of his misadventures on the way to a major five-card draw poker tournament. Besides wanting to win the poker championship for the money, he also wants to prove, once and for all, that he is 'the best'. However, complications keep getting in the way. Image File history File links Maverick04. ... Image File history File links Maverick04. ... The cowboy, the quintessential symbol of the American Old West, circa 1887. ... This article is about the actor. ... Five-card draw is often the first poker variant learned by most players, and is very common in home games although it is now rare in casino and tournament play. ... An amateur poker tournament in progress. ...

Maverick rides into the fictional town of Crystal River intending to collect money owed to him, as he is $3000 short of the poker tournament entry fee of $25,000. His efforts to make up this $3000 provide some plot motivation, as well as diversions caused by, and in the company of, three people he encounters at Crystal River--an antagonist named Angel (Alfred Molina), a young con-artist calling herself Mrs Annabelle Bransford (Jodie Foster), and legendary lawman Marshal Zane Cooper (James Garner). The first two are also rival poker players. Alfred Molina (born May 24, 1953) is an English actor of both the stage and screen. ... Alicia Christian Foster (born November 19, 1962), better known as Jodie Foster, is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, director, and producer. ... James Garner (born April 7, 1928) is an American film and television actor. ...

Maverick, Bransford and Cooper share a stagecoach (the driver of which dies at the reins at full gallop), agree to help a wagon train of migrant evangelist settlers who have been waylaid by ruffians (for a fee which Maverick in the end is too big-hearted to accept) and are headed-off by a troop of Indians led by "Joseph" (Graham Greene). Unknown to his companions, Joseph and Maverick are good friends, and Maverick allows himself to be "captured." Joseph is another one of his unreliable debtors, and in and around his tribal grounds they collaborate on a scheme to swindle a Russian Grand Duke. This article is about the Canadian actor. ... In economics a debtor (or a borrower) owes money to a creditor. ... This may refer to: Fraud; In chess, a ruse by which a player in a losing position tricks his opponent, and thereby achieves a win or draw instead of the expected loss. ... The title of Grand Duke (Latin, Magnus Dux; German, Großherzog, Russian, Великий князь) used in Slavic, Baltic, and Germanic countries, is ranked in honour below King but higher than a sovereign Duke (Herzog) or Prince (Fürst). ...

During this time, Angel has received a mysterious telegram ordering him to not allow Maverick to reach the poker game, and has also learned that Maverick had conned him in Crystal River. These scenes are some of the very few which do not involve Maverick directly. Angel catches up with Maverick after he has left Joseph's tribe, beats him up and attempts to lynch him. Despite being tied to both a tree and to his horse, Maverick escapes and reaches the poker game--on a paddle steamer--safely. Bransford and Angel have also reached the game, and Cooper who is engaged to ensure the security of the game. Lynch may be: One of the fourteen tribes of Galway Colonel Charles Lynch, an officer on the Patriot side of the American Revolutionary War David Lynch, American film director David Lynch (musician), American Jazz musician Evanna Lynch, Irish actress Gerard Lynch, United States Federal Court judge Jessica Lynch (fl. ... A paddle steamer, paddleboat, or paddlewheeler is a ship or boat propelled by one or more paddle wheels driven by a steam engine. ...

After preliminary rounds, the four finalists are Maverick, Bransford, Angel, and the Commodore of the boat (James Coburn). Maverick almost fails to reach the final table by the 5:00am deadline, having had his stateroom door chained (by an unknown person) after a short tryst with Bransford. The game proceeds, with Bransford the first eliminated, and shortly thereafter a "fixed" hand is dealt to the three remaining players. The Commodore is given four 8s and Angel is given a low straight flush, whilst Maverick has the 10, Jack, Queen and King of Spades. The Commodore and Angel each bet "all in" (inferring that Maverick is the chip leader at this stage). Maverick observes the dealer bottom-dealing to the others, protests the conduct of the hand, and eventually accepts one card dealt by Angel and calls the bets without checking the card. It is, melodramatically, the Ace of Spades (Note that a 9 of Spades would also have won the hand for Maverick). An enraged Angel draws his gun but he, and his stooges in the audience, are gunned down in rapid succession by Cooper and Maverick (drawing one of Cooper's guns). Commodore is a military rank used in some navies for officers whose position exceeds that of a Captain, but is less than that of a Flag Officer. ... James Coburn in Sam Peckinpahs Cross of Iron (1977). ... All In was a Korean drama series broadcast by SBS in 2003. ...

Three plot twists follow Maverick's win: Firstly, Cooper steals the $500,000 prize money instead of presenting it to Maverick. Secondly, it is revealed that the Commodore and Cooper were secretly in cahoots on the theft and that Angel had actually been working for the Commodore. Thirdly, Maverick ambushes the two around a campfire and steals back the money. He leaves them with a single gun to settle their affairs. Cooper beats up the Commodore and angrily vows to wreak bloody vengeance on Maverick, even if it means hunting him to the ends of the earth.

Later, Maverick is relaxing in a bath-house when Cooper finds him, and drops the facade to reveal (to the audience) that he is in fact Maverick's father. It is also revealed that the real conspiracy was between the two of them. Suddenly, however, Bransford enters the bath-house and robs Cooper and Maverick (whose relationship she had easily surmised). However, she only gets away with half of the money she had expected, as Maverick had hidden the rest in his boot. Maverick smiles and comments that it will be a lot of fun getting the rest of the money back from her.

Primary cast of characters

• Mel Gibson .... Bret Maverick, Jr. - perhaps named after "Brett McBain", a character in Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West"
• Jodie Foster .... Mrs. Annabelle Bransford
• James Garner .... Marshal Zane Cooper/Bret Maverick, Sr.
• Graham Greene .... Joseph
• Alfred Molina .... Angel
• James Coburn .... Commodore Duvall
• Paul L. Smith ... The Archduke

This article is about the actor. ... Alicia Christian Foster (born November 19, 1962), better known as Jodie Foster, is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, director, and producer. ... James Garner (born April 7, 1928) is an American film and television actor. ... This article is about the Canadian actor. ... Alfred Molina (born May 24, 1953) is an English actor of both the stage and screen. ... James Coburn in Sam Peckinpahs Cross of Iron (1977). ... Paul L. Smith (born February 5, 1939 in Everett, Massachusetts) is a Hollywood character actor. ...

Cameo appearances

There are appearances through the film as many familiar faces from Westerns of the past and Country Western music, particularly in the final riverboat poker tournament scenes. These include (in no particular order):

• • Dub Taylor as a room clerk
  • Leo Gordon as a gambler at Maverick's first game. Gordon actually appeared in five episodes of the original series as Big Mike McComb.
  • Geoffrey Lewis as Matthew Wicker, a.k.a. Eugene, the banker
  • Hal Ketchum as one of four bank robbers
  • Paul Brinegar of Rawhide as the stagecoach driver
  • Carlene Carter as a waitress on the Commodore's ship
  • Waylon Jennings and Kathy Mattea as a couple found with a gun
  • Denver Pyle and Clint Black, who are thrown off the boat for cheating at poker
  • Vince Gill and then-wife Janis Gill as spectators during the game

In addition to these stars, actor Danny Glover (Gibson's co-star in the Lethal Weapon franchise of films) appears as the lead bank robber. He and Maverick (Gibson) share a scene where they look as if they knew each other, but then shake it off. As Glover makes his escape with the money, he mutters "I'm getting too old for this shit." In addition, a strain of the main theme from Lethal Weapon plays in the score when Glover is revealed. Dub Taylor (February 26, 1907 - October 3, 1994) was a prolific American character actor who worked extensively in Westerns. ... Leo Gordon (1922-2000) was an American movie and television actor and screenplay writer noted for his size and apparent strength. ... Geoffrey Lewis (born July 31, 1935) is a popular US character actor since the early 1970s, often featured in offbeat roles. ... Hal Ketchum (born April 9, 1953) is an American country musician. ... Paul Brinegar (1917 - 1995) was an American character actor. ... Rawhide is a hide or animal skin that has not been exposed to tanning and thus is much lighter in color than treated animal hides. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Waylon Jennings in 1965. ... Kathy Mattea Kathy Mattea, full name Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959, in South Charleston, West Virginia), is a female country music and bluegrass performer who often brings celtic sounds to her music, particularly with her release of Love Travels, one of her most critically popular albums. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Clint Blacks Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American neotraditional country music singer, songwriter, producer and occasional actor. ... Vince Gill Vince Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music musician, songwriter, and singer. ... Danny Lebern Glover[1] (born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

• Maverick at the Internet Movie Database