Maverick (film)

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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)	July 15, 1994
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.

[edit] Synopsis

The story is about a wisecracking gambler 'Bret Maverick' (Mel Gibson), who is attempting to raise $25,000, the entry money needed for 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.

The movie opens with him being held on a noose tied to a tree (slightly reminiscent of the opening of the Clint Eastwood movie Hang 'Em High) and supported only by his horse, Ollie. The bad guy, Angel (played by Alfred Molina), tosses a sack with a snake in front of the horse, with the intention that the horse will get spooked and run away, causing Maverick to hang.

The movie then flashes back to a week before, where Maverick attempts to collect on old debts, including one from a banker friend who promises him 'his last dollar', before being robbed at gunpoint (the robber was played by Danny Glover, in a nod to their Lethal Weapon films).

In town for the night, he encounters Angel (not taking notice of him at the time, except that he 'smells of refried beans') and Mrs. Annabelle Bransford (played by Jodie Foster) in a poker game. He enters the table by promising to lose for one hour, then proceeds to start winning hand after hand after the hour is up, having used the time he was losing to notice the other player's 'tells' (their unconscious reactions when they have a good or bad hand). When he wins money from one of the players, the player asks for his money back, arguing that his 'mind wasn't on the game'. Maverick asked what the player's name was, and it is revealed that the player is John Wesley Hardin. Maverick, unnerved, gets up from the table too quickly, causing Hardin to leap to his feet and reach for his gun. At this point, Maverick shows off his superior gun-drawing skills, but admits he is a coward and has no desire for anyone to get killed. Later in the game, Angel accuses Maverick of cheating and is about to fight him when a bunch of toughs come in, looking for a fight with Maverick. Maverick takes the fight outside and proceeds to beat the toughs, thus also proving his strength and ferociousness.

Mel Gibson as Maverick

Impressed with him, Mrs. Bransford comes up to Maverick's room and starts to seduce him (pointing out later that "There never has been a Mister Bransford, and there never will be"), then attempts to walk out — but not before Maverick notes that she tried lifting his wallet. The next day, Maverick catches a coach with Mrs. Bransford and Marshall Zane Cooper (James Garner, who played Maverick in the original TV series). Back in town, Angel finds out that the fight from the night before was fixed (Maverick paid off the four thugs $5 each with a $100 bill), and this infuriates him. He also gets a telegram from someone, informing him not to let Maverick enter the game.

Back at the coach, the coach driver dies, forcing Maverick, Cooper, and Mrs. Bransford to walk on foot through Indian territory. They encounter a tribe, and Maverick agrees to act as interpreter with the chief. As it turns out, the chief, Joseph (played by Graham Greene), is a friend of Maverick's and also speaks English, but agrees to make it seem like Maverick has to accompany them (since they were walking "on sacred burial grounds") as a sacrifice, so that Maverick can leave the others. At the camp, Joseph reveals that he doesn't have the money he owes Maverick, but comes up with a plan to scam a Russian Archduke out of $2,000 (of which Maverick gets half, the amount Joseph owed him).

On his way to the poker tournament, Maverick runs into Angel and his two cronies, as the flashback catches up to the opening scene. Successfully escaping the hanging (the tree branch breaks off), he makes his way to the riverboat Lauren Belle, owned by Commodore Duvall (played by James Coburn). He spots the same Archduke on the boat and manages to scam him out of the rest of the money he needs for himself and Mrs. Bransford to enter the poker championship. Cooper is there as well, acting as security for the money that's put in a safe until the game is over.

The championship is set up in a series of smaller tournaments of four players each, with the winner eventually going on to the finals, with the intention of "play until you drop." Any cheaters will be thrown off the boat (as happens a couple of times throughout the game). The finals consist of Maverick, Mrs. Bransford, Angel and the Commodore. The players are given one hour to relax before the game starts — any player not in his seat at the stroke of 5 AM will lose their money and their seat. Maverick goes back to his room, where Mrs. Bransford soon follows. After some love-making, Mrs. Bransford goes back to her room. When Maverick finishes, he tries to open the door, only to find someone chained his door shut. Maverick narrowly makes it to the game in time (bursting in to the main hall at the stroke of 5).

Two James: Coburn as Commodore Duvall and Garner (who played Maverick in the original tv series) as Marshall Zane Cooper

In the final poker game, Mrs. Bransford is the first to lose — Maverick realised she was bluffing when she held her breath, and she "always breathes heavily when excited." Eventually, the Commodore decides to bet the rest of his money on a single hand. Angel goes all in as well, and Maverick not only puts all his chips in the pot, but even covers the Commodore's shortfall — thus, whoever wins this hand will be the winner. Maverick takes one card, but leaves it face-down on the table. The Commodore reveals that he has "2 pairs — 8s... and 8s" (four of a kind). Angel reveals he has a small straight flush (which beats four of a kind). Maverick turns over his first four cards, showing he has a possible royal flush (the highest hand in poker). He then 'concentrates' on the last card, trying to will it to be the ace of spades that he needs to complete the royal flush (though the nine of spades would also complete a higher straight flush, nine to king). He looks at the card, exhales, then flips the card on the table — it's an ace of spades! People start cheering, but Angel pulls out a gun from his sleeve. Maverick and Zane pull out guns (Maverick from Zane's belt, since no other guns are allowed) and kill Angel and his two cronies (who also had guns).

Finally, Cooper opens the safe and is about to hand it to Maverick, but then decides to rob the money for himself. He makes off with the money, almost getting shot by the Commodore. Later that night, the Commodore meets up with Cooper in the woods — the Commodore was the one who sent Angel to keep Maverick out of the game. The two are apparently in cahoots, but Cooper reveals he was working undercover the whole time in an attempt to catch the Commodore - who then pulls a gun on Cooper, with the intent of stealing all the money back. Maverick then shows up, pointing a gun at both of them, and takes the money and their guns. He then tosses his gun in the air, leaving Cooper and the Commodore to fight for it. The Commodore gets the gun, but finds out it isn't loaded, and Cooper immediately punches him out.

Later, Maverick is relaxing in a hot bath when Cooper walks in with his gun, noting that Maverick's is 8 feet away. At this point, we find out that Cooper is actually Maverick's father (Maverick was fond of quoting "My old pappy", and Cooper angrily replies that he never said any of the things Maverick credited him with). Cooper joins him in an adjoining bath, when Mrs. Bransford walks in with her gun, noting that both of their guns are "6 feet away from you" (to which they simultaneously reply "eight"). She then reveals she knew they were father and son because of their many similarities (including the fact that they both sang the same wrong words to "Amazing Grace" when they buried the coach driver). She walks off with the satchel of money, but Maverick reveals that he left half of the money in his boots, and that he decided to leave the rest in the satchel because "Getting that money back is gonna be a whole lot of fun" (a possible reference to a sequel, which was never made).

[edit] Primary cast of characters

• Mel Gibson .... Bret Maverick, Jr.
• Jodie Foster .... Mrs. Annabelle Bransford
• James Garner .... Marshal Zane Cooper
• Graham Greene .... Joseph
• Alfred Molina .... Angel
• James Coburn .... Commodore Duvall

[edit] Trivia

• The poker tournament scenes feature many familiar faces, either from appearances in western movies and television programs, or from careers in country music. These include (in no particular order):
  • Carlene Carter (waitress on the Commodore's ship)
  • Waylon Jennings and Kathy Mattea (couple with guns)
  • Denver Pyle and Clint Black (thrown off the boat into the water, for cheating at poker)
  • Vince Gill and then-wife Janis Gill (spectators during the game)
  • James Drury (another player in the game)
  • Dub Taylor (room clerk)
  • Hal Ketchum and Corey Feldman (bank robbers)
  • and others.
• There are several Lethal Weapon references in the film. Danny Glover makes a cameo appearance as a bank robber. As he and Maverick lock eyes, music from Lethal Weapon plays. As Glover's character makes his getaway, he mumbles, "I'm getting too old for this shit", a well-known line from the Lethal Weapon series. Also, one of the dealers in the poker tournament is played by Steve Kahan who also plays the captain in the Lethal Weapon series.
• Margot Kidder has a small role as a woman that lost her wedding dress and asks Maverick and friends to recover it. Kidder worked with director Richard Donner in the 1978 film Superman where she played her most famous role, Lois Lane.
• The character of Annabelle Bransford may have been based on the very similar character of Samantha Crawford in the original TV series.

[edit] External link

• Maverick at the Internet Movie Database