Sunset (1988)

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Rodney Amateau (story)
Blake Edwards (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 April 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Action | Comedy | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

They broke every rule, loved every woman, took every risk and solved the most shocking murder in the history of Beverly Hills. And it's all true. Give or take a lie or two.

Plot:

Tom Mix and Wyatt Earp team up to solve a murder at the Academy Awards in 1929 Hollywood.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Film In Film | Celebrity Look Alike | Spoof | Laurel And Hardy Spoof

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	Tom Mix
James Garner	...	Wyatt Earp
Malcolm McDowell	...	Alfie Alperin
Mariel Hemingway	...	Cheryl King
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Nancy Shoemaker
Jennifer Edwards	...	Victoria Alperin
Patricia Hodge	...	Christina Alperin
Richard Bradford	...	Captain Blackworth
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Chief Marvin Dibner
Joe Dallesandro	...	Dutch Kieffer
Andreas Katsulas	...	Arthur
Dann Florek	...	Marty Goldberg
Bill Marcus	...	Hal Flynn
Michael C. Gwynne	...	Mooch
Dermot Mulroney	...	Michael Alperin

Also Known As:

Catalina (USA) (cable TV title)

Runtime:

102 min | Argentina:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Ireland:15

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica

Trivia:

Although the film's plot is mostly fiction, it is true that Wyatt Earp and Tom Mix were friends. After retiring from law-enforcement work, Earp and his wife drifted around, eventually setting in Los Angeles where he and Mix met. They became good friends and Mix even tried to get Hollywood to produce a movie about Earp, but they weren't interested. Earp was, however, hired as a technical consultant for movies starring Mix and William S. Hart. When Earp passed away in 1929, Mix and Hart were his pallbearers.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Several scenes depicted Wyatt Earp consuming alcohol, which he never did.

Quotes:

Tom Mix: She's a grand girl.
Wyatt Earp: She's a grand 26 year old girl. I could have done myself permanent injury.

Movie Connections:

Follows Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

Soundtrack:

Black And Tan Fantasy

Great Garner

This movie has been kicking around on cable TV lately and I've put off watching it because I expected it to be another very stretched version of a buddy cop movie. The story seems made for it. Experienced old real-life marshal Wyatt Earp teaches callus young phony cowboy Tom Mix how to solve a crime. "Dragnet" on a 1920s back lot. But it wasn't that way at all.

It's true enough that Earp (Garner) hung around Hollywood at the time, or maybe a bit earlier. We don't really get to know much about his past. But although Mix (Willis) drove expensive cars and wore flashy suits and big hats, he wasn't a phony. He'd been a real cowboy too, was a great rider, fought in the Spanish-American war, and could take care of himself. Instead of the expected clash between the master and the tyro, we get two guys who pretty much hit it off with one another right away, and show mutual respect.

It's an interesting friendship.

But then the movie turns darker. A murder takes place. There are fist fights (mostly comic) and several shootouts (done seriously). Willis is kind of cocky. Garner displays the laconic off-hand dignity he showed in "Murphy's Romance," or whatever it was. He's an icon here, with that black outfit and mustache. He's never been a flashy actor, but invariably a competent one. Off-screen he's come up with some dandy spontaneous comments about how the social world of Hollywood and the rest of the country is structured. He's got my vote. Willis isn't bad either.

The rest of the cast does yeoman work but no one has roles that are as interesting as those of the two leads. And the murder story fails to grip the viewer, at least this viewer. I didn't really find myself caring who did it, although it was clear from the beginning who the villains were. There was an exception, though, the British actress playing Garner's former lover. She's simply outstanding in a supporting part, and provides a great example of how to be beautiful without being "beautiful."

I wish the film didn't seem kind of -- I suppose lost is the word. It meanders between comedy, drama, and warmth, without seeming to know just what it wants to do. This isn't a total failure on Edwards' part. It holds together as a story but the characters bounce off one another. Henry Mancini, who wrote many scores for Edwards' films, shows his versatility here.

The score is quiet and unobtrusive (except for one or two brass bands that seem to follow Tom Mix around) and is punctuated by contemporary recordings, including one by Duke Ellington. The photography is first rate. It must be getting hard to find locations that look like Southern California looked in the 1920s before the irruption of humans and their artifacts.

It's worth watching. But I don't know where that title came from. "Sunset." What is the sun setting on? Not Earp. He's old but not doddering, and he can shoot and make love even at the "risk of permanent damage." It's not setting on Hollywood, which would continue to book for another two generations or so. I suppose we'll settle for its being one of those generic titles that could mean anything. "Another Dawn." "Guns of Darkness." "On the Edge." "Sunset." "The Muppets Conquer the Mustang Ranch."