Old Gringo (1989)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Luis Puenzo

Writers (WGA):

Carlos Fuentes (novel)
Aída Bortnik (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 October 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | History

Tagline:

A woman inspired by a man of dreams swept into the arms of a general, and drawn into a worlds of danger.

Plot:

When school teacher Harriet Winslow (Jane Fonda) goes to Mexico to teach, she is kidnapped by Gen. Tomas Arroyo (Jimmy Smits) & his revolutionaries...

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Showdown | Interracial Relationship | Mexican Revolution | Rebellion

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jane Fonda	...	Harriet Winslow
Gregory Peck	...	Ambrose Bierce
Jimmy Smits	...	Gen. Tomas Arroyo
Patricio Contreras	...	Col. Frutos Garcia
Jenny Gago	...	La Garduna
Gabriela Roel	...	La Luna
Sergio Calderón	...	Zacarias (as Sergio Calderon)
Guillermo Ríos	...	Monsalvo (as Guillermo Rios)
Jim Metzler	...	Ron
Samuel Valadez De La Torre	...	Consul Saunders
Anne Pitoniak	...	Mrs. Winslow
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Pancho Villa (as Pedro Armendariz Jr.)
Stanley Grover	...	Gen. Saunders
Josefina Echánove	...	Clementina (as Josefina Echanove)
Pedro Damián	...	Capt. Ovando (as Pedro Damian)

Runtime:

Japan:120 min | USA:119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

According to the American Humane Association, the scene involving the shooting of General Arroyo's horse had no humane representative present but the AHA spoke with Gregory Peck, who was present during the entire filming of the scene. Peck described in great detail how the shocking effect was achieved, and assured the AHA that the horse, Twister, was not harmed. The AHA went to the California ranch where Twister is kept so that we could observe him recreate his specialty fall. Twister performed beautifully and is in excellent condition.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: At the end of the movie as Harriet Winslow is crossing the Rio Grande, the river flows from right to left. If she were actually crossing the border from Mexico to America (northward), the river would flow from left to right (eastward).

Quotes:

Gen. Tomas Arroyo: Do you want to drink with me?
Ambrose Bierce: I thought you didn't drink.
Gen. Tomas Arroyo: Oh, I don't drink with the living. But tonight I come to visit the dead, to celebrate with them. Do you visit your dead ones, amigo?
Ambrose Bierce: No, but sometimes they come to visit me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Crossing Borders: The Journey of Carlos Fuentes (1989) (TV)

Another One of Those Corn-Filled Vehicles of the 1980s That No One Rode.

Opulent mess that died at the box office and with critics alike in 1989. In early-20th Century Mexico an American school teacher (Jane Fonda) is kidnapped by a desperado (Jimmy Smits) and his rebellious gang. The titled character (Gregory Peck) is slowly dying of an illness and tries to get himself killed by Smits on numerous occasions as he also tries to get Fonda to safety. Strangely a bond develops between Smits and Peck just as Fonda becomes Smits' lover and then surprisingly Fonda learns who Peck really is and falls in love with him as well (and also tries to fulfill his dying wish). "Old Gringo" is a lot of smoke and sand that tries to become the "Dr. Zhivago" of its time, but falls completely. The big-name performers cannot make it through a story that drags along and never gets to a suitable pay-off. The direction is disastrous too and we are left with a huh? movie that really means nothing at all. 2.5 out of 5 stars.