- Film Review
- Reviewed By David Parkinson
-
3 out of 5
Despite the attention of master scriptwriter William Goldman, this gentle tribute to the hit comedy western TV series missed a golden opportunity for a razor-sharp spoof. There's no doubt the stars had a ball, though, with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster sparking nicely as the eponymous gambler and the con artist who is more than his match. But it's left to James Garner (who played the original Bret Maverick), saddled with a role that is little more than a clumsy in-joke, to demonstrate what comic acting is really all about. Fans of westerns, both small screen and big screen, should keep an eye out for a multitude of familiar faces around the riverboat poker tables. The eagle-eyed can spot - among others - Doug McClure, who played Trampas in The Virginian, William Smith, who spent two years in Laredo, and Henry Darrow, who played Manolito in The High Chaparral .
Plot Summary
Comedy western based on the hit TV series of the 1950s and 60s, starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner. As cardsharp Bret Maverick waits to be lynched by a gang of villains, he relates the events leading up to his dire situation.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Bret Maverick
- Mel Gibson
- Annabelle Bransford
- Jodie Foster
- Zane Cooper
- James Garner
- Joseph
- Graham Greene (2)
- Angel
- Alfred Molina
- Commodore Duval
- James Coburn
- Room clerk
- Dub Taylor
- Matthew Wicker
- Geoffrey Lewis
- Archduke
- Paul Smith
- Twitchy
- Dan Hedaya
- Stuttering
- Dennis Fimple
- Old gambler
- Denver Pyle
- Poker player
- Leo Gordon
- Riverboat poker player
- William Smith
- Riverboat poker player
- Doug McClure
- Riverboat poker player
- Henry Darrow
- Riverboat poker player
- Robert Fuller
- Riverboat poker player
- William Marshall
Crew
- Director
- Richard Donner
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