The Stars Fell on Henrietta

It was a disappointment that this picture was not in wide release. Warner's and Malpaso productions took great care in assuring that every detail was perfect 1935 style. "Henrietta" was made here in the Abilene area and I ran the dailies at my theatre for eight weeks. I was also on the set most of the time and thought it to be a major production. Clint Eastwood produced, Bruce Surtees was the director of photography and the great Henry Bumstead did the production design. One of our best actors, Robert Duvall was cast as Mr. Cox and Aidean Quinn and Francis Fisher played Don Day and his wife. How could a picture like this miss? It played at only a few theaters and was quickly picked up by all the cable TV people. This film is far better than most of the movies being released today and I hope more people get to see it.

This was an enjoyable Depression era drama and it had more to it than I expected. Set in 1935 it was refreshing to see a story about ordinary farming people struggling with adversary, whose lives are transformed with the arrival of a wildcat oil prospector. There was no sickly sentimentality and characterization was believable with excellent period-piece detail. If you're a fan of Robert Duvall's you'll find that he doesn't let you down in this film. He is well supported by Aidan Quinn, Frances Fisher and Brian Dennehy, a cast which attracted my attention in the first place. I was interested, too, to discover that Clint Eastwood's daughter (Francesca Ruth Eastwood by Frances Fisher)played the role of Miss Fisher's daughter in the film. It's a shame the film did not have a wider distribution.

This movie does an outstanding job of reclaiming the human spirit. Robert Duvall's character believes in himself and strongly adheres to his gut feelings, when everyone else treats him with humiliation or passes him off as a quack. For people to have faith in their dreams and keep their dignity in the face of all diversity are wonderful things. Hitch your wagon to a star sweetheart, I've lived my life by that (one of the best movie quotes in the world).

Well, I've seen this fairly-unknown film three times now and perhaps that's enough, but I'm sorry that in late 2006 it is still not out on DVD. It deserves being seen on disc and discovered. Why this is so "unkonw," I don't know.

Robert Duvall, who almost never gives a bad performance, is excellent in here, too, as the ever-optimistic "Mr. Cox." He's a self-described oil man but in truth has never done anything noteworthy in the business. However, after finding himself in a small Texas town called "Henrietta," (which really exists) he thinks this one residence has a lot of oil on its property. The tough part is trying to convince the literally-poor landowner (Aiden Quinn) that he should invest $5,000 on a well.

All kinds of obstacles ensue - an nonsupporting wife (Frances Fisher), an antagonistic and hot-tempered villain who runs things in the area (Brian Dennehy) and just plain bad luck.

Duvall and his pet cat who sticks by him like glue throughout much of the film, keeps this story together.

When I first saw this, the whole movie fascinated me. Now, I don't enjoy the middle third where everything goes wrong. It's just too unpleasant, especially seeing a nice guy like Quinn's character be treated so coldly by his wife. I also to see the good guy, "Cox," doing what he did late in the film, although it certainly adds life to the story.

Nonetheless, it's definitely worth a look if you like a good drama and appreciate Duvall's talents.

This movie does an outstanding job of reclaiming the human spirit. Robert Duvall's character believes in himself and strongly adheres to his gut feelings, when everyone else treats him with humiliation or passes him off as a quack. For people to have faith in their dreams and keep their dignity in the face of all diversity are wonderful things. Hitch your wagon to a star sweetheart, I've lived my life by that (one of the best movie quotes in the world).