Mr North *** (1988, Anthony Edwards, Anjelica Huston, Robert Mitchum, Lauren Bacall, Harry Dean Stanton) – Classic Movie Review 5116

Miracles, magic and mayhem are on the menu for Danny Huston’s 1988 film version of Thornton Wilder’s novel Theophilus North, which he crafts into a charming, amiable and likeable entertainment.

Anthony Edwards stars as Mr North, the genial stranger who comes to a small, wealthy Rhode Island town in 1920s New England and has (literally) a shocking effect on people. It is rumoured that he can heal people’s ailments and he certainly gives shocks to those he touches. He befriends an isolated old man and helps him to rediscover the world.

It is Huston family film. John Huston is executive producer and co-writes (with Janet Roach and James Costigan), his son Danny directs (in his debut) and his daughter Anjelica also stars.

It may not be a great film but it still a small-scale, genial, genuinely civilised pleasure. It is most agreeably performed by an iconic cast.

Danny Huston recalled: ‘The first film I directed, Mr North, got reviews saying, “Danny’s father John Huston passed the baton and Danny not only dropped it but tripped and fell.’

John Huston (1906–1987).

Robert Mitchum stepped in to replace the emphysema-ailing John Huston (1906–1987), who personally asked him to take on his role. Huston was hospitalized with pneumonia and died on 28 August 1987, aged 81. The film was released on 22 July 1988.

Also in the distinguished cast are Lauren Bacall, Harry Dean Stanton, Mary Stuart Masterson, Virginia Madsen, Tammy Grimes, David Warner, Hunter Carson, Mark Metcalf and Katharine Houghton.

It is produced by Steven Haft and Skip Steloff, shot by Robin Vidgeon, scored by David McHugh and designed by Eugene Lee.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5116

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