The Earthling

The Earthling
The Earthling
	Film Poster
Directed by	Peter Collinson
Written by	Lanny Cotler
Produced by	Samuel Z. Arkoff; Elliot Schick; John Strong
Starring	William Holden; Ricky Schroder
Cinematography	Donald McAlpine
Edited by	Nicholas Beauman
Music by	Dick DeBenedictis; Bruce Smeaton
Distributed by	Filmways Pictures
Release date	24 July 1980;
Running time	97 minutes
Countries	United States; Australia
Language	English
Budget	$4.5 million
Box office	A$72,000 (Australia)

The Earthling is a 1980 American-Australian adventure film directed by Peter Collinson, and starring William Holden and Ricky Schroder. It was filmed in Australia in 1979, and was the last to be directed by Collinson before his death the following year.

Plot

Patrick Foley is a jaded loner who has been a drifter for much of his life. Discovering he has terminal cancer, he travels to the Australian outback where he grew up to die in solitude. However, his plans are interrupted after ten year old Shawn Daley's parents die in a horrific accident leaving the boy alone and helpless. Reluctantly, Foley accompanies Shawn and teaches him how to survive the wilderness. After Foley dies, Shawn begins his trek back to civilisation.

Cast

William Holden as Patrick Foley
Ricky Schroder as Shawn Daley
Olivia Hamnett as Bettina Daley
Jack Thompson as Ross Daley
Alwyn Kurts as Christian Neilson
Pat Evison as Meg Neilson
Redmond Phillips as Bobby Burns
Ray Barrett as Parnell
Tony Barry as Red
Allan Penney as Harlan
Willie Fennell as R. C.
Walter Pym as Uncle
Fred "Cul" Cullen as Dawson
Dawn A. Gregg as Dalton
Maggie Blinco as Jessica
Tui Bow as Lyla
Danny Adcock as Bus Driver

Production

The film was shot from September to October 1979 in the Blue Mountains, Barrington Forest and Warrumbungle National Park. It was reported that Holden and Schroder got along while filming. Schroder named one of his children Holden in honour of his co-star.^[2]

It was one of several films Jack Thompson made around this time where he supported an American star.^[3]

Reception

The film drew greatly mixed reviews, with some critics reviling it, while others praised it.^{[citation needed]} It played to little notice in theatres, but later became something of a daytime staple on HBO and other cable-movie channels in the 1980s. It grossed $72,000 for box office in Australia.^[4]

References

^ AN AUSSIE WELCOME FOR 'EARTHLING'. Johnson, Patricia. Los Angeles Times. 20 January 1980: n24.
^ Scott Murray, "The Earthling", Australian Film 1978-1992, Oxford Uni Press 1993 p 56
^ Vagg, Stephen (2 July 2025). "Jack Thompson's brilliant career: How it began and why he turned his back on movie stardom". In Daily. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
^ "Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.

External links

The Earthling at IMDb
The Earthling at Rotten Tomatoes
The Earthling at Oz Movies
The Earthling at the National Film and Sound Archive

This article related to an Australian film of the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[los-1] AN AUSSIE WELCOME FOR 'EARTHLING'. Johnson, Patricia. Los Angeles Times. 20 January 1980: n24.

[2] Scott Murray, "The Earthling", Australian Film 1978-1992, Oxford Uni Press 1993 p 56

[3] Vagg, Stephen (2 July 2025). "Jack Thompson's brilliant career: How it began and why he turned his back on movie stardom". In Daily. Retrieved 2 July 2025.

[4] "Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.

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