The Electric Horseman (1979)
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68% of critics liked it
(19 reviews) -
53% of users liked it
(3,757 ratings)
A cowboy-turned-huckster unexpectedly finds love as he tries to regain his self-respect in this romantic comedy drama. Sonny Steele (Robert Redford) is a one-time rodeo star whose career as a cowboy has ground to a halt. He makes a good living as a spokesman for Ranch Breakfast, a sugar-coated… More A cowboy-turned-huckster unexpectedly finds love as he tries to regain his self-respect in this romantic comedy drama. Sonny Steele (Robert Redford) is a one-time rodeo star whose career as a cowboy has ground to a halt. He makes a good living as a spokesman for Ranch Breakfast, a sugar-coated cereal for kids, but he's lost most of his self-respect in the process; his boss, corporate mogul Hunt Sears (John Saxon), considers him a property rather than a human being, and Sonny has developed a serious problem with alcohol. Sears' cereal company is negotiating a highly profitable merger with another firm and brings Sonny to Las Vegas for a publicity stunt, in which Sonny, wearing a garish cowboy outfit complete with blinking lights, will ride on-stage at Caesar's Palace aboard prize-winning thoroughbred stallion Rising Star. When Sonny discovers Sears' men have drugged the horse so that it will be able to walk on an injured leg, he's appalled, and he rides Rising Star off the stage at Caesar's and into the Nevada desert, looking for grazing land where he and the horse can heal their wounds. Sears is shocked to discover that Sonny has run off with a 12 million dollars, and he realizes that Sonny knows enough to make his firm look very bad in the press, potentially scotching the merger. Sears files charges against Sonny and posts a reward for Rising Star's safe return, though he implies that it wouldn't bother him if Sonny died in the rescue attempt. Hallie Martin (Jane Fonda), a television journalist covering Sonny's Vegas appearance, is convinced that something is fishy and manages to catch up with him in the desert; as Hallie tries to get Sonny to tell her his story, the has-been cowboy and the city-girl reporter fall in love. The Electric Horseman also stars Valerie Perrine and Willie Nelson; the country & western star made his screen debut in this film and has a very memorable line about tequila and trailer hitches. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Sydney Pollack
- Written By
- Shelly Burton, Paul Gaer, Robert Garland
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Comedy
PG,
- In Theaters
- Dec 19, 1979 Wide
- On DVD
- Oct 10, 2000
- Studio
- MCA Universal Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
A moderately entertaining film, but no screen magic from Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. The pic is overlong, talky and diffused.
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Tom Milne, Time Out
Beguilingly sharp at first, but the later stages, with Fonda's toughie reporter tagging along for a story but going all mushy inside, wallow in sentimentality about integrity, ecology and all that jazz.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
At this point, I think it's reasonably safe to say that The Electric Horseman is the best American romantic comedy of 1979.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The Electric Horseman is the kind of movie they used to make.
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Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media
Warmhearted romance with an anti-corporate perspective.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
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Cast
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Robert Redford
as Sonny Steele
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Jane Fonda
as Hallie Martin
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Valerie Perrine
as Charlotta
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John Saxon
as Hunt Sears
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Willie Nelson
as Wendell
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Allan Arbus
as Danny Miles
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Nicolas Coster
as Fitzgerald
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Wilford Brimley
as Farmer
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Will Hare
as Gus Atwater
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Basil Hoffman
as Toland
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Timothy Scott
as Leroy
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James B. Sikking
as Dietrich
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James Kline
as Tommy
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Frank Speiser
as Bernie
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Quinn K. Redeker
as Bud Broderick
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Lois Areno
as Joanna Camden
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Sarah Harris
as Lucinda
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Tasha Zemrus
as Louise
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James Novak
as Dennis
- Patricia Blair
- Sylvie Strauss
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Lois Hamilton
as Joanna
- Brendan Kelly
- Roger Lowe
- Vic Vallard
- Gary D. Liddiard
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Sydney Pollack
as Man Who Makes a Pass at Alice
- Bob Barrett
- X.V. Kelly
- Debra L. Maxwell
- Michele Heyeden
- Robin Timm
- Gary M. Fox
- Richard Perlmutter
- Carol Eileen Montgomery
- Theresa Ann Dent
- Perry Sheehan Adair
- Sarge Allen
- Richard Knoll
- Angelo Giouzelis
- Mark Jamison
- Sheila B. Wakely
- Gary Shermaine
- Jerry Kurland
- J. Carlton Adair
- Charles J. Monahan
- George W. Etter
- Raymond G. Maupin
- Red McIlvaine
- Frank Nicholas
- Johnny Magnus
- Bob Bailey
