A broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.A broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.A broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.
- Won 2 Oscars
- 10 wins & 14 nominations total
- Robert
- (as Lenny Von Dohlen)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRobert Duvall is really singing in the nightclub scene.
- GoofsIn the final scenes, Sonny is shown with empty farmland behind him, then after a cut to a wider shot, suddenly the gas station and motel are behind him.
- Quotes
Mac Sledge: [to Rosa Lee] I don't know why I wandered out to this part of Texas drunk, and you took me in and pitied me and helped me to straighten out, marry me. Why? Why did that happen? Is there a reason that happened? And Sonny's daddy died in the war, my daughter killed in an automobile accident. Why? See, I don't trust happiness. I never did, I never will.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Your Choice for the Film Awards (1984)
The most wonderful aspect of this movie is how the screenwriter (Horton Foote) doesn't let the characters engage in all the obvious, "Hollywood" histrionics that the plot would allow them to do. For example: when Mack (Duvall) finally meets his long-lost daughter late in the film, he doesn't run to her and embrace her with tears staining his face while music swells beneath the scene, as a hack director would have him do. Instead, he looks at his shoes, makes small talk, and acts embarrassed. Why? Because, consistently throughout the film, he doesn't believe he deserves the good things that come his way.
This is the tale of a man who, in the absolute pit of despair and hopelessness, is saved by the love of a good woman and the love of God. You need to see it.
- DrJoTab
- Oct 20, 1998
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $8,443,124
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $46,977
- Mar 6, 1983
- Gross worldwide
- $8,443,124
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