The Earthling

The Earthling is a drama film starring William Holden and Rick Schroder. It was filmed in 1979 in Australia, and released there in 1980. Peter Collinson directed this film and died of cancer shortly after its release. It was also one of Holden's last films before his death in 1981.

Plot

Patrick Foley (Holden) is dying of cancer and decides to return to the outback where he was born. He has stopped taking his medicine and is at peace with his decision to die alone in the woods. On his journey, he notices a family camping. From a neighboring peak, Foley watches as Shawn (Schroder), a 10-year-old boy, begins collecting firewood. The father attempts to move the camper away from the edge. Unfortunately, the camper rolls off the cliff and crashes to the bottom of the cliff with Shawn's parents inside. Shawn climbs down from the cliff finding the camper crushed upside down realizing his parents are dead. Foley has an ethical dilemma- take the stranded ten year old back to civilization, and lose his own wish to die where he was born, or continue his personal mission and let the boy die alone in the wilderness. He decides to take the boy with him, and teaches him along the way how to survive in the wilderness. A strong bond grows between the two, and when Foley finally dies, Shawn is equipped to travel out of the outback alone.

Reception

The film seemed to inspire greatly mixed reviews, with some critics reviling it, while others praised it. It played to little notice in theatres in the US but later becoming something of a daytime staple on HBO and other cable-movie channels in the early and mid 1980's.

Box Office

The Earthling grossed $72,000 at the box office in Australia.^[1]

See also

• Cinema of Australia

References

External links

• The Earthling at the Internet Movie Database
• The Earthling at the National Film and Sound Archive