A mousy romance novelist sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue.
Cast:
- Michael Douglas as Jack T. Colton
- Kathleen Turner as Joan Wilder
- Danny DeVito as Ralph
- Zack Norman as Ira
- Alfonso Arau as Juan
- Manuel Ojeda as Colonel Zolo
- Holland Taylor as Gloria Horne
- Mary Ellen Trainor as Elain
1984 viewing
I didn’t see Romancing the Stone in the movie theater. It was a rental in the Fall of 1984. The cover was what grabbed my attention. It looked like an Indian Jones type movie and I was interested.
I enjoyed the movie. It was full of action and adventure. It was like Indiana Jones lite and I was OK with it. It has all the good elements of Indian Jones movies (are there bad elements?) and adds it’s own unique angle. I wrote an article covering the numerous Indiana Jones clones,if you are interested.
Douglas and Turner were good as the main stars and Danny DeVito, who I didn’t know back in 1984 was good too.
Let’s see if this one holds up…
40th Anniversary Re-watch
Romance novelist Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) receives a frantic phone call form her sister telling her to bring the map she received in the mail to Cartagena, Columbia or she will be killed.
After Joan arrives in Columbia she boards a bus, thinking it is headed to Cartagena but it’s actually heading in the opposite direction. The bus breaks down and the evil Colonel Zolo tries to steal the map from Joan.
Joan is rescued from Zolo by a bird smuggler, Jack T. Colton (Jack T. Colton). Jack agrees to get Joan out of the jungle and to a phone, for a fee. It’s not as easy as it seems. While trying to escape the jungle jack and Joan are chased by Zolo and his men.
The two end up in a small village run by a drug lord, Juan, who loves Joan’s books and helps them evade Zolo. Jack eventually learns of the map and the treasure and convinces Joan they should go after the treasure.
The adventure continues and Jack and Joan must find the treasure, avoid Zolo and save Joan’s sister.
Romancing the Stone is still a great movie in 2024. The adventure is timeless and the writing holds up well. The action is good and the humor is still funny.
Due to the timing of it’s release, Romancing the Stone will always be compared to Indiana Jones, which is a little unfortunate, it is a good movie in it’s own rite. There’s no doubt it was inspired by Indiana Jones but Romancing the Stone is different enough to have it’s own personality and staying power.
Studio execs viewed the final cut of Romancing the Stone and hated it. They hated it so much they fired Zemeckis from the other film he was working on, Cocoon. Romancing the Stone turned out to be a surprise hit and the only hit of the year for 20th Century Fox.
Zemeckis credits the success of Romancing the Stone for allowing him to make Back to the Future.
Romancing the Stone was writer Diane Thomas’ only screenplay. She wrote it while she was a waitress in Malibu. Tragically, she died in a car accident about 15 months after the movie’s release.
Favorite Line:
One hell of a morning has turned into a bitch of a day
The captivating blonde, Angelina, at the beginning of the movie is played by Kymberly Herrin. She would star in another mega hit of the summer Ghostbusters as the ‘Dream Ghost’ who visits Dan Aykroyd. She was also featured in a few music videos included ZZ Top’s 1983 hit “Legs.” Herrin passed away in 2022 from breast cancer.
The sequel, Jewel of the Nile, was fast tracked and hit theaters on 11 December 1985. It was also a big hit and was the 7th highest grossing movie of 1985. There have been talks of a third movie since 1987, I’m guessing it will never happen.
Romancing the Stone is a great movie and worth watching. If you haven’t seen it, put it on your watchlist.
Romancing the Stone hit theaters on 30 March 1984. It would go on to make over $76.5 million on a $10 million dollar budget.
Did you watch Romancing the Stone? If so let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on X(Twitter). The main Geekster channel is @GeeksterMedia and I’m @MileHighSamurai You can also find me on Bluesky @MileHighSamurai
8/10 stars
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