The Earthling

"Cute" he may have been, but Rick(y) Schroder -- before puberty -- was one of filmdom's most sensitive and skillful child performers. And William Holden, far from being one to "add to" a list of modern man-and-boy bonding stories, in this 1980 film virtually founded the category.

I've seen this excellent film three times -- always on late-nite TV. Leonard Maltin gives it two-and-a-half stars: "OK family drama." Yet, over half of its IMDB viewers rated it a 10. Why on earth hasn't it received wider public acclaim??!

At 62 (this was his next-to-last film), Holden looks like he really is terminally ill. The cockles of his heart never are warmed to the kid (that we can see, anyway).

He's bone-weary, making his painful way to the ruins of his long-deserted family home to die, But this squalling, spoiled, self-centered kid is stranded. The man would like to ignore him, but the boy's obvious vulnerability won't let him. And as his strength fails, he could use some help himself.

So they make their way, conjointly, to his dying-place. And on the way, he tries to teach the boy how to survive in the wilderness -- for the child will soon be utterly alone -- and reach civilization.

How and what he teaches him is fascinating -- both practical and subtle. He plunges the city-bred boy from pampered narcissism to basic verities and respect for life and Life. In turn, the child's unevadable need forces this bitter, used-up man to dredge up his humanity and, with his last energy, give it out; to do the right thing.

Both of them change and grow. And it's quietly beautiful. In a sense, this is a coming-of-age film with no age boundaries. Maybe it's a "coming-into-humanity" film. See it. And grasp again (or for the first time) the dignity and beauty that humanness can be.

Patrick Foley (William Holden) is dying, and he's returned to New South Wales after decades of living in the U.S. He plans on making a dangerous trek to the secluded valley where he lived as a child in order to die there. His plans are interrupted when he encounters Shawn (Ricky Schroder), a small American child vacationing in the area with his mother and father. His parents were killed in an accident, and Patrick is forced to take the boy along with him, teaching him the ways of survival so that Shawn can make the journey back to civilization by himself.

I'm usually not a fan of family films, or ones with a kid as a main character, but this one grew on me over time, and by the end I was moved by it. Schroder is still often annoying, particularly when he's shouting that he's God while swinging a dead rabbit around. Holden is craggy and weathered and tired looking, but his usual world-weariness fits with his role as a dying man. The real stars of the film are the beautiful locations and the almost comically abundant wildlife, of all shapes and sizes. This was the next to the last of Holden's credited roles, the very last being the sardonic film "S.O.B". the following year.

The story of the making of The Earthling might in itself prove to be as interesting a film as The Earthling itself. The film tries, but doesn't quite make it to the top rung of films that William Holden did. As it sadly turned out The Earthling was the next to last film that Holden completed before he died the following year.

Only in the movies could we have the strange tale about one of the two protagonists dying of cancer, directed by someone who was himself dying of the same. Peter Collinson was terminally ill and knew it when he was directing The Earthling. I'm sure his cast didn't know it though. His own plight might have been what attracted Collinson to the project.

According to the Citadel Film series book, The Films Of William Holden, Collinson was especially hard on young Rick Schroder during the making of The Earthling. So much so that Holden had to intervene and the two bonded.

Which may have helped the film because three quarters of it is only dealing with Holden and Schroder on screen. The two really play well together.

Holden has returned to Australia to die where he grew up in a very rugged part of the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. Heading in the same general direction are Jack Thompson and Olivia Hamnett with their child Rick Schroder on a camping holiday. But when their camper goes off a cliff killing the parents and Schroder is left alone in the wilderness, he's lucky to find Holden.

But Bill proves to be a stern taskmaster. He can't tell him that it would be worse to go back, that it's farther than his old homestead. He has to teach Schroder and hope he learns well, the tools needed for survival in the wild. The bulk of the film is concerned with just that.

Collinson died and some scenes were shot afterward, the ending you see is not what Collinson had in mind. But who knows what he did have in mind as the disease ruled him as surely as it ruled Holden's character. The viewers will have to judge for themselves.

Rick Schroder never forgot William Holden and when he married, he named his first child Holden Schroder in honor of the movie legend who was also battling some demons of his own, but took time to help and befriend a young child player.

I think if Rick Schroder reads this review he'd like me to honor William Holden as well. And so this review is dedicated to William Holden one of the cinema's brightest stars.

In the tradition of great outdoor films like "Jeremiah Johnson" and "The Edge", this is an emotional film about human survival and love. Great performances by both actors, wonderful cinematography, and a really tight script make this improbably story believable. This can be a hard movie to find, but go to any good video store (not Blockbuster) and they should have it. It seems like nobody knows about this movie, but it is really one to catch on a Saturday afternoon.

This is an "idea" film with a plot. It is deeply existentialist, and tries to drive home the point that we are alive and that this is beyond miraculous, that we must each make our way in this cold universe, ultimately dependent upon no one else. Through life is is hard, and we face death at the end, the struggle to survive is also deeply satisfying.

Holden's character Patrick Foley passes these concepts onto the boy played by Schroeder. The photography is magnificent; the acting is good. The script is incredible. A truly underrated movie.