''92 in the Shade'' is a 1975 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

written and directed by

Thomas McGuane Thomas Francis McGuane III (born December 11, 1939) is an American writer. His work includes ten novels, short fiction and screenplays, as well as three collections of essays devoted to his life in the outdoors. He is a member of the American A ...

, based on his 1973 novel of the same name, it stars

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

Warren Oates Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). A ...

Elizabeth Ashley Elizabeth Ann Cole, known professionally as Elizabeth Ashley (born August 30, 1939) is an American actress of theatre, film, and television. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards, winning once in 1962 for '' Take Her, She's Mine''. Ashle ...

and

Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018), known professionally as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress whose career spanned five decades. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy A ...

Plot

Tom Skelton, a young man, opens a charter fishing business in

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

. He enters into a rivalry with a local sea captain named Dance and his partner Carter, who steal one of the new fishing guide's clients. Skelton retaliates by burning Dance's boat.

Cast

as Tom Skelton *

as Nicholas Dance *

as Miranda *

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

as Goldsboro *

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes ...

as Faron Carter *

as Jeannie Carter * Sylvia Miles as Bella * John Quade as Roy *

Joe Spinell Joe Spinell (born Joseph Spagnuolo; October 28, 1936 – January 13, 1989) was an American character actor who appeared in films in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as various stage productions on and off Broadway. He played supporting roles in ''The ...

as Ollie Slatt

Production

Thomas McGuane directed the film and wrote the script. He was married to one of the film's female stars and had a scandalous affair with the other, as detailed in the autobiography ''Actress'' authored by

. The film is known for having two different versions, each with different endings. One has a happy ending in which Dance and Skelton fight while they're in the boat and Dance's gun gets thrown in the water, and then they both agree to stop their fight and become friends, but other version has darker ending in which Dance shoots and kills Skelton. In the book ''Warren Oates: A Wild Life'' by Susan Compo, Peter Fonda said there was another third ending which was filmed, but which was never used in any version of the film: Fonda said he was "not exactly thrilled with" the film saying "I hoped it would turn out to be a better film. I like it in some ways. ..I'm not happy with the editing and some of the music. You know, it was a film I very much wanted to produce myself, but Eliot Kastner got his hands on the property and produced it. I'm not crazy about Kastner. You see, after he gets a project off the ground, he usually doesn't give a rat's ass about it".

Release

Although the film was a box-office failure, a January 1976 review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described it as "more satisfying" than ''

Rancho Deluxe ''Rancho Deluxe'' is a 1975 Neo-Western comedy film directed by Frank Perry. Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston star as two cattle rustlers in modern-day Livingston, Montana, who plague a wealthy ranch owner, played by Clifton James. The film als ...

'', another 1975 film written by Thomas McGuane.

References

External links