The Stars Fell on Henrietta

Plot

The setting is early America during the oil boom. An elderly, down on his luck 'oil man', Mr. Cox (Robert Duvall) finds himself in the town of Henrietta. Using unconventional methods, he convinces himself and local Don Day (Aidan Quinn) that there is oil on Day's land. The financially strapped Day puts everything into finding oil...but at what cost?

Cast

Production

Filming took place in Abilene, Texas and Bartlett, Texas on a budget of $13,000,000.

Reception

It received mostly negative reviews, holding only a 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, though Robert Duvall's performance was widely praised. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said "The movie may be worth seeing for (Robert Duvall's) performance, but the story itself is disappointing; it seems to travel around the same track once too often, and when the payoff comes, it seems short-circuited." Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times said " Duvall's performance, however, is frankly on a different level than anything else in the film...With his innate ability to create people whole, to make his familiar mannerisms and gestures work effectively in every situation, Duvall is an actor to wonder at. Although it is not within his power to save the picture."