Details
Movie Description
Con-man Reverend Jonas Nightengale (Steve Martin) trades salvation for donations to his touring ministry. When his tour bus breaks down in an impoverished farm town, he falls for a beautiful skeptic and learns a lesson about real miracles. See "Elmer Gantry" for an interesting comparison.
Synopsis
Jonas Nightengale, an evangelical huckster, decides to set up camp in Rustwater, Kansas, a small farming town hard-hit by drought, where one of his vans has broken down. Saying the people of Rustwater have no extra money to waste on phony miracles, the sheriff urges Jonas to move on; the minister, however, sees a town in trouble and he knows that means a quick profit from people desperate for hope. With the help of well-researched assistants, who have combed the town for information and gossip, and a manager who feeds him cues via a radio transmitter, he easily convinces people of his powers.
But then, one night, Jonas Nightengale performs an actual miracle, and suddenly his world is turned upside down.
Film Notes
Feature film debut for writer Janus Cercone.
The film owes something to two earlier films made about evangelical con-men, "The Rainmaker" (1956), starring Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn, and the 1960 "Elmer Gantry" directed by Richard Brooks and starring Burt Lancaster (once again) and Jean Simmons. Other more contemporary films dealing with spiritual hucksters include "UFOria" (1980) with Cindy Williams and Harry Dean Stanton, and the documentary "Marjoe" (1972) directed by Howard Smith and Sarah Kernochan.
One of a few serious performances by actor/comedian Steve Martin. Others include "Pennies from Heaven" (1981) and "Grand Canyon" (1991).
Industry Reviews
"...The movie itself has considerable qualities, among them Martin's performance....[Winger] does a wonderful job of grounding the movie in reality..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (12/18/1992)
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