''The Grey Fox'' is a 1982 Canadian

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

Western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

directed by

Phillip Borsos Phillip Borsos (May 5, 1953 – February 2, 1995) was an Australian-born Canadian film director, producer, and screenwriter.Bill Miner Ezra Allen Miner (c.1847 – September 2, 1913), more popularly known as Bill Miner, was an American bandit, originally from Bowling Green, Kentucky, who served several prison terms for stagecoach robbery. Known for his unusual politeness while c ...

, an American stagecoach

robber Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

who staged his first Canadian

train robbery Train robbery is a type of robbery, in which the goal is to steal money or other valuables being carried aboard trains. History Train robberies were more common in the past when trains were slower, and often occurred in the American Old West. ...

on 10 September 1904. The film stars

Richard Farnsworth Richard William Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award: in 1978 for Best Supporting Actor for ''Comes a Horseman,'' and in 2000 for Best Actor in '' T ...

as Miner. The cast also features

Jackie Burroughs Jacqueline "Jackie" Burroughs (2 February 1939 – 22 September 2010) was a British-born Canadian actress. Early life Born in Southport, Lancashire (now Merseyside), England, she emigrated to Canada on 26 August 1948 with her mother Edna, ...

Ken Pogue Kenneth Pogue (July 26, 1934 – December 15, 2015) was a Canadian actor. Career His first motion picture role in 1973 was in ''The Neptune Factor''. He almost drowned in scuba gear. He worked on stage at the Crest Theatre, Stratford Shakespea ...

Wayne Robson Wayne Robson (April 29, 1946 – April 4, 2011) was a Canadian television, stage, voice and film actor known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom '' The Red Green Show'' from 1993 to 2006, a ...

, Gary Reineke and Timothy Webber.

Plot

Stagecoach robber Bill Miner is caught and sent to prison for 33 years. He is finally released in 1901. He wanders around, a man out of place in the new century, until he sees one of the first films, '' The Great Train Robbery'', and is inspired to copy it in real life. After a couple unsuccessful attempts, he successfully robs a train and hides from the law in a mining town in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, becoming a respectable resident. There, he meets and falls in love with early feminist and photographer Katherine Flynn. He considers settling down with her, but one last robbery proves to be his downfall. True to his nickname, the Grey Fox escapes from prison as the ending credits start.

Cast

Production

According to Farnsworth, the "picture company" was the only one ever allowed to film at

Fort Steele, British Columbia Fort Steele is a heritage site in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This visitor attraction lies on the east shore of the Kootenay River between the mouths of the St. Mary River and Wild Horse River. The locality, on the m ...

, a

heritage site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

. ''The Grey Fox'' was also filmed on the

British Columbia Railway BC Rail is a railway in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Chartered as a private company in 1912 as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), it was acquired by the provincial government in 1918. In 1972 it was renamed to the British ...

Pacific Great Eastern Railway The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, now run by Canadian National Railway, between Pemberton and

Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...

, British Columbia, and the Lake Whatcom Railway between Wickersham and Park, Washington. The capture sequence was shot a quarter of a mile from where Miner was actually caught. Miner's gun, "a .41 Bisley Colt", was obtained from a collector and used by Farnsworth in close-ups. The film was funded by selling 696 units for $5,000 each to investors and it was edited in 1981 before a distributor was found.

Phillip Borsos Phillip Borsos (May 5, 1953 – February 2, 1995) was an Australian-born Canadian film director, producer, and screenwriter.Taormina Film Fest Taormina Film Fest (TFF) is a film festival that began in 1955 under the name Rassegna Cinematografica Internazionale di Messina e Taormina. The exhibition, which moved permanently to Taormina in 1971, has hosted over the years many stars of inter ...

in June 1982, and was released in Toronto on 16 December 1982. It grossed over $6 million at the box office in its first year.

Awards

''The Grey Fox'' has been designated and preserved as a "masterwork" by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada, a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of Canada’s audio-visual heritage. At the

4th Genie Awards The 4th annual Genie Awards were held March 23, 1983, at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Dave Thomas."Thomas goes genteel for Genies". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 19, 1983. ''The Grey Fox'' was the ...

in 1983, ''The Grey Fox'' was nominated for thirteen awards and won seven: * Best Picture * Best Director (Borsos) * Best Foreign Actor (Farnsworth) * Best Supporting Actress (Burroughs) * Best Original Screenplay (Hunter) * Best Art Direction (Bill Brodie) * Best Musical Score (

Michael Conway Baker Michael Conway Baker (born March 13, 1937) is a Canadian composer and music educator of American birth. He became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1970 and has lived more or less continuously in the Vancouver area since. Life and career Baker wa ...

) Further recognition for Farnsworth included a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. It has also been listed in the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

TIFF List of Canada's Top Ten Films of All Time The Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time is a list compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival ranking what are the considered the best Canadian films. The list has been compiled once roughly every 10 years starting in 1984, typically assembl ...

in 1984 and 1993.

Critical reaction

Roger Ebert praised the film as "a lovely adventure" and gave it 3 stars.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gave it a rare 100% fresh rating.

Restoration and re-release

The film underwent a 4K restoration and was re-released to theatres In April 2020. It also saw its first official release to DVD and Blu-Ray, which included a commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox, interview with producer Peter O'Brian, and a featurette about the restoration.

References

Works cited

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey Fox, The 1982 films 1982 directorial debut films 1982 drama films 1982 Western (genre) films Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Biographical films about people of the American Old West Canadian Western (genre) films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Phillip Borsos Films set in Vancouver Films shot in Vancouver Rail transport films 1980s American films 1980s Canadian films