The River (1984) on Netflix
Tom and Mae Garvey farm corn on a Tennessee riverbank that floods. Tom takes work at a steel mill while Mae stays home with their children. Joe Wade wants their land.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb6.3/108,450 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes27%
Trailer
Plot summary
In east Tennessee, the Garvey family works land that has belonged to Tom's family for generations, raising corn with their children, Lewis and Beth. The fields lie next to a river, and when it floods the crop is lost. Land prices have dropped, the bank has turned down their loans, and foreclosure is a real risk. Neighbors in the valley face the same trouble. Joe Wade grew up nearby and runs the mill that decides local grain prices, and he has been acquiring farmland along the water. To keep the property, Tom hires on at a steel mill, and Mae is left to manage the farm and the children on her own.
Cast
- Shane Baileyas Lewis Garvey
- Becky Jo Lynchas Beth Garvey
- Bob W. Douglasas Hal Richardson
- Lisa Sloanas Judy Birkin
- Larry D. Ferrellas Rod Tessley
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The River (1984)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Mel Gibson begged director Mark Rydell to let him play the Tennessee farmer in The River, a part that reminded Gibson of his father, but Rydell was reluctant because of the actor's Australian accent; Gibson returned from filming The Bounty with a perfect Tennessee accent.
- For the role of Lewis Garvey, the oldest Garvey son, casting director Lynn Stalmaster chose East Tennessee native Shane Bailey, who grew up in Surgoinsville east of the farm's filming location, out of thousands of boys from across the country.
- The film's floods were supplied by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Army Corps of Engineers, using water from the Fort Patrick Henry Dam.
- The 440-acre parcel along the Holston River that Universal Studios bought for the Garvey family farm was given to Hawkins County after filming, in thanks for the community's help; the county turned it into Laurel Run Park in August 1985.
