The Local Hero Pages

Local Hero
(1983)

Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert



Summary:

A young American oil executive tries to purchase a Scottish fishing village for his company, but quickly finds himself out of his depth.

Forsyth's perspective:

"I saw it along the lines of a Scottish Beverly Hillbillies -- what would happen to a small community when it suddenly became immensely rich -- that was the germ of the idea and the story built itself from there. It seemed to contain a similar theme to Brigadoon (1954), which also involved some Americans coming over to Scotland, becoming part of a small community, being changed by the experience and affecting the place in their own way. I feel close in spirit to the Powell and Pressburger feeling, the idea of trying to present a cosmic viewpoint to people, but through the most ordinary things. And because both this film and I Know Where I'm Going (1945) are set in Scotland, I've felt from the beginning that we're walking the same... treading the same water."

-- from Local Hero: The Making of the Film, Alan Hunter and Mark Astaire (1983)


Photos from the film

Cast and production credits

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