How ‘Adventures of Don Juan’ inspired ‘The Goonies’
An underused yet thrilling story element that provides exhilarating visuals and tales of adventures are pirates. These criminals board ships and travel to unknown lands in the treasure hunt, taking down enemies who oppose them. Some films employ pirates as a source of thrill and style, including the beloved Pirates of the Carribbean franchise and, a little more surprisingly, Richard Donner’s 1985 classic The Goonies.
This film is an American treasure that follows the exciting story of a gang of teens hunting for lost treasure to save their town from imposing gentrification. However, fans may not know that The Goonies draws inspiration from another pirate movie, the classic swashbuckling feature Adventures of Don Juan.
This classic was directed by Vincent Sherman and starred Errol Flynn and Viveca Lindfors, with Robert Douglas, Alan Hale, Ann Rutherford, and Robert Warwick. The romance film follows the adventurous and seductive Don Juan as he comes to assist his queen. Sherman was signed on board the project following two scrapped attempts in 1939 and 1945, and the completed film was released in 1948, and is ranked the seventh most popular film of its year in France. Adventures of Don Juan went on to win the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and was nominated for Best Art Direction.
The crew also included Warner Bros producer Jerry Wald and screenwriters George Oppenheimer and Harry Kurnitz, who based the film on a story by Herbert Dalmas. Furthermore, Max Steiner composed the film’s score, replacing the original composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who retired during the film’s postponement of production, bringing the link between Adventures of Don Juan and The Goonies.
Donner recycled the music from Sherman’s film and added it to his film’s action sequences, paying tribute to the classic pirate movies from the ’50s. The iconic character Sloth also watches similar action sequences when confined to a basement, enjoying the compelling images of pirates hunting for treasure and sword fighting. Incorporating one pirate classic into another showcases the filmmaker’s attentive knowledge of the underrated subgenre. “Dick had such a powerful command of his movies and was so gifted across so many genres,” producer Steven Spielberg shared about the director following his passing on Monday, July 5th, 2021.
Spielberg added: “Being in his circle was akin to hanging out with your favourite coach, smartest professor, fiercest motivator, most endearing friend, staunchest ally, and – of course – the greatest Goonie of all.”
David Grusin composed the rest of The Goonies’s soundtrack, which includes pop icon Cyndi Lauper’s theme ‘Goonies r Good Enough’. Donner’s film went on to be referenced in several other forms of media, mostly Sloth’s signature line, “Hey, you guys!” and holds unexpected parallels to other iconic American features.
The Goonies upholds a legacy in American film, with its shooting locations becoming popular tourist attractions and special anniversary events garnering up to 15,000 visitors. It was recently revealed that a sequel was planned with a draft script completed; however, the project was never picked up.
