"The Earthling" is one of William Holden's last films. He was getting older and would a bit prematurely after a fall in his California home. So, perhaps it's fitting then that in this film, Holden's character is dying from cancer. Instead of staying in town and getting treatment, he decides to head back into the outback and die on his own. However, his plan goes a bit awry, as he stumbles upon a young kid (Ricky Schroder) whose parents were just killed. He cannot just leave the kid, as this family was vacationing in the middle of no where---and the child would most certainly die if he doesn't help him. But, instead of being a nice guy about it, Holden's character is quite gruff--apparently in order to toughen the kid up and get him to become self-sufficient. Together, eventually, they form a sort of bond.So why do I say that the film is good but not great? Well, the film just ends and you really have no idea if the child ever makes it--after all, he's hundreds of miles from civilization! This unsatisfying ending does not ruin the film but it does have an impact. Fortunately, the acting is pretty good but unfortunately, it's set in Australia and NEITHER of the characters sound the least bit Australian....oops!

**SPOILER** I was about 11 years old when i saw this film. I remember being so frightened and even emotionally shook up when the parents go off the cliff. It was an image I couldn't get out of my head for years as a child. As a kid you see this movie through the child's perspective, now as an adult I found my emotion coming from the old man's character (Holden). I think there's so much to draw off of this film for a young child or an adult who has struggled finding his or her way through life. Ricky Shroder is beyond phenomenal in this - and as great as he was in The Champ this in my opinion is his best role ever. The Australian Outback is breathtaking and its great how they captured all the animals and wildlife throughout the film. It's too bad this film somehow managed to fall through the cracks and didn't have a broader appeal - its really a lost treasure.

I'm a big William Holden fan and this film has had such good reviews I was quite desperate to see it. Trouble is, I couldn't find it anywhere new or used. Then, during one of my periodical Google searches for it I found it was posted on Youtube. Well, it's there in six parts and the quality is not so good, but if you can put up with it you'll find it's a really good movie. My rating is probably too high because I'm such a Holden fan, but he really gives a remarkable performance and the story itself is quite wonderful. Basically it's the story of a bitter and lonely man coming home to die in the Austrian outback but along his way he finds a young boy lost and alone. He can't take the boy back to civilization, he doesn't have that long, so he must take the boy deeper into the wild and teach him to survive along the way. The movie could have been very melodramatic but the cast and director don't go that way, it's played very straight and matter of fact. Rickie Schroder does a fine job as the boy, not cloying at all. I sure hope they come up with a DVD of this movie, but until then, check it out on Youtube.

William Holden and Ricky Schroder do a superb job of acting. They played off of one another very well. Schroder is great for a 10 year old boy. This movie came out 21 years before I saw it so I was bias by it being dated. I think I still see it for what it was suppose to be. The screen writing or editing was inconsistent. This caused the story to jump and was erratic. I'd bet there was more continuity to the film, but it was left on the cutting room floor. The background and setting was outstanding. The filming could be viewed without dialog. Recommended for all ages.