The Mighty Quinn

Xavier Quinn is the chief of police on a Caribbean island, where life is relaxed for most residents but complicated for him: the islanders mock him, his wife complains that he neglects his family, and the local elite expects him to stay in line. When Donald Pater, one of the island's wealthiest men, is found decapitated in his Jacuzzi, Quinn opens a murder investigation. Governor Chalk and other influential figures push him to pin the crime on Maubee, a small-time thief who is also Quinn's friend from childhood. Convinced of Maubee's innocence, Quinn keeps digging and uncovers a tangle of intrigue and deceit among the people who want the case closed quickly.

The film was directed by Carl Schenkel, who had made his feature debut with Out of Order in 1984; it was his second film, followed later the same year by Silence Like Glass and in 1992 by Knight Moves. Hampton Fancher wrote the screenplay, and Denzel Washington plays Quinn, heading a cast that includes James Fox, Mimi Rogers, M. Emmet Walsh, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Art Evans, with fifty credited performers in all. Released in February 1989, it is an American production from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, A&M Films and Star Partners II Ltd. Its worldwide box office came to about 5 million dollars.

Reception was middling and consistent across sources. On IMDb it holds 6 out of 10 from roughly 7,600 votes, and on TMDB 6 out of 10 from 144 votes, while a critics' rating of 6.4 out of 10 from 18 reviews places professional opinion close to the audience response.