Maverick is a 1994 American Western comedy film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner.

In the American Old West, gambler Bret Maverick is on his way to a major five-card draw poker tournament being held on the paddle steamer Lauren Belle, intending to prove he is the best card player alive.

They narrowly escape a fatal plunge into a ravine after their elderly driver suddenly dies, and later aid a group of missionary settlers who have been robbed by bandits disguised as Indians.

Commodore Duvall welcomes the competitors to the tournament, with Cooper overseeing the security of the game and the $500,000 prize money and watching for any cheaters, who will be summarily thrown overboard if discovered.

After Bransford leaves, Maverick finds he has been locked in the room to try and make him forfeit the game, but he manages to climb outside the steamer to reach the table on time.

After Bransford has been eliminated, Maverick notices that the dealer is engaging in bottom dealing and has Angel give him the top card from the deck in order to prevent further cheating.

All three men bet their remaining chips; Angel and Duvall reveal strong hands, but Maverick has received the one card he needs to complete a royal flush.

There are various cameo appearances in the film from Western actors, people who have formerly worked with Donner, Gibson, Foster, or Garner, and other celebrities including Danny Glover (uncredited), Hal Ketchum and Corey Feldman as bank robbers; Read Morgan and Steve Kahan as card dealers; Art LaFleur and Leo Gordon as poker players at Maverick's first game; Paul Brinegar as the stagecoach driver; Denver Pyle as a cheating old gambler;[5] Robert Fuller, Doug McClure, Henry Darrow, William Smith, Michael Paul Chan and Charles Dierkop as riverboat poker players; William Marshall as a riverboat poker player defeated by Angel; Dennis Fimple as Stuttering, a player beaten by the Commodore; Bert Remsen as an elderly riverboat gambler beaten by Maverick;[5] and Margot Kidder as missionary Margaret Mary, colleague of missionary Mary Margaret, in an uncredited appearance.

Additional cameos cut from the film included Alice Cooper as the town drunk, Linda Hunt as a magician and Clint Walker as a sheriff.

Leo Gordon had played a semi-regular supporting character in seasons one and two of the original Maverick TV show, gambler Big Mike McComb.

Their meeting in Maverick sees them share a moment of recognition,[6] complete with Lethal Weapon music, and as he leaves, Glover says Roger Murtaugh's catchphrase: "I'm too old for this shit."

In Five Screenplays with Essays, Goldman describes an earlier version of the script, in which Maverick explains he has a magic ability to call the card he needs out of the deck.

The artificial smoke released by the boat's chimney was considered to violate air-quality laws in Washington and Oregon and required approval for the scenes before their scheduled filming date in September 1993.

[11] The soundtrack featured three chart singles: "Renegades, Rebels and Rogues" by Tracy Lawrence,[13] "A Good Run of Bad Luck" by Clint Black (which also appeared on his album No Time to Kill),[14] and "Something Already Gone" by Carlene Carter.