The Golden Child

The Golden Child is a 1986 fantasy comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Eddie Murphy as Chandler Jarrell, who is informed that he is "The Chosen One" and is destined to save "The Golden Child", the savior of all humankind.

The film was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures and received a total gross of $79,817,937 at the United States (US) box office.

Plot

In a temple in an unknown location in northeastern Nepal, a young boy with mystical abilities — the Golden Child — receives badges of station and demonstrates his power to the monks of the temple by reviving a dead eastern rosella, which becomes a constant companion. However, a band of villains led by a mysterious man, Sardo Numspa (Charles Dance), breaks into the hidden temple, slaughters the monks and abducts the boy.

Some time afterwards, a young woman named Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis) watches a Los Angeles TV show in which social worker Chandler Jarrell (Eddie Murphy) talks about his latest case, a missing girl named Cheryll Mosley. She seeks him out the next day and informs him of the kidnapping of the Golden Child and that he is the 'Chosen One' who would save the Child. Chandler does not take this seriously, even after the astral form of the Child and his bird familiar begin following him.

The Golden Child (novel)

The Golden Child is a novel by British author Penelope Fitzgerald. It offers a satirical version of the King Tut exhibition at the British Museum in 1972, and also pokes fun at museum politics, academic sholars, and Cold War spying.

Background

Fitzgerald wrote the novel to amuse her husband, who was terminally ill. She was inspired by her two visits to the King Tut exhibit, and the incredibly poor museum-goer experience she underwent. The original manuscript was much longer, with chapters on the extended cover-up the Museum, with Government connivance, engages in. They were cut by the publisher.

The publisher also wanted Fitzgerald to write more Professor Untermensch novels. She originally started the drafts of two such novels, but in the end thought it best not to be typecast.

Character summary

Plot summary

In January 1973, London, the Museum is exhibiting, for the first time anywhere, the golden Garamantian treasures, including the Golden Child. Crowds, especially of schoolchildren, queue for hours for a brief sight under poor lighting. Sir William takes no interest in the exhibit.