Robby Benson is Jory, who heads West from St. Louis with his father, a lawyer and drunk, as they search for a place to call home.
One night in Santa Rosa, Jory’s dad is killed in an argument with a man he thinks owed him a drink.
Jory later evens the score by bashing in the killer’s head with a rock, then joins a cattle drive out of fear he’ll be caught and charged with murder.
During that drive, he’s tutored in the art of gunplay by a pretty boy named Jocko (B.J. Thomas) and tutored in the danger of living by the gun by their much older and wiser foreman Roy Starr (John Marley).
The drive reaches its destination, John Barron’s large Texas ranch, only to learn that Barron is having trouble with rustlers under the direction of a competing cattleman named Thatcher.
It isn’t long before Jory finds himself caught in the middle of that dispute.
Robby Benson as Jory Walden, ready for trouble and spotting a girl bathing in Jory (1973)
John Marley as Roy Starr, the ranch foreman who takes Jory under his wings in Jory (1973)
Review:
One of the weaker of the many coming-of-age Westerns released in the 1970s. This one suffers from an unconvincing performance by Robby Benson in his feature film debut.
Then there’s a ridiculous plot device that finds rancher Barron entrusting the care of his blossoming 15-year-old daughter Amy to the care of a 15-year-old kid he’s barely met.
And, yes, B.J. Thomas, in the role of Jocko, is the singer and five-time Grammy winner. But the theme song that plays as the credits role was performed by Curtis Young.
Linda Purl as Amy Barron, the ranch owner’s daughter Jory is to protect in Jory (1973)
B.J. Thomas as Jocko, the fast gun who’s never killed a man in Jory (1973)
Directed by:
Jorge Fons
Cast:
John Marley … Roy Starr
B.J. Thomas … Jocko
Robby Benson … Jory Walden
Claudio Brook … Ethan Walden
Patricia Aspillaga … Carmelita Starr
Brad Dexter … Jack
Benny Baker … Frank Jordan
Todd Martin … John Barron
Quintin Bulnes …. Walker
Carlos Cortes … Logan
John Kelly … Thatcher
Anne Lockhart … Dora
Linda Purl … Amy Barron
Ted Markland … Cpl. Hap Evans
Runtime: 97 min.
Song:
“Jory” by Curtis Young
Claudio Brook, lawyer, drunk and Jory’s father, playing a song for a drink in Jory (1973)
Anne Lockhart as Dora, the saloon girl who befriends Jory after his dad’s death in Jory (1973)
Memorable lines:
Roy Starr: “Listen to Jocko. He’s a great cowboy.”
Jory Walden: “He’s teaching me to handle guns.”
Starr: “Yeah, well that’s one of Jocko’s failings. Forget guns. If you ever need one, (he pats his rifle), this is the only kind.”
Jocko, showing off his prized six-guns: “These are the finest collection of irons in the world. Including Texas.”
Jory: “A real man can’t live without guns.”
Roy Starr: “Guns don’t make a man. They just give him something else to hide behind.”
Jory: “You could have shot him?”
Roy Starr: “Why? Why should I have that man’s life on my conscience?”
Brad Dexter as Jack, the man who calls Jocko’s fast-gun bluff in Jory (1973)
Todd Martin as John Barron, preparing to ride off to rescue his daughter in Jory (1973)
Patricia Aspillaga as Carmelita Starr, wife of ranch foreman Roy in Jory (1973)
Claudio Brook as Ethan Walden and Robby Benson as his son Jory, looking for work in Jory (1973)
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