John Wayne is Wil Andersen, an aging rancher with a herd to take to market and a big problem. Gold has been found in the nearby hills, and nearly every able-bodied man – including the cowboys who were supposed to help drive his cattle to market – have headed off in hopes of striking it rich.
At the suggestion of a friend, Andersen comes up with a unique solution. He hires on a group of school boys, after they’ve proven their ability to ride an untamed horse, with the promise of $50 dollars to each youngster once they reach their destination of Bel Fuche.
He has cook Jebediah Nightlinger (Roscoe Lee Browne) to help keep them in line. Good thing, since they decide to steal a bottle of liquor, run across a wagon full of women of ill repute and have to deal with the typical dangers of a trial drive along the way.
But there’s a bigger problem lurking. Andersen ran off an ex-con named Asa Watts who hoped to get a job with the cattle drive. Now Asa and his friends see Andersen’s herd as easy pickings, since his cowboys really are boys and not men – at least not yet.
Review:
Better than average Wayne Western benefits from a unique plot, a convincing performance by Dern as a snarling villain not above scaring the bejesus out of young boys and an equally solid performance from Roscoe Lee Browne, who takes over tutoring the young men after Dern has viciously gunned down Wayne.
That’s right, folks: Wayne is gunned down in this Western. It’s the first time it happened in one of his feature films, unless you want to count the killing of Davy Crockett in “The Alamo.” And it’d happen just one more time, in Wayne’s final film.
And these cowboys certainly grow up, dispensing justice to the rustlers in ruthless fashion considering their age.
This film spawned a short-lived TV series called “The Cowboys.” A. Martinez, Robert Carradine, Sean Kelly and Clay O’Brien reprised their roles from the film; Moses Gunn took over the role of Nightlinger. The series also starred Jim Davis.
Directed by:
Mark Rydell
Cast:
John Wayne … Wil Andersen
Roscoe Lee Browne … Jebediah Nightlinger
Bruce Dern … Asa Watts
Colleen Dewhurst … Kate
Alfred Baker Jr. … Fats
Nicolaus Beauvy … Dan
Steve Benedict … Steve
Robert Carradine … Slim Honeycutt
Normal Howell … Weedy
Stephen R. Hudis … Charlie Schwartz
Sean Kelly … Stuttering Bob
Martinez … Cimarron
Clay O’Brien … Hardy Fimps
Sam O’Brien … Jimmy Phillips
Mike Pyeatt … Homer Weems
Runtime: 134 min.
Memorable lines:
Wil Andersen: “Traveled 30 miles today. Didn’t find a single hand that could throw in with me.”
Bartender (Slim Pickens): “Talk to Parker?”
Andersen: “Yeah. His wife’s gonna have a baby.”
Bartender: “How about Miller?”
Andersen: “His wife wants to have a baby.”
Wil Andersen, to the cowboys: “You know, trail driving is now Sunday school picnic. You got to figure you’re dealing with the dumbest, orneriest critter on God’s green earth. The cow is nothing but trouble tied up in a leather bag.”
Asa Watts: “You’re a hard man, Mr. Andersen.”
Andersen: “It’s a hard life.”
Nightlinger, to the cowboys: “What are you up to?”
Fats: “Nothing, Mr. Nightlinger. Nothing at all.”
Nightlinger: “Boys are always guilty of something nasty. What could it be this time, I wonder.”
Slim: “Nothing. I swear. We’re just standing here talking.”
Nightlinger: “If you’re lying, remember one thing. I could swallow each of you whole without choking. All I’d need to do is butter your heads and pin your ears back.”
Andersen: “It’s not how you’re buried, it’s how you’re remembered.”
Cimarron: “Why not put me in charge?”
Andersen: “A big mouth don’t make a big man.”
Asa Watts: “Mr. Anderson, do I look like the kind of man, to you, that would beat on an innocent boy?”
Andersen: “You look like the vermin-ridden, son-of-a-bitch you are.”
Andersen, after watching Watts torment one of his cowboys: “Alright, we’ve seen what you can do with a boy. How are you when they come a little bigger?”
){kind=link}