The Cowboys

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The Cowboys
1972 movie poster
Directed by	Mark Rydell
Produced by	Mark Rydell
Written by	Irving Ravetch Harriet Frank, Jr. based on the novel by William Dale Jennings
Starring	John Wayne Roscoe Lee Browne Bruce Dern Colleen Dewhurst Slim Pickens
Music by	John Williams
Cinematography	Robert Surtees
Editing by	Robert Swink Neil Travis
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	January 13, 1972
Running time	131 min
Country	U.S.
Language	English
Budget	$6,000,000 (estimated)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Cowboys is a 1972 western motion picture starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Slim Pickens, A Martinez and Bruce Dern. Robert Carradine makes his film debut. The film was directed by Mark Rydell.

1 Story set-up
2 Characters, controversy and symbolism
3 Television Adaptation
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Story set-up

When his hired men abandon him for the lure of a gold rush, cattle rancher Wil Andersen (John Wayne) faces the prospect of financial disaster if he can find no cowboys for his yearly 400-mile long cattle drive. Anse (Slim Pickens), the town bartender, thoughtfully suggests that Anderson hire the local school boys as cowboys. The boys all show up at the ranch, admit to not being true cowboys, but prove they can ride by helping break a horse. The only adult actor playing a boy was A Martinez, as Cimarron, who is not hired-on immediately because Cimarron pulled a knife while fighting with Slim Honeycutt (Robert Carradine). Jebediah "Jeb" Nightlinger (Roscoe Lee Browne), a Moorish black camp cook arrives with a chuck wagon, making Anderson's trail crew complete.

Under Andersen's tutelage the boys learn to rope and brand livestock and on the trail, how to herd the cattle and horses. But no one is aware that a gang of cattle rustlers led by "Long Hair" Asa Watts (Bruce Dern) are shadowing them.

[edit] Characters, controversy and symbolism

This survival story of learning and maturation through hardship, hard work and discipline, propounds the values of truth, loyalty, and fighting for what you believe in.

The Nightlinger character teaches the boys diversity and respect in their initial exchange after Jeb enters the bunkhouse. In the comical tension-relieving scene, Fats says, "Well sir, you're the first nigger we've ever saw [sic].", After some prodding, Jeb confirms that he's black everywhere, "Except for the whites of my eyes." The oldest boy, Slim, then proclaims, "See he's the same as us, except for that color." Jeb laughs-off being "just like you" with a fantastic Moorish tale of seduction, mayhem and heroism that thrills the boys, who ask if it is true. Jeb only says, "If it isn't, it ought to be."

Anderson and Nightlinger are both Civil War veterans. On the trail, the ramrod Anderson, accepts council from the outspoken Nightlinger on perhaps being too rough on the boys. The world-weary Jeb diplomatically manages an encounter with Kate (Colleen Dewhurst) and her traveling brothel.

Around the evening campfire, Slim picks out a Vivaldi tune on his guitar in stark contrast to when the boys later are caught raucously singing Home on the Range while getting drunk on stolen liquor.

After accidentally coming across the rustler gang, Long Hair threatens to slit Dan's throat if he reveals their presence. Out of mortal fear Dan betrays the trust of the group by remaining silent (until after it is too late). The reality of death is confirmed that very night when Dan is responsible for Charlie's death.

The film is known for depicting Wayne's cold-blooded killing after being shot in the back by Dern's character. This resulted in co-star Dern earning a bad reputation in Hollywood that made it difficult for him to get subsequent roles. During filming of this scene, Wayne warned Dern, "America will hate you for this." Dern wryly replied, "Yeah, but they'll love me in Berkeley."^[1]

Another well-known scene was that of a minor using profanity. "Stuttering Bob" was unable to alert them to danger. After Wayne chews the child out, the boy mutters, "Son of a bitch.", only to have Wayne coax him to say it repeatedly. The boy angrily builds longer curses until the boy is no longer stuttering, with, "You God damned mean, dirty son of a bitch!". To which Wayne finally responds, "I wouldn't make it a habit calling me that, son.".

Fatherhood, and more specifically, the father-son relationship is a recurring theme. Andersen has lost two of his own sons. He becomes a surrogate father to his "cowboys" during their cattle drive and eventually risks his own life to save them from a deranged killer. This father-son dynamic takes on a Christian resurrection metaphor at the end when his cowboys, baptized by violence in their quest to avenge his death, return to the scene of Andersen's murder with a tombstone and are mysteriously unable to locate his body. The tombstone inscription reads: "Wil Andersen: Beloved Husband and Father".

[edit] Television Adaptation

In 1974, Warner Bros. developed a television series for ABC starring Jim Davis, Diana Douglas, and Moses Gunn. David Dortort, best known for Bonanza and The High Chaparral, produced the series. Only A Martinez, Robert Carradine, Sean Kelly and Clay O'Brien were in both the movie and the television series. At the last moment, ABC decided to reduce the show's format from one to one-half hour, a change which made it difficult to tell stories effectively considering the show's large cast. This arguably explained the show's unimpressive ratings and subsequent early cancellation.