The Cowboys

Starring: John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern, Colleen Dewhurst, Robert Carradine, Slim Pickens
Directed by: Mark Rydell
Rating: GP
Genre: Western
1972

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A rancher (John Wayne) is forced to employ young boys to help him drive his cattle to market.

Review:

Tim: The Cowboys feels to me like a lesser-quality John Wayne western. The Duke made so many entertaining movies, but I wouldn't consider this among his better ones. The film certainly has some strengths, but there are some odd aspects of the film as well. While it feels different to many of Wayne's other westerns (which is a positive), it's not a very good movie. It's a decent film, but it clearly has flaws.

I have to say that the movie felt overly long at 2 hours, 14 minutes. It felt like a good 25 minutes should have been cut. The film is fairly small and self-contained. A rancher reluctantly enlists the help of a group of young boys to go on a cattle drive. This isn't an especially epic story and it really needed to clock in under 2 hours. As is, the film feels bloated, too long for the story it had to tell.

It's an interesting dynamic to have the film be about these young boys on their first cattle drive. We do get to know the boys and some level of emotional investment starts to occur. It felt strange to have Wayne in an almost parental role. He was still gruff and did the things he does so well, but he almost felt like a supporting character. I wasn't all that interested in his character. The boys were more intriguing, as was Roscoe Lee Browne's character. There were interesting choices made in the story that didn't quite work out as well as the producers expected.

Wayne is decent in the lead role. It's not among his best, but he is firmly in his wheelhouse here. I thought he did a good job. It was interesting to see how his story ended- it was somewhat unlikely and surprising. I thought Browne did a fantastic job. I love his intelligent, tough, but kind character. As mentioned, I felt a much better connection to his character than Wayne's. Bruce Dern gave a good performance. I read that he laughed about how people were still angry at him even years and years later for what his character does in the film. To some extent, that speaks to his performance. I thought he worked very well in the antagonistic role. The rest of the cast was fine- very few standouts, but most everyone gives decent performances.

I know there was criticism when the film was released that the movie suggests the way from boyhood to manhood involves violence. That's what happens to the boys in the film, but I don't think the movie intended this as any deeper commentary. I didn't love that aspect of the movie, but it didn't really bother me, either.

In the end, The Cowboys is a decent movie. There's enough here that western fans or John Wayne fans will probably walk away mostly satisfied (unless you're someone who can't come to terms with the ending). I've seen so many Wayne movies I've thoroughly enjoyed, so it was a bit of a disappointing experience to watch one that was only mildly entertaining. This movie is fine, but Wayne made so many better films.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Bravo, The Searchers