The Cowboys

[Titan6]

We watched The Cowboys with The Duke, Roscoe Lee Browne, David Carradine and Bruce Dern among many others the other day. Most of the actors were children when the movie was made and the movie is about children, cowboys, rustlers, guns and growing up fast on the range.

I had not seen the movie since I was about 12 since they don't show it on TV very often. It is quite controversial for a number of reasons and probably more controversial today than when originally released in 1972. Since it was on Encore it was unedited and therefore contained a few harsh words including racial slurs and some profanity that we don't use at my house.

The scenes of violence in the movie can not compete with the scenes straight from TV news and video games these days but there is some violence.

The acting is good, the special effects/ stunts mediocre (37 years old) and the message still good and timely.

Among the controversies is the extreme pro gun stance of the movie whether intentional or not. It tells an excellent story about gun control and the results of it and throws a few other life lessons in as well. I do not think this movie could be released today. I highly recommend the movie for parents and kids over the age of 10. Parents need to preview it first (the whole movie) to determine if they want the kids to watch it.

 

[KingYaba]

I thought this was going to be about football.

 

[garyhan]

This was a great movie. All the performances are good, but I expecially enjoyed Roscoe Lee Browne. His "final" prayer and the reaction to it is marvelous.

gary

 

[Calibre44]

I bought the DVD recently and watched it last week. Great movie and one of the few that the Duke died in.

Love the scene after his demise when the cook tells one of the kids ‘You’re gonna get yerself killed’ and he replies after spinning the cylinder of his SAA ‘We’re gonna get the job done!’

Marvelous!

 

[Rockwell1]

It would be a great movie but I just can't handle the vulgarity.

It was one of only eight movies in which the Duke's character died

Central Airport"
"Reap the Wild Wind"
"The Fighting Seabees"
"Wake of the Red Witch"
"The Sands of Iwo Jima"
"The Alamo"
"The Cowboys"
"The Shootist"

 

[Joe Demko]

I've seen that movie several times and enjoyed it. Bruce Dern is marvelously hateful; he always played well in villainous roles. Don't remember David Carradine being in it. One of his younger brothers, maybe?
What I don't understand is your interpretation of the story as being about gun control. I remember the main theme being that circumstances sometimes force kids to grow up hard and fast.

 

[Harve Curry]

Cowboys is one of my favorite John Wayne westerns.
Moses Gunn, :I have the where with all, the desire, but unfortunatley Madam I don't have the time"........
Good hard working people and, it shows the dark side of some bad people who are still out there today.

 

[Walkalong]

It is a great movie. Yes, it has some cussing, but it's real life, and in real life, a lot of hard men cuss some. AC

Now my cousin Vinnie, there's some cussing.......



Of of my favorite John Wayne movies.

 

[K9american]

I saw an interview with Bruce Dern talking about "The Cowboys". He said the bearhug The Duke put on him in the movie laid him up for 6 months... "I'm a runner not a wrestler."

Dern also said he and Wayne were sitting on a log just prior to filming the part where he shoots him and, looking straight ahead, The Duke said, "Ya know the whole world's gonna hate you for this."

 

[bonza]

Don't remember David Carradine being in it. One of his younger brothers, maybe?

Think you'll find it was Keith Caradine.

After 'The Searchers' (Natalie Wood was hot, hot, hot!!), I think 'The Cowboys' is probably my favorite John Wayne movie.

 

[danprkr]

This was a great movie. All the performances are good, but I expecially enjoyed Roscoe Lee Browne. His "final" prayer and the reaction to it is marvelous.

Ditto

 

[Titan6]

What I don't understand is your interpretation of the story as being about gun control.

Let's see....

One boy attacks another with a knife. The authority response is take away guns from everyone (and allow them to keep knives). Later when the guns are needed to protect individuals the guns are locked away and can not be gotten to. The authority tries to protect everyone with his gun but is unable to. The people are left at the mercy of bad men. The people rise up, seize the guns from the remaining authority and take matters into their own hands.

Sounds just like England except for the last part. But the movie is mostly about kids growing up on the range.

The Duke said, "Ya know the whole world's gonna hate you for this."

Reportedly Dern quipped "Yeah, but they will love me at UCLA."

 

[Joe Demko]

Sounds more like you don't understand scriptwriting. They were not making any points about gun control. They were contriving a believable reason for the boys to have no guns for purposes of the plot; nothing more. You see the same thing in most horror movies. If the protagonists had guns, there'd be no story.

 

[ants]

You may not want to know the real origin of the script

It was originally a novel, and it had nothing to do with guns, or boys learning how to face adversity.

In fact, don't research the novel if you don't want your love for the movie to be crushed. Just watch the DVD and be happy.

 

[harmonic]

I just can't handle the vulgarity.

It's been a long time since I've seen the movie, but I don't remember the vulgarity.

Just curious, what kind of movies do you watch?

 

[Rockwell1]

It was originally a novel, and it had nothing to do with guns, or boys learning how to face adversity.

I had the misfortune to read the novel, it was disgusting. The author seemed almost fixated with " male erectile tissue"

Just curious, what kind of movies do you watch?

I tend to stick with the older John Wayne movies ( Rios Bravo, Lobo & Grande El Dorado Ft. Apache) I'm also partial to Disney's Narnia series & I enjoy World Wide Pictures ( Franklin Grahm Ministeries)

The scene in "The Cowboys" that sticks out is the one where the stuttering kid calls Wayne a G-D dirty SOB. It was absolutely gratuitous. I didn't care for "The Shootist" either.

 

[Sir_William1]

I think You will find it was Robert Carradine, who played slim in the movie, you may also remember Robert Carradine, in the Nerds, as Louis,

Son of John Carradine, half-brother of David Carradine

 

[Titan6]

Sounds more like you don't understand scriptwriting. They were not making any points about gun control. They were contriving a believable reason for the boys to have no guns for purposes of the plot; nothing more.

I don't understand a thing about script writing. Remember in the original post I said that this may have been unintentional? Whether it was intentional or not the result is the same.

What I do understand is that there has rarely been a movie made or book written that was not slanted in one way or another. All writers believe that they are Jesus Christ trying to save the world.

IMDB lists Slim as Robert Carradine. (Sorry for the mix-up there are just so many of them.)

 

[jcwit]

It would be a great movie but I just can't handle the vulgarity

Good grief do you live in the real world?

I'm sorta past Shirly Temple and The Good Ship Lollipop.

 

[Harve Curry]

Not mentioned but a given for some is that it's hard to carry firearms and work cattle at the same time. There's the extra weight of the rifle, scabbard and ammo loading your horse down when you need him to last to do other things.
The long gun gets in the way of brush and trees when your trying to get cows out from under trees and brush. It gets in the way of roping, more stuff sticking out to get hung up on. If any thing can go wrong or hang up it will, broken stocks, broken saddle, hurt horse., hurt you. A handgun can be kept track of but it depends on how it's carried and the user.

 

[harmonic]

The scene in "The Cowboys" that sticks out is the one where the stuttering kid calls Wayne a G-D dirty SOB. It was absolutely gratuitous.

Yes, I remember that scene and I remember feeling the same way.

What scenes were in the Shootist that offended you?

 

[pmeisel]

I don't understand a thing about script writing.What I do understand is that there has rarely been a movie made or book written that was not slanted in one way or another. All writers believe that they are Jesus Christ trying to save the world.

Contradicting yourself in consecutive paragraphs? If as you claim you don't understand script writing, why do you have such strong opinions about it?

Never seen "The Cowboys", one of the few Duke flicks I have missed. I've watched "The Shootist" maybe a dozen times, it's a favorite.

 

[Rockwell1]

What scenes were in the Shootist that offended you?

The one that stands out was the sherrif telling Books he was going to take a dump on his grave. I just remember the movie being full of gratuitous (as in let's see how many time we can use this word in a sentence just because we can) foul language.

Same with Crimson Tide

Good grief do you live in the real world?

Sure do and I have no problem expressing myself with out gratuitous foul language. World Wide pictures has made several full length feature films with out a single vulgar reference in them

 

[jcwit]

Sure do and I have no problem expressing myself with out gratuitous foul language. World Wide pictures has made several full length feature films with out a single vulgar reference in them

I also have no problem expressing myself without foul language however I realize that not everyone has this ability or wish to do this as they want to express themselves to the max. Do I get offended Not Hardly, I consider myself strong enough to handle it. After all this is the real world and this kind of language is used and to ignore it is to live in a fantasy world where everything is peachy keen. This isn't the world of Pat Boone and White Buck shoes anymore, wasn't then either for that matter.

 

[KarenTOC]

Sure do and I have no problem expressing myself without gratuitous foul language.

Miy father believed that "real men don't cuss." Never once heard him utter a blue word. He once said "gd" -- and i mean the letters, not the word they represent -- and everyone around him was shocked speechless lol.

My mother, on the other hand, could cuss like a sailor when provoked

James Bond didn't cuss in his early movies. Didn't make the movies any less exciting.