Rating: 
Summary: John Wayne and The Cowboys
Review: I have seen this film many,many times infact it is one of my favorites. I have it on video and watch it all the time. I have been a fan of Sean Kelly and Stephen Hudis since I first saw this in the theater. I think the whole cast does a great job, but I always liked John Wayne's and Sean's scene. I always read that this movie was too violent and didn't have a good plot. Well the plot was for the boys to learn from John Wayne's character. Well they did, they went on to finish the job they had started and that was to get the cattle to it's destination. Remembering this was supposed to be in the 1800's the law was alot different then. Thank you, Brenda Goodvin
Rating: 
Summary: One of my all-time favorite films
Review: Although I'm not a fan of westerns, or a John Wayne fan for that matter, I absolutely love this movie. The story is strong, and the acting is superb, especially Roscoe Lee Brown's performance as Jebediah Nightlinger. I see this film as a story of redemption and second chances: John Wayne's character, Wil Andersen, lost both of his sons...as they "went bad" on him.
He hesitantly undertakes a cattle drive with no one for help
except 11 young boys. Eventually, the boys make Wil proud...a fact he acknowledges as he lays dying. The boys come to respect Wil and, I think, see him as a father figure. When the boys finish the drive, they buy a headstone to mark Wil's grave: "Wil
Andersen, Beloved Husband and Father", an epitaph that conveys just how the boys regard Wil, as a father figure. Wil gets his
second chance at fatherhood with those boys. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes an enjoyable story, not just a "western" per se.
Rating: 
Summary: an excerable lesson
Review: this film is the worst example of the so called ethics john wayne and his like had and the type which we know see, rightly, as obviousely unethical.
the film applauds CHILDREN commiting acts of violent revenge, wayne dies a christ like martyrs death and if it werent so reprehensible we'd be laughing.
you still really think of wayne as a hero? then watch this, his anti-commie proganda; 'big jim mcclain' or look closely at the fact that the man never served a day in any of the armed forces and look at his his traitorous behaviour towards his fellow actors and americans during the mccarthy era and you realize the man and his morals were were neither manly nor moral.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT YOUR TYPICAL DUKE FLICK HAS YOU CHEERING AND TEARING
Review: WHILE NOT GREAT BY HOLLYWOOD STANDARDS (HOW MANY DUKE FLICKS ACTUALLY WERE?), RELATIVE TO OTHER DUKE FLICKS AND WESTERNS IN GENERAL, "THE COWBOYS" IS A GREAT WATCH. YOU WON'T HAVE THE CONSTANT ACTION OF A "WILD BUNCH", NOR THE DRAMA OF "HIGH NOON". BUT THAT HARDLY SEEMS THE POINT OF THIS MOVIE. DUKE IS AT HIS AVUNCULAR BEST WHILE STILL RETAINING THE BRAVADO OF THE DUKE WE ALL GREW TO KNOW AND LOVE. UNUSUAL STORY OF WAYNE'S HIRING OF SCHOOL BOYS TO HELP HIM IN HIS CATTLE DRIVE BRINGS A DIFFERENT TWIST TO THE WESTERN GENRE THAT SEEMED TO LOSE ITS LUSTER BY DECADES END. BUT THE DUKE OKAYS THE GUTSY PLOT TWIST THAT WILL FOREVER LEAVE "THE COWBOYS" AS ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE WAYNE FLICKS OF ALL TIME. BRUCE DERN HAS ONE OF HIS MORE EFFECTIVE ROLES AS WAYNES ANTAGNONIST. FORGET MALTINS ANALYSIS- MOST WESTERNS AREN'T DESIGNED TO TEACH KIDS MORALS NOR LESSONS. THIS FILM IS NO EXCEPTION. BUT LIKE ANY GREAT WESTERN, YOU'LL CHEER, YOU'LL HATE, AND YOU JUST MIGHT CHOKE UP. MANY, LIKE MYSELF, WANTED THE STORY TO CONTINUE, PERHAPS IN A SEQUEL, BUT WERE BETRAYED BY A SAPPY, ILL-CONCEIVED T.V. SERIES THAT WENT NOWHERE. A MUST SEE FOR WAYNE FANS.
Rating:
Summary: Duke and company in fine style in "The Cowboys"
Review: I'm puzzled by the negative reviews (vide supra). If the story's a little thin, then the acting more than makes up for it. John Wayne and Roscoe Lee Browne lead a cattle drive across the West with the aid of the only help they could find, schoolboys. They are trailed by some bad guys. So much for the story. But Wayne and Browne give superb performances, truly, and the boys more than hold up their end. Bruce Dern's a memorable villain who gets his. (Wayne is shot 1 hr., 50 min. into the picture--certainly not "early on"!) I rate this movie 4 stars because, sure, "Stagecoach" and "The Searchers" and the U.S. Cavalry trio rank higher; but 4 stars on the Wayne scale ain't too shabby. One day the world will come around to the realization that John Wayne was one of the greatest screen actors ever to walk through Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: an excerable lesson
Review: this film is the worst example of the so called ethics john wayne and his like had and the type which we know see, rightly, as obviously unethical.
the film applauds CHILDREN commiting acts of violent revenge, wayne dies a christ like martyrs death and if it werent so reprehensible we'd be laughing.
you still really think of wayne as a hero? then watch this, his anti-commie proganda; 'big jim mcclain' or look closely at the fact that the man never served a day in any of the armed forces and look at his his traitorous behaviour towards his fellow actors and americans during the mccarthy era and you realize the man and his morals were neither manly nor moral.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Duke's best!
Review: This is absolutely one of the best of the best. John Wayne plays Wil Anderson, a rancher forced to use young boys to get his herd to market when his men desert him in search of gold. There are many wonderful messages in this film about duty, honor, and responsibility. They are messages our nation and our young people are in great need of right now. This movie contains many memorable and haunting scenes, but none more so then when Wayne is forced into a confrontation with Bruce Dern to protect the young boys he has on the cattle drive. He gives his life, and teaches them the meaning of strength, honor, and courage. I could not disagree more with Leonard Maltin's review - the message is not to seek violent revenge; the boys simply "finish the job" they were hired to do and take the money from the sale of the herd back to Wil Anderson's wife. This film captures the greatness of Wayne's legacy, and why he is so adored by millions of Americans who hold duty and courage dear. If I had to recommend only one John Wayne film to someone who had never seen one, this would be it. Truly unforgettable!
Rating:
Summary: Near The End
Review: John Wayne is in his last years with this movie about an old 19th century rancher who finds out that the lure of the gold rush has taken away his farm hands.
After turning down an offer by ex-convicts led by a sinister Bruce Dern, to move his heard to market, he is left with no choice but to hire young boys as stock movers.
After training and settling in, the Duke and his mob are on the move. However the ex-convicts that the Duke turned away have more sinister plans for all of them.
In the meantime the Duke takes on a more fatherly role to his young charges and with his dependable cook (Roscoe Lee Brown)soon has them working as a cohesive unit. That is untill they encounter the covects and during an altercation the Duke goes down.
Infuriated, the young Cowboys set out on a course of revenge resulting in the rather brutal yet satisfying end to the convict gang and retaking of the cattle herd which reaches the markets on time much to the amuzment of the Stock agents.
Because this is an old movie, the info section of the DVD contains little but has a small documentry of the training of the actors that took part. Still good value for under $10 and you get to see an ageing Duke showing a more softer side of his personality.
Rating:
Summary: NOT YOUR TYPICAL DUKE FLICK HAS YOU CHEERING AND TEARING
Review: WHILE NOT GREAT BY HOLLYWOOD STANDARDS (HOW MANY DUKE FLICKS ACTUALLY WERE?), RELATIVE TO OTHER DUKE FLICKS AND WESTERNS IN GENERAL, "THE COWBOYS" IS A GREAT WATCH. YOU WON'T HAVE THE CONSTANT ACTION OF A "WILD BUNCH", NOR THE DRAMA OF "HIGH NOON". BUT THAT HARDLY SEEMS THE POINT OF THIS MOVIE. DUKE IS AT HIS AVUNCULAR BEST WHILE STILL RETAINING THE BRAVADO OF THE DUKE WE ALL GREW TO KNOW AND LOVE. UNUSUAL STORY OF WAYNE'S HIRING OF SCHOOL BOYS TO HELP HIM IN HIS CATTLE DRIVE BRINGS A DIFFERENT TWIST TO THE WESTERN GENRE THAT SEEMED TO LOSE ITS LUSTER BY DECADES END. BUT THE DUKE OKAYS THE GUTSY PLOT TWIST THAT WILL FOREVER LEAVE "THE COWBOYS" AS ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE WAYNE FLICKS OF ALL TIME. BRUCE DERN HAS ONE OF HIS MORE EFFECTIVE ROLES AS WAYNES ANTAGNONIST. FORGET MALTINS ANALYSIS- MOST WESTERNS AREN'T DESIGNED TO TEACH KIDS MORALS NOR LESSONS. THIS FILM IS NO EXCEPTION. BUT LIKE ANY GREAT WESTERN, YOU'LL CHEER, YOU'LL HATE, AND YOU JUST MIGHT CHOKE UP. MANY, LIKE MYSELF, WANTED THE STORY TO CONTINUE, PERHAPS IN A SEQUEL, BUT WERE BETRAYED BY A SAPPY, ILL-CONCEIVED T.V. SERIES THAT WENT NOWHERE. A MUST SEE FOR WAYNE FANS.
Rating:
Summary: Good Duke western
Review: The Cowboys is a good but not great Duke western that benefits from good performances by the cast. Because all the men in town are off in search of gold, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to hire 11 schoolboys to help him drive a herd of cattle to Montana. Obvious problems arise on the trail as Andersen and his cook, Jebediah Nightlinger, try to help the boys learn how to be cowboys. Andersen, Nightlinger, and the 11 cowboys also must deal with a band of rustlers threatening to steal their cattle herd. The plot for this movie is nothing special, but it is still a very enjoyable movie. John Wayne and Roscoe Lee Browne are very good as are the kids. For a Duke western, the ending is a little shocking, but the revenge motive works here as the "cowboys" go after the rustlers. The Cowboys is a beautifully shot movie in the barren desert and the green mountains that deserves a watch to see the Duke in one of his last movies. As usual, John Wayne is excellent as rancher Wil Andersen, who must watch out for the eleven schoolboys turned cowboys. He takes on a father role to them which is very believable by the end of the movie. Roscoe Lee Browne is also very good as Andersen's cook, Jebediah Nightlinger, who must deal with more than a little racism on the trail. Bruce Dern with his rattlesnake theme is incredibly creepy as rustler, Long Hair, although sometimes his character has been called Asa Watts. The 11 cowboys are all pretty good in their roles including Robert Carradine, A. Martinez, and Alfred Barker Jr. The DVD offers widescreen presentation, production notes, a featurette on the making of, and trailers from 13 different John Wayne movies. The Cowboys is not an action packed western, but it is still entertaining with good performances from the Duke, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Bruce Dern. For an enjoyable western with a bit of a twist, check out The Cowboys!
|
