No. 4 - Lonesome Dove (1985)

The Epic Film As Big As The West

Rated: TV-14 (Parents Strongly Cautioned for children under 14)

Director: Simon Wincer; Screenplay: William D. Wittliff; from the novel by Larry McMurtry

Starring: Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Diane Lane, Robert Urich, Frederic Forrest, D. B. Sweeney, Ricky Schroder, Anjelica Huston, Chris Cooper, Tim Scott, Glenne Headly, Barry Corbin, William Sanderson, Barry Tubb, Steve Buscemi

Movie Introduction: In the late 1870s, retired Texas Ranger captains Gus McCrae (Duvall) and Woodrow F. Call (Jones) run a livery and ranch in the small, dusty Texas border town of Lonesome Dove. With their exciting Ranger days behind them, Gus focuses on relaxation and poker games, while the grumpy Call remains the small enterprise's strict foreman. When long lost acquaintance Jake Spoon (Urich) shows up, he plants an idea in Call’s head to take a herd of cattle up north to the rich, green pastures of Montana. Gus agrees to go along, but his only plan is to reconnect with one-time sweetheart, Clara (Huston), now living along the way in Ogallala, Nebraska. McCrae and Call, along with their few ranch hands and cook, round up a herd of cattle and. Jake insists on bringing along the town’s lone whore, the lovely Ms. Lorena (Lane). Off they head for Montana, and into all the perils the American West will throw before them.

Defining Moment: dawdling service

Gus and Call take a brief detour into San Antonio to find a new cook. After hiring the man, they enter a saloon intent of enjoying a little whiskey. The patrons ignore them. The rude bartender decides it's a good idea to disrespect the two men, suggesting that they should "broom themselves off" before dragging the dust into his fine establishment. The barkeep has no idea the pain he's about to encounter. In ten seconds, we learn all we need to know about the very able capabilities of Augustus McCrae.  (See the Full Clip YouTube)

Something subtle you might have missed:  saint macguffin

As the trail drive moves along, the men grow to love their new cook, the humble and wise Po Campo. They come to him for conversation and sometimes advice. The pleasant man can even tell your future if you spit into the wagon.  He carves a little figurine of a young girl and offers it the Josh Deets, the drive's trail scout. Deets gladly accepts the trinket. He asks who the carving represents, and Po replies, "Um... a little saint, to keep you safe on your journey." Day after day the journey gets harder and harder. More and more Deets clutches the idol for comfort.

In a critical moment, McCrae, Call and Deets encounter a band of starving natives. When a shot is fired, the band flees in all directions, leaving a small baby on a blanket. The gentle Deets ascends his position on the knoll and comforts the crying child. He gives up his good luck charm for the baby to play with. 

The "macGuffin of protection" is a plot device sometimes used by filmmakers to foreshadow impending danger or doom. As long as the character possesses the macguffin, they are safe. When they give it up, they are in danger. This is the case with Po Campo's little saint.      

Memorable Quotes:

"Well the first man comes along that can read Latin is welcome to rob us, far as I'm concerned. I'd like a chance to shoot at an educated man once in my life." – Gus McCrae

"Well, hell, boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch o' damn strangers. Well, adios, boys. Hope you won't hold it against me. Never meant no harm." - Jake Spoon

"I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it." – Woodrow F. Call

Dad's Review:

There are so many things about Lonesome Dove that resonate with me and my Texas roots. Cattle. Cowboys. Dust. This HBO mini-series is now noted as a high point, career-wise, for Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. This epic film is just as small and intimate, as it is big and expansive. The cowboys move along the trail North, one heartbreak after another; a crucible as diverse as the expanse from hot, dry Texas to frozen, mountainous Montana.

Enough cannot be said about Duvall's performance as Augustus McCrae. The actor himself refers to it as his favorite role. That is saying something for a man who has been in 85 films (and still counting) including: True Grit ('69), The Godfather ('72), Apocalype Now ('79), Tender Mercies ('83) and Deep Impact ('98). Duvall's films pepper Dad's Movie Lists.

He portrays Gus as a man who has done a lot in his lifetime. He has no desire to prove anything to anybody. He has learned to treasure the simple things. Not much gets him upset. He has a calming effect on the people around him. He's warm and funny. However, he’s still a Texas Ranger, and when it's time to buck up, he shakes off the dust and springs into action, without thought or hesitation. The segment where he pursues the bandits who have kidnapped Lorena is unforgettable. He will deal with her captors swiftly and efficiently.

He nails the famous McMurtry character perfectly.

I don't know if there is a little bit of Gus in all of us, but there is a whole lot of Gus in me. Perhaps Gus resonates so much because he reminds me of my grandfather, Charles Dean Straley. Folks referred to him Charley, but us kids all called him "Daddy Straley". He spent his entire life on a Texas ranch raising crops, cattle and three children. Daddy Straley had Gus' little twinkle in his eye, and his warm sense of humor. He was eager to listen and valued your opinion. He'd take my hand and we'd mosey the quarter-mile walk down to the "lot" (a barn and pens) to check on the expecting heifers. He'd vanish for a couple of minutes, to sneak a shot of whiskey, then sit on a bale of hay and enjoy a smoke on his pipe. I would climb the pipe fence to sit on the top bar and take in his pleasant humor. Even then I knew it was an honor to be around him. Those moments are my favorite memories. Every person who knew him always conveyed how much respected they held. All the grandkids loved the man... I worshipped him. When he died in 1978, I was 16, and on that day, I grew up.

Regarding Lonesome Dove’s plot, it is a rich set of simultaneous stories moving along, at times intersecting. Gus and Call have their hands full pushing the herd North. Jake Spoon leaves the herd and reluctantly falls in with a gang of murderous horse thieves. Sheriff July Johnson sets out to find his wife, a woman searching for her outlaw ex-husband rumored to be in Ogallala.

When a merciless Mexican bandit named Blue Duck, kidnaps Lorena, Gus has to leave the herd to find her. Call keeps the herd heading ever northward.

The pure genius of this six hour mini-series is that often things don’t happen the way you expect, just like life. Not every story has a happy ending. The perils of the American West were real. People died - good people. Some made bad choices. Some chased things they knew didn't make sense. And sometimes, the most unlikely of folks rose up and surprised you.

Of all the Western films I have seen, and reviewed, and contemplated, I personally think this is the greatest ever made. For that, I raise my glass, to Gus, to Call, to Daddy Straley, and to the "sunny slopes of long ago". 

Onto No. 5a... The Brotherhood of the Circlet