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The Cowboys
(1972),
Director: Mark Rydell, rated PG for violence, language
All
they wanted was their chance to be men...and he gave it
to them.
  Starring: John
Wayne, Roscoe Lee Brown, Bruce Dern, Colleen Dewhurst, Adolfo Martinez, Slim Pickens, Stephen Hudis
DML Rating:
★★★★★★★★★☆
- near perfect
"I'm thirty years older
than you are. I had my back broke once, and my hip twice.
And on
my worst day I could beat the hell out of you." – Wil
Anderson
Why watch this? Wayne
has never been better, as a man desperate to drive his cattle to
market.
Plot Summary: Wil
Andersen, a rancher needing help for his cattle drive, is forced
to hire on a group of inexperienced schoolboys after his regular
crew leaves for the gold rush. He trains these youngsters, who
learn about life and the responsibilities of being a cowboy
during their arduous journey. Their challenging drive is
complicated by the presence of a gang of rustlers who are after
their herd.
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Dad's Preview:
This is a superb non-standard Western. Wayne has to holster his
pistols and become a surrogate father for the young boys he has
hired for the trail drive. I'll forever love Roscoe Lee Brown as Mr. Nightlinger,
the cook, who breathes
real life into his role. And who will ever forget Bruce Dern as "Long Hair",
the film's creepy, murderous antagonist. I love it when the
Dukes tells the boys each early morning, "We're burnin' daylight!" |
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Mark
Rydell; Warner Bros. |
