Der Cowboy

Actor Cliff Robertson’s clout after his Oscar win in CHARLY (1968) allowed this personal venture which he wrote, produced and directed as well as starred in; the film, though much admired in some circles and certainly well-made, is essentially dreary and somewhat overlong for its purpose. Incidentally, rodeo is not a subject which has been treated often by Hollywood: a couple more notable efforts were Nicholas Ray’s rare but highly regarded THE LUSTY MEN (1952) – which I recently acquired but have yet to watch – and Sam Peckinpah’s contemporaneous and better-known JUNIOR BONNER (1972).

Anyway, the titular figure is an enthusiast of the sport who wants to pick up where he left off following a 10-year stint in jail for fraud; after a pathetic reunion with his senile mother (a cameo, despite her second billing, by a disheveled Geraldine Page), he sets off to seek a prominent spot in the National Finals. This entails a series of contests across the country – he starts off by hitching rides to each destination, then borrows a van (through a friend) from a military base but, after scoring a number of successes and winning a pile of money, he can afford to fly the rest of the way.

Robertson meets spirited young hippie Cristina Ferrare; following the initial distrust (being a middle-aged uneducated cowboy himself, they have virtually nothing in common), he comes to appreciate her devoted presence by his side – however, when he finally proposes marriage, she quits him. Coop’s biggest rival is a brash stud half his age whose wealth is able to keep him well ahead of the game (getting to the various rodeo venues by way of a private plane). Still, our hero perseveres – but his dream seems to come to an end when he breaks a leg; undaunted, he decides to mount a particularly wild bull…but his triumph this time around is short-lived and he’s gored by the testy animal!

Robertson elicits fine performances all around and shows great feeling for small-town America – as well as passion for his central theme (which isn’t so much about achieving one’s goals no matter what, as how this often rings hollow when all one has to show for it is loneliness). A nice folksy score supplies the perfect accompaniment to the film’s attractive photography – offsetting the generally downbeat tone and the occasional instance of self-conscious direction (such as the use of abrupt zooms or Coop’s slow-motion last ride). Equally agreeable are its sparse moments of humor – namely the cowboy’s ironic home address, 1313 Luck Road, requested by an apologetic cop when he’s forced to give him a ticket (Coop’s driving his late father’s ‘smoking’ broken-down car) and the incident in the diner’s lavatory where rednecks attack the hero’s black pal but, even outnumbered, they beat up their assailants and, when the cops arrive, Robertson justifies the mess by claiming the locals had been making “weird advances”!

Cliff Robertson co-wrote, co-produced, directed and stars in this unassuming rodeo drama-cum-character study, a movie he personally financed for distribution through Columbia Pictures by keeping costs down and paying most of his actors scale. It's a handsome, occasionally laconic piece of work, crisp and not dawdling, helped immeasurably by Frank Stanley's sometimes good-sometimes brilliant cinematography. The star of a Texas prison rodeo, having just served 10 years in the jug for writing bad checks, is paroled and hits the rodeo circuit, where he works his way up to second-best cowboy (just behind an airplane-chauffeured hotshot who barely has to break a sweat to be number one). Robertson directs himself very well--it is one of his finest performances--though the same can't be said for many of the supporting players, many of whom are real-life rodeo performers portraying themselves. An air of detached amateurism coats the project, with much of the background and sideline action coming off as needless, over-the-top, or just plain sloppy. Still, when Robertson zeros in on a sequence--such as a rough fist-fight in a men's washroom or an idyllic getaway for Coop and his hippie girlfriend--the results can be stunningly effective. Robertson is contemplative and unafraid to allow curious scenes to run their course; Geraldine Page, as Coop's mother, has just one long sequence that doesn't appear to do much for the picture, yet Robertson finds the rhythm in the dialogue and eventually gets to the meditative payoff. I'm not quite sure what the final scene is meant to say, except that "a loner is a lonely man"...still, the artiness which underlines the film's climax is a bit alienating. It doesn't make for a big night at the movies. ** from ****

This hard to get, modern western is definitely one of the best film by Mr. Robertson, a fine, underrated actor and director. J.W. Coop, gives a realistic and honest view of a lonesome, luckless but brave man, an ex-con who tries and fails in the rodeo world and is also an underdog in life. Simple, brilliant story with Robertson's flawless acting matched by the late, grand Geraldine Page (as his mom). A fine cameo by the great character actor, R.G. Armstrong, and for the eye, there's the beautiful Cristina Ferrare who disappeared from films to marry Mr. John DeLorean (if somebody remembers the car in Back to the Future films.) So, catch it if you can!

Growing up in the Mid_West, the concept of `art' film was quite foreign to me in 1971. The first time I saw J.W. Coop, it struck me like a thunderbolt. Lots of ambin' around, reaction shots, quiet confidence, pseudo-documentary style, unspoken sub text…WOW.

A labor love for Cliff Robertson, JW COOP is an indie-like movie developed in the 1970's studio system, where titles like POSEIDON ADVENTURE and TOWERING INFERNO were the only things that made sense at the time.

As a result, studio-type compromises are evident throughout--Christina Ferrare is atrocious as the hippie-chick who interjects JW's dust covered mind-set to the present. I'm certain the original script-by Gary Cartwright and the ingenious Bud Shrake was likely funnier…and edgier.

What's left is still engaging, and the rest of the supporting cast is solid, the story interesting--spiced with wonderful little vignettes throughout. I highly recommend.

Excellent story about a cowpoke who wants to be the number one rider in the nation. He worked hard at it, and made his name well known on the circuit, even getting to the point of acquiring his own airplane. A good look at the rodeo from behind the scenes. Near the end was a very graphic scene of a cowboy caught up in the harness of a raging bull. I heard it was not a setup take, but was real footage from a rodeo. I know it made me cringe to watch it. 4 stars.