Missouri

The Wild Rovers had a lot of potential, but it needed someone versed in the western genre to make it come together. That it didn't have with Blake Edwards.

Edwards certainly was eager enough in this assignment. Watching the film you can see some touches of Ford, of Peckinpah, even of guys like Lesley Selander and William Witney who directed hundreds of B westerns back in the day. But it's like a copy of a masterpiece.

William Holden and Ryan O'Neal a pair of knockabout cowboys who up and decide one day that they're tired of breaking their backs for the local Ponderosa owner, Karl Malden. They decide to rob James Olson's bank and leave the territory with a fresh stake for a new start.

Karl Malden is not just comparative to Ben Cartwright in the immense size of his property. He's a most upright individual who feels that the robbery of the bank where it's mostly his money inside is a blot on the character of his establishment. He charges his two sons Joe Don Baker and Tom Skerritt with bringing back Holden and O'Neal alive or dead.

There's a subplot going on involving a range war with Karl Malden battling some sheepherders who want to invade his domain. The two parts of the story are not well knitted together. In fact, I'm not sure it was necessary to begin with.

On the plus side Holden and O'Neal have a nice chemistry between them, in fact there's a bit of a hint of homosexuality between them. The camera work is fine, but it's more than a homage to Sam Peckinpah.

Blake Edwards should stick to comedies. In fact he directed Holden in his last film, S.O.B., and that one is more in his element and it's a classic. That's the collaboration I strongly recommend.

Sensitive Western with satisfying and impressive directorial by Blake Edwards , in his Western debut , being based on his own screenplay . The film starts at the ending XIX century when appears railway , big companies buy ranches and new technologies put difficult things for traditional cowboys who are yearning the freedom of the open prairie and attempt to go on their hard jobs . Cowboys lives are divided between months on the range and the occasional trip into town . It deals with an aging Montana cowboy called Ross (William Holden) who finds himself a dinosaur in an old West that's dying out , he befriends a younger colleague named Frank (Ryan O'Neal) and both of whom turn to bank robbing . Both of them tired of cow-punching for a living , carry out rob a bank and flee but they are relentlessly pursued by a posse formed by two deputies and the employer's (Karl Malden) sons (Tom Skerritt , Joe Don Baker) . Declining the Old West and with the stolen stash they attempt to make a new upright start in Mexico .

Sad , melancholic and dusty-looking Western , worthy of genre , with lots of shootouts in Peckimpah style , and adding a phenomenal duo protagonist , though the pace is too slow . Moving and sensitive Western where two cowboys must say goodbye to their old lives and embark a way to crime , while a bunch chases after them . Stands out great performances for all the casting with top-drawing main roles from William Holden and Ryan O'Neal . This melancholic picture is acclaimed like one of the best twilight Westerns and has a nice nostalgic feeling . It's an excellent Western with thrills , wars between cattlemen and shepherd people , shoot'em up , gorgeous scenarios , emotion ; but also melancholy , competition , unlovable camaraderie and emotionalism . And a magnificent soundtrack by the great maestro Jerry Goldsmith , providing a rich, vibrant , and sometimes stark score to accompany the story . Interesting but uneven script and too much referential baggage , including faint shades of ¨Wild Bunch¨ by Sam Peckimpah , ¨Monte Walsh¨ by William A. Fraker and ¨Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid¨ by George Roy Hill . Marvelous slow-moving scenes when Ross/William Holden is riding a wild horse under an impressive musical background , wonderfully composed by Jerry Goldsmith . Moving Western , elegiac , subdued and worthwhile for genre lovers , including great acting by two big stars hanging right in there all the way . Perhaps one of the greatest Westerns of the sixties -as well as unknown- and certainly one of the most likable with Holden and O'Neal in their charismatic acting as cowboys turned into outlaws . And it still looks good more the 40 years on . The dialogue shines with constant wit , the noisy action is spot-on and the photography is best-ever . Even the supporting cast are beautifully drawn , such as : Karl Malden , James Olson , Joe Don Baker , Tom Skerritt , William Bryant , Victor French , Rachel Roberts , Charles Gray and a glimpse of the secondaries : Moses Gunn and William Lucking as a card player . Cinematographer Philip H. Lathrop proves himself a proficient cameraman in this awesome yarn . Special mention for the breathtaking musical score , wonderfully heard when the two pals try to take some wild horses , including a thrilling and exciting leitmotif .

This wacky Western-comedy-adventure motion picture was compellingly directed by Blake Edwards . The excessively twilight tone and overlong runtime doom this brave effort and achieved limited success at box-office . Blake's first venture Western has a nice nostalgic feel , but the pace is too slow to keep a long as well as good grip on the interest . Blake had some hit smashes with ¨Pink Panther¨ series who became him a world-wide celebrity , such as ¨A shot in dark¨ , ¨Return of pink panther , ¨Revenge of pink panther¨ , ¨Curse of Pink Panther¨ , ¨Pink Panther strikes again¨ , ¨Trail of Pink Panther¨ , ¨Son of Pink Panther¨ , among others . Since then , there have been many more hit-and-miss comedies , some wildly unsuitable vehicles for his second wife Julie Andrews as ¨The Tamarind seed¨ , ¨Darling Lili¨, ¨SOB¨ , ¨10¨ , ¨That's life¨ . His greatest hits were ¨The party¨ , the tranvestite comedy ¨Victor/Victoria¨ and of course the joyously ¨Breakfast at Tiffany's ¨. The flick will appeal to Western fans . This is arguably one of the Blake Edwards' best . This consistently entertaining Western titled ¨Wild Rovers¨ or ¨Frank and Ross¨or ¨Dos Hombres Contra El Oeste¨ deserves 'Two thumbs up' .

It seems like it could have been great but fails at just about every turn, unfortunatly. Likeable characters with all their actions unfolding logically and leading to dilemmas but for whatever reason the movie is rather boring and a bit over sentimental at times. It seems like the script was prob great but lost in the execution of production.

I saw WILD ROVERS when it first came out - in the early 70s. It had been butchered by the powers that be at MGM. Still there was a lot to recommend the western: William Holden at his post-WILD BUNCH grizzled best, Jerry Goldsmith's classic, Copelandesque score that somehow manages to be lyrical, evocative but not a bit cloying (learn something, James Horner and Hans Zimmer), and the stunning cinematography. I saw it again in the late 80s restored to its original length (on a double bill with the restored PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID, also butchered by MGM in the early 70s). I found more to like about the movie: the unexpected spurts of humor, the observations of the connectedness between cowboy and animal life, and Blake Edward's staging of the scenes of violence - he never does the same thing twice, and the barroom shootout is an object lesson in blocking and editing. (If there is any complaint one can level against Clint Eastwood's UNFORGIVEN was how uninterestingly the action scenes were staged.) Anyway, I just caught WILD ROVERS again on HD.Net Movies during 4th of July weekend, and its virtues have actually grown with age. And it looks gorgeous on a 16:9 Hi-Def screen. Give it a few more years and it might attain classic status.

Overlong, but the wide-screen cinematography (a must-see in letter-box format), music score and character relationship of Holden and O'Neal, make this one of my favorite westerns. As a nature-lover, I find the outdoor scenes, especially the horse-breaking in the snow, among the best I've seen in any western. The cinematography in this scene is breath-taking, exhilarating and thrilling. The superb and beautiful music score by Jerry Goldsmith adds to the overall enjoyment of this film. Please, M-G-M, bring this film out on DVD. It needs to be seen in it's original, uncut, widescreen version so it can take it's place along other great western films.