Deux Hommes dans l'Ouest

This is not a film about which you hear a great deal, which is a shame because it is one of the most enjoyable westerns I have seen for a long time. I think the problem lies in the fact that it tries to be too many different things and cover too many bases. It is funny, but not as funny as BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID; it is elegaic, but not as elegaic as PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID; it is violent, but not as violent as THE WILD BUNCH; and it is beautiful, but not as beautiful as JEREMIAH JOHNSON.

It may sound odd but the film it most resembles, in as much as it combines all these elements, is THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT. We have a mismatched pairing of a wise man and a headstrong youth who combine to pull off a major robbery. They are pursued relentlessly by an almost psychotic adversary. They meet a tragic end. This may sound like high praise and indeed it should because this is a fine movie and I never thought I'd say that about a Blake Edwards movie.

There are moments within this film which you rarely get in a run of the mill western. For instance I never see a western which deals so well with the equivocal relationship between a cowboy and animals. This film is full of them: sheep, cows, horses, mules, cougars, cats and dogs. And not just in passing either. All the best westerns have a snowbound sequence but not many of them combine it with a horse-breaking scene, as this movie does to breathtaking effect.

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.

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.

Ross Bodine (William Holden) and Frank Post (Ryan O'Neal) are a couple of cowboys complaining about life. They work for cattleman Walter Buckman (Karl Malden). They play with the idea of robbing a bank and riding off to Mexico. They are forced into a fight and wreck the saloon. Walter holds back their wages to pay off the damages. The two men see no way out other than to really do the robbery. Ross robs banker Joe Billings while Frank holds his wife Sada hostage. They allow him to keep some money to pay the local cowboys but Sada convinces him to steal it. Walter is angry that his two employees did the robbing. His two sons, John Buckman (Tom Skerritt) and Paul Buckman (Joe Don Baker), join the posse.

The poster is a little funny. The intention seems to be portraying this a light fun action western. I don't actually find it funny. It tries to be light at times. Mostly, it's bit muddled and long. I would rather have some better action. Blake Edwards is using too much slow motion when he doesn't need it. The bank robbery should be better. The horse roundup is the best action. Otherwise, the action is less than impressive. All in all, this is fine but I would find a comedian to be one of the leads especially if Blake intends this as a comedy. Apparently, the studio took over the finishing and Blake disowned the final product. At least, he got material for another film. I doubt he has a sense of the western genre.

Wild Rovers is written and directed by Blake Edwards. It stars William Holden, Ryan O'Neal, Karl Malden, Joe Don Baker, Tom Skeritt and James Olsen. Music is scored by Jerry Goldsmith and the Panavision/Metrocolor cinematography is by Philip Lathrop.

It's a Western that not only was butchered by cretinous execs at MGM, but has also proved to be divisive among the Western faithful - those that have seen the now thankfully available un-butchered version that is. Wild Rovers is one of those Oaters that is very much concerned with the changing of the West, where cowboys start to find themselves out of place with their era. Think Monte Walsh/Will Penny/Ride The High Country, with a bit of Wild Bunch/Butch & Sundance thrown in for good measure, and you get where Wild Rovers is at.

Some critics were quick to accuse Edwards of merely copying Western films of past, but that is unfair. For this is a loving homage to those movies, also managing to be its own beast in the process. The tale is simply of two cowpokes, one aged and world weary, the other a young excitable buck, best friends who want more from life, so decide to rob the local bank and flee to Mexico to start afresh. Of course two men and destiny are quite often not the best of bed fellows...

There's an elegiac beauty to Edwards' screenplay, with some of the scripted dialogue lyrical and poetic. And yet even though the harshness of the West, of the life of a cowboy, and the violence that is abound, is deftly pulsing within the story, there's plenty of dashes of humour as well. This is not a perpetually downbeat movie, slow moving? Absolutely, short on ripper action? Also correct. But as the themes of heroism and honour, of friendship and folly, are born out, and the many tender sequences draw you in, a pratfall is never far away.

Technically it's high grade stuff. Holden is superb and he drags O'Neal along with him to avert what could have been a casting disaster. They make a fine and beguiling partnership and both men are turning in some of their best ever work here. The photography of the Arizona locations is outstanding, with Lathrop (Lonely Are the Brave) managing to add some ethereal beauty to the story. Goldsmith knocks out a triffic score, part blunderbuss Western excitement, part intimate pal to all and sundry.

Skip any version that is under two hours, for that is an MGM crime. The MOD DVD comes complete with overture, intermission, entr'acte and exit music, while TCM shows the uncut version but minus the aforementioned roadshow segments. This is not a Western for those looking for a Magnificent Seven style actioner, for as fun as that great movie is, this is an altogether different and mature beast, and it deserves to be better known. 9/10