Conagher

If you think you see some similarity between this film and the John Wayne classic western Hondo you're a sharp person. That's because both were written by Louis L'Amour and both have a cowboy hero aiding a woman alone on the frontier with her children.

Katherine Ross plays the woman who has a small ranch that also serves as a stagecoach station.. But that small amount of base income is about to be cut off as a new station is being built, As for her ranch, Ross's husband is gone for some months now on a cattle buying trip with no word when or if he's returning.

Sam Elliott is our title character hero and he's riding line for Ken Curtis's ranch and doing his best to keep thieves off the range. Curtis is beset by rustlers and Elliott does get tempted to look the other way. But like Hondo Lane, Conagher is your straight up cowboy hero, the kind we seldom see in our more cynical age.

Real life marrieds Sam Elliott and Katherine Ross have some tender scenes as she and he would like to get together. But as long as the missing husband's status is still missing they will be true to their moral code.

The supporting cast has a several familiar western faces. My favorite is Barry Corbin the stagecoach driver who even with his company not subsidizing Ross, he has a great personal concern for Ross and her kids.

Conagher answers in a positive way the question of whether we see westerns like we used to see. Most affirmatively with this one.

Conagher is directed by Reynaldo Villalobos and adapted to teleplay by Jeffrey M. Meyer from the novel written by Louis L'Amour. It stars Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, Barry Corbin, Ken Curtis, Buck Taylor, Dub Taylor and James Gammon. Music is by J.A.C. Redford and cinematography by James R. Bagdonas.

After her husband fails to return from a trip to purchase cattle, Mrs. Evie Teale (Ross) fights hard to raise her two children whilst also keeping the family homestead afloat. Conn Conagher (Elliott) is a honest and hardworking cowboy who also has his own life struggles to contend with. Both Evie and Conn find their lives intertwined by their struggles against the perils of the West...

You don't know what music is until you hear the wind in the cedars.

Beautiful and subtle in every respect, Conagher is a treat for the grown up Western fan. The story is literate off the page from the beginning, it's the sort of character study that often gets taken for granted due to its simplicity. Yet the emotional depth is mightily strong here, the lead characters not bogged down by clichés or badly constructed scenes. Both Evie and Conn are deftly etched people, both easy to get on side with, their strengths are many, their loneliness perfectly understandable and never once schmaltzy. Helps that it's the real life husband and wife team of Ross and Elliott in the roles, the chemistry set in stone, when they look into each other's eyes you see it's real. A fine couple they do make.

Even though Villalobos takes his time, rightly pacing it in steady and reflective beats, it's a film that doesn't lack for action. There's still gun play (Indian attack/rustler root outs) and a good round of knuckles (Elliott one of the best punch throwers in his acting era), the director, no doubt helped by the wily Elliott, proving more than adept at construction of the energetic scenes. Bagdonas and Villalobos provide some gorgeous photographic compositions that belie the TV movie budget, with the Colorado (Buckskin Joe Frontier Town & Railway/Canon City) vistas an extra character; and the misty interiors nicely capturing the tonal mood of the narrative. A fine gathering of support character actors come up trumps, while Redford's musical score is led by the guitar and lands softly in the ears.

This is 100% recommended to Elliott and Western fans who appreciate characters superbly written and performed. It may end up as you expect, but that's OK, because if it didn't then you may well have wanted to throw your TV out the window. Just like I would have done had it not ended the way it does! Conagher, a subtle and beautiful treat. 8.5/10

Based on the novel by Louis L'Amour. Rustlers, a cattle baron or two, a homesteader who dies in an accident on his way to town, a bashful lonesome cowboy, a lonesome widow and her two lonesome kids, questions of loyalty and integrity, a stage line establishing its route through the district, and of course the laconic dialogue that marks the Western as a man's man type of movie. But this is really High Romance. Elliot plays the knight in tarnished armour, Ross is the Lady in need of rescue, and it all plays out with a minimum of gore and a maximum of historical realism. Good movie. ***

First, let me say, for you "Conagher" fans out there, it has finally been released on DVD, in May 2005, by Warner Home Video.

Second, on behalf of my wife, this is her favorite western of all time.

And she has seen a bunch of them!

In addition to being a cowboy movie, it's a romance. A realistic one, too. Katherine Ross' strong female character provides an excellent counterpoint to Elliot's rough cowboy ways.

Sam Elliot gives his finest performance, I think. He certainly seems to be having fun while doing it, too.

In many ways, this movie reminds me of "Will Penny", another fine western, starring Charlton Heston. If you liked "Will Penny", you will like "Conagher".

An exemplary Western in the tradition of "Shane". Conn Conagher is my kind of man... tough, courageous and most of all honorable... and Sam Elliott who is the epitome of "cool", plays him to the bone!

This movie has the feel of how it really was in the West back then with authentic dialog, scenery, dress and props of the time. It has a well written script with action, drama and warmth. For true Western fans, I recommend it highly.