Les cow-boys

John Wayne led many a cattle drive, but there's something especially satisfying about this final turn on the trail, alongside ten young boys for what turns out to be a hardnosed yet winning salute to the Duke's legacy of manly comportment.

"It's not how you're buried, it's how they remember you," Wayne's Wil Andersen tells one of his charges, the half-breed Cimarron (A Martinez), and "The Cowboys" is a two-hour rumination on that theme, of how Andersen, a man whose hard-bitten ways cost him two sons, finds a sort of redemption with these boys who come to help him take his cattle 400 miles to Belle Fourche while the only menfolk are either off panning for gold or else aiming to get their fortune in seedier ways.

John Wayne in his post-Oscar years didn't have much to prove, and many of his movies from that time play today as little more than agreeable trips to the well. "The Cowboys" is different. Picking up on the rougher theme of post-"Wild Bunch" westerns, it presents a modern sensibility where people swear and bleed profusely when shot or punched. Wayne might seem out of place, yet he finds the right balance here between his characteristic latter-day gruff humorousness and the sterner stuff we remember from his classic turns in "Red River" and "The Searchers".

The key to Andersen are those dead sons he has buried out in his spread back home. "They went bad on me," is about all he can say on the matter. "Or I went bad on them. I can't figure it out." Seen through that prism, everything Andersen does with his young cowboys makes a lot of sense, right down to the famously grim finale with Bruce Dern, whose memorable "Long Hair" is one of the great Wayne-movie villains.

But there's a lot of joy in "The Cowboys", too. Another scene early on, just as classic, has Andersen deciding to give the boys a lesson with a wild mare, Crazy Alice, only to get taught a lesson in turn by these surprisingly spry youngsters, who each manage to prove themselves to Wil's wry chagrin.

"I hope I haven't ridden all the rough off her!" one offers as he hands back the reins.

"You'll do," Wil replies, about all the affection he gives or they want.

Then there's Jebediah Nightlinger, the cook and only other adult figure on the scene, who tries less hard than Wil to hide his enjoyment of the situation. Hard as it is to imagine "The Cowboys" without Wayne, it's harder to imagine it without Roscoe Lee Browne, whose every utterance has a quality of burnished bronze.

Director Mark Rydell finds the right tempo and look for his film, aided by John Williams' stirring score and Robert Surtees' camera work. Every shot has the quality of a glossy Louis L'Amour cover, majestic pines and grassy hills stretching out into infinity.

About the only thing keeping "The Cowboys" from classic status is an ending which, while satisfying, comes off very pat on reflection. Despite the long time we spend with them, many of the Cowboys themselves lack for individuality, an exception being Robert Carradine, who plays Slim the de facto leader of the kids, and is the real-life son of Wayne's "Stagecoach" co-star John Carradine.

"The Cowboys" wasn't Wayne's swansong, yet it's a stirring valedictory effort all the same, a chance to see an enduring screen legend at his late and glorious apex, showing a new generation, and generations yet unborn, a thing or two about getting it done.

This movie, for all that it's a fairly straight forward, shoot-em-up western, has some unique points that make it extremely artful. The boys were well-cast (though A. Martinez seemed to struggle in a role that was not fully developed), and those difficult psychological moments which were so important to the book translated to the screen without too much trouble. As is always the case, the book is able to take more time to expand upon the characters more thoroughly; if the movie left you a bit dry, visit the library to find the rest of the story!

The reasons I watch this show repeatedly are two of my favorite fellows: Roscoe Lee Browne and John Williams. Roscoe Lee Browne is able to sell lines that simply wouldn't work coming from somebody else (his dialogue with Coleen Dewhurst is priceless), and he is the unique feature that makes this film work. He graciously shares the screen with his co-actors as necessary, but he easily walks off with the movie nonetheless. John Williams' fantastic score could stand alone; though it is occasionally a little too cheery for the moment (after all, this is a pretty gruesome film, if you really think about it), it covers all the bases of the movie. Youthful innocence, becoming men, sorrow, success -- it's all right there in the score. Don't expect Star Wars music; frequently understated, the music carries a supporting role. As both John Williams and Roscoe Lee Browne displayed here, it is often the supporting actors that make the show a success!

Wil Andersen (John Wayne) is an aging rancher who traveled 30 miles that day and didn't find a single hand that could throw in with him…

Anse Petersen (Slim Pickens) suggests to his best friend to hire local teenagers as cowboys for his 400-mile cattle drive… So, in the morning the children came very early to put in for the job… Obviously, nobody of them has been on a cattle drive…

For a cook, Wil hires a black man, Jedediah Nightlinger (Roscoe Lee Browne), who asked to be paid $125 knowing he should be got flooded out, stampeded out, frozen out or scalped by wild Red Indians…

However, a group of rustlers led by Asa Watts (Bruce Dern), the man with the long hair, came looking for work… But they were lying … They were after Andersen's 1,500 head of cattle…

One day, Andersen knew that Watts and his gang have been paralleling him for the herd… He also knew as soon as it's dark they'll be coming in… He doesn't know how rough they'll get… But right now they think they're one man and a bunch of kids…

When Jedediah falls behind with a broken wheel on the chuck wagon, Asa makes his move for the herd, engaging Wil in vicious fight…

There is a funny scene when two of the children meet on the trail a traveling bordello madam led by Colleen Dewhurst… And a touching scene where all the boys steal a whiskey bottle and have a little party, discussing the various attributes of their cooker, and his pretty independent character…

Filled with exciting adventure, gentle amusement, visually stunning photography, but most importantly how to want to see these children growing up so quickly, "The Cowboys" stands simply as one of John Wayne's best Westerns

THE COWBOYS is a terrific western with a twist--the "boys" are indeed boys, teen-aged lads fresh out of a country schoolhouse but able to serve as the cowboys JOHN WAYNE needs to drive a herd of cattle 400 miles away to market. Wayne seems to be in the same position he was facing in RED RIVER, wherein finding the right cowboys for the long cattle drive was the main focus of the story.

There's plenty of scenic splendor in vivid Technicolor, a rousing western score by John Williams, and the cast of youngsters all give solidly natural performances under Mark Rydell's direction.

Outstanding work by ROSCOE LEE BROWNE as the black cook on the chuck wagon who knows how to deal with a bunch of rambunctious boys, and with an instinct for knowing when not to trust them with mischief. He plays a key role in the story and he's terrific.

Plenty of other good character roles are filled by BRUCE DERN, as the principal villain whose sadistic scene with a young boy is enough to curl your hair, and COLLEEN DEWHURST as the wise madame on the road with her girls.

The story hooked me from the start, kept me interested all the way through and only veered into tougher territory during the last forty minutes or so with the brutal showdown between Wayne and Dern. And then it moved briskly, taking an unexpected twist toward the last fifteen minutes.

Summing up: An overlooked gem and one of JOHN WAYNE's best movies. He gives a performance of true grit--and so do the boys!!

...In which an aging man is forced to hire boys to get his cattle to market. The environment poses many difficult problems, especially for the boys who are trying to grow up and for Wil Andersen (Mr. Wayne's character) who is trying to protect the boys, especially from a group of low-lifes who want to steal the cattle. Mr. Wayne is at his very best, because he pulls no punches and the boys are able to convey their awkwardness and confusion. The ending, which is highly unexpected, is, in its' way, perfection. This film should be both famous and celebrated - it's an unusual achievement for a Western. But then this one is far more than a Western.