Rancher Wil Andersen is forced to hire inexperienced boys as cowhands in order to get his cattle herd to market on time but the rough drive is full of dangers and a gang of rustlers is trail... Read allRancher Wil Andersen is forced to hire inexperienced boys as cowhands in order to get his cattle herd to market on time but the rough drive is full of dangers and a gang of rustlers is trailing them.Rancher Wil Andersen is forced to hire inexperienced boys as cowhands in order to get his cattle herd to market on time but the rough drive is full of dangers and a gang of rustlers is trailing them.
- Awards
- 1 win
- Weedy - Cowboy
- (as Norman Howell Jr.)
- Charlie Schwartz - Cowboy
- (as Stephen Hudis)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRoscoe Lee Browne was urged by his friends not to work with the right-wing John Wayne. He ignored them and the two actors refrained from discussing politics during filming.
- GoofsWhen Andersen sends one of the boys back to find Mr. Nightlinger, he is riding a pale Appaloosa. He rides ahead to talk to another boy, but is now riding a red sorrel.
- Quotes
Jebediah Nightlinger: [praying to God before he's about to hanged by Long Hair and his gang] I regret trifling with married women. I'm thoroughly ashamed at cheating at cards. I deplore my occasional departures from the truth. Forgive me for taking your name in vain, my Saturday drunkenness, my Sunday sloth. Above all, forgive me for the men I've killed in anger
[eyes shifting to Long Hair]
Jebediah Nightlinger: ... and those I am about to.
- Alternate versionsWhen the film was originally released in the UK it carried a 'AA' rating, preventing an under-14 year old audience from seeing the movie. When the distributors asked the UK censor if this could be changed he suggested removing the scene with the wagon full of prostitutes, thus deleting Colleen Dewhurst's entire role in the film, and in doing so the film was re-certified with an 'A' rating (suitable for all). Additionally cuts were made to tone down some of the more violent scenes including the fight between Wil and Long Hair, the shooting of Wil, and a man being dragged by his horse. Later cinema showings and all video versions restored the Colleen Dewhurst scene but retained the violence cuts (totalling 1 min 30 secs). For the upgraded 12-rated 2005 DVD the film was passed fully uncut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Breaking of Boys and the Making of Men in 'the Cowboys' (1972)
- SoundtracksThe Star Spangled Banner
(uncredited)
Music by John Stafford Smith
Lyrics by Francis Scott Key
Sung by school children
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
- Nazi_Fighter_David
- Nov 3, 2007
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $6,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 14 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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