Skip to main content

The Cowboys

Tomorrow is John Wayne's 100th birthday, and to honor him, I'd like to talk about my favorite John Wayne movie--The Cowboys (1972).

John Wayne plays Wil Anderson who, with his wife played by Colleen Dewhurst, owns a cattle ranch. It's cattle drive time, but his crew leaves for the lure of the gold rush, and the only one to help is the cook. Anderson pays a visit to the local school house and hires on all the boys who are taller than the line on the chalkboard. Their parents allow them to go, believing the adventure will turn them all into men. The only boy Anderson rejects is a hot blooded young man who shows up to show off his horse-riding skills. Cimarron is played by A Martinez, and my gosh was he cute. And my gosh didn't I have a crush on young Martinez when I was a girl of ten.

Along the trail, the boys, the cook, and Anderson are followed by a band of cattle rustlers lead by the nasty Bruce Dern. Dern is good at being bad, and in The Cowboys, he is very bad.

Roscoe Lee Browne plays Jedediah Nightlinger, the cook with the chuck wagon who is the only other adult accompanying the boys. He is wise and witty and careful with his words. When he is faced with being lynched by the cattle rustlers, he delivers this prayer:
"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... and those I am about to."
In The Cowboys, an aged, overweight, and tired John Wayne is as tough as when he was young and trim. He convincingly plays father, teacher, mentor to a band of children, and they truly do become men. I loved this movie as a young girl and wished I could be out on the trail, and I love it still, although now I am content to imagine from the comfort of my sofa. We're burnin' daylight.

Comments

Sassy Sundry said…
I think I'm allergic to him, but I'll wish him a Happy 100th anyway.
8:12 AM
dive said…
When I was litle, there were only two things that could bring all the neighbourhood kids running indoors to cluster round the tiny black and white telly; one was the shout of "Tom and Jerreeeeee!" and the other was "John Wayne movie".

When I grew up I found him thoroughly reprehensible, especially after the unforgivable excresence that was the Green Berets (who these days would try to glorify the Mai Lai massacre), but as it's his birthday I'll try to remember his early John Ford Westerns.

Happy birthday, Marion.
11:05 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Classic Green Bean Bake

In anticipation of Thanksgiving, I feel I must post a recipe with plenty of good old American tradition. The classic Green Bean Bake was invented in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly, a home economist who worked for the Campbell's Soup Company. A study was done determining that 50% of all Americans have eaten the classic Green Bean Bake, and 38% of those believe it is best served during the holidays, mainly Thanksgiving. So, for the other 50% and for those in other countries where this dish may be unfamiliar--my treat: The Classic Green Bean Bake serves 6 to 8 1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon soy sauce Dash of fresh pepper 1 20-oz. bag frozen cut green beans, thawed* 1 2.8 oz can French-fried onions -Preheat the oven to 350 F -In a casserole dish, combine the soup, milk, soy sauce and pepper. Stir in the green beans and half of the onions. -Bake until bubbling, about 25 minutes. Top with the remaining onions and bake for 5 more minutes. Serve hot. *Or cook 1 ...
7 comments
Read more

Bring On the Bombs

In today's edition : I generally try to keep on top of cultural trends even if I don’t adopt them, but there is a growing movement that I have only just discovered. Not long ago, I was walking along in Berkeley, California while visiting my daughter, and I saw a signpost that had been covered with yarn, like someone had sewn a knitted scarf to it. It was colorful and randomly striped, and I pointed it out as if it were the most unusual thing in the world. That’s when my daughter explained the nature of what is known as yarn bombing. It’s when knitters attach something they’ve created to a public object, most often doing their deed stealthily and anonymously. They leave a “bomb,” so to speak, for no other purpose than to brighten up the place and to bring a little cheer to those passing by. Their work has been equated with graffiti, except that the woven yarn is not permanently installed and does no damage to the object it covers. And instead of signifying the territory of a street ...
2 comments
Read more

Cindy Loo Who In October

What is it with people and Cindy Loo Who? Of my last one hundred blog hits, forty have been direct visits from regular readers, and fifteen have been as a result of people searching for "Cindy Loo Who," the little pixie from Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas . A couple of years ago, I posted an image of the original Seuss illustration as compared to the TV cartoon image, and for some reason, that post is bringing in the crowds, relatively. Maybe it's the weather. It isn't even November yet, and already we've had frost and have had to dust off our winter coats. When it gets cold like this, I start to think about Christmasy things like listening to Nat King Cole and decorating the tree. It's ironic because I am offended when retailers start pushing holiday stuff early, but I don't mind my own private celebrations. When my sister and I were much younger and still living with our parents, we would pick a day in July, close the curtains to darken the ...
8 comments
Read more