padrelaw
I caught this film at 5 am one morning, and was so glad I did. The story was simple: city slicker joins hardened cowboys for cow drive. Typical "fish out of water" ? Not by a long shot.Jack Lemmon is his usual excellent. He has the ability to undergo character metamorphosis so subtly the viewer hardly notices, yet his transformations drive the films (see, i.e., "Mister Roberts").One thing I want to point out is the photography: it is really outstanding. The camera angles are not intrusive, yet every scene was made a little more interesting than it could have been. There was one shot, right before the Indian confrontation, in which the camera focused on Reese walking left to right, then followed his back as he went down a knoll, called to another man. The camera then followed this man on his horse as he rode up, then met up with Reese. They then had a conversation: this was all one beautiful shot!In all, if you like cowboy movies with scant amount of shoot-'em- ups and a lot of character interaction, growth and conflict, you will enjoy this memorable film.
Richie-67-485852
You get a taste of what it was like. The word wild before west is presented rather well here. You work hard and you play hard and there are rules for both too. Enjoy two good actors Jack Lemon and Glenn Ford working at their trade while we glimpse history. Lemon playing drama was a treat too. There was fortunes to be made running cattle. Instant wealth was available back in the day when you normally had to work hard for years just to save enough money for a small spread. But it was sweat money. You earned every dollar and you risked your life every time too. You can retire rich but not before you eat a lot of dust and lose a lot of sleep. They make the point of eating chicken in between eating beef here a couple of times. You can only eat so much beef & beans. Speaking of eating, do a meal while watching this. Have a snack and a tasty drink on standby too. Enjoy
Ishallwearpurple
Cowboy (1958) Glenn Ford, Jack Lemon, Brian Donlevy, King Donovan, Richard Jaeckel, Dick York, Victor Mendoza. A young starry eyed bell boy Harris/Lemon in a fancy Chicago hotel idolizes the violent and hard living trail hands who storm into the hotel where he works. The "boss" gets to drinking and gambling and ends up borrowing money from the young man, who gets a sworn promise that he now owns half of the assets of Ford/Reese. When Harris shows up at the rail yard ready to go with them back to Texas, Reese gets nasty and tells him to get lost. But Harris is stubborn and Reese relents. His Ramrod, Mendoza says "he must be telling the truth or you would have killed him by now." A favorite western. Parts are cliché, but so many details of life on the trail are shown as hard and unsentimental of humans or animals, that it is difficult to watch at times. Ford at his hard-as-rock best, and Lemon as his befuddled but good guy best too; some great scenes together. The cattle drive is a classic theme and this one is on a par with Red River and the Wayne/Clift pairing, IMHO. Always a pleasure when the pros are in charge. 9/10
moonspinner55
An unusual change-of-pace for Jack Lemmon, excellent as always portraying a hotel clerk in Chicago who invests $3800 in a struggling cattleman's next herd; he hits the trail with the cowboys as a partner and tenderfoot, though rough-hewn cattle-boss Glenn Ford has his doubts. Frank Harris' autobiographical book "My Reminiscences as a Cowboy" becomes a forthright dramatic film about responsibility and endurance, with Lemmon going through the rigors of boot camp--with cowboy boots. Ford works surprisingly well with Lemmon, and when these two--at odds from the start--stare each other down under the cloudy open skies, the tension in their familiarity seems arrived at honestly. Delmer Daves directed, with little sentiment, and the supporting cast of salty old pros is solid. Refreshing for the genre, and exceptionally well-made. *** from ****
AD
