Leofwine_draca
MONTE WALSH is one of the many 'death of the Old West' westerns to have come out over the years, with the most notable examples of the genre being THE WILD BUNCH and UNFORGIVEN. This one's lower key, lower budgeted, and more gritty than those movies; it's not really an action film either, although it has a handful of the shoot-outs you'd expect.The film belongs to a typically larger-than-life Lee Marvin, playing the grizzled old gunslinger who comes to realise that his way of life belongs in the distant past. He brings pathos and humour to the part, although I found the film's most valuable performer to be Jack Palance, cast against type as Marvin's buddy. Palance is a lot of fun in the role, and it's nice to see him as other than the sneering villain. The rest of the film is non-clichéd, a bit slow at times, but otherwise engrossing and unusual.
jmillerdp
(Thematic SPOILERS)This is half of a great movie. The great half is the first, where we meet cowboys dealing with a time when their world is coming to an end. Corporations are taking over, and the work of the cowboy is needed less and less.The second half is where things go awry. The movie goes into formula mode. The greatness of the first half, with its quiet moments of reflection, and views of life on the range, go away. In their place is murder, heartbreak and revenge. I was very disappointed in the way the film went.Often-cinematographer William Fraker takes the Director's Chair here and does admirably. He is supported by David Walsh behind the camera. John Barry provides an excellent score. He would later earn an Oscar with "Dances with Wolves," and fans of that score can get more of Barry's work in the Western genre here. Barry strays into his James Bond score work occasionally here, which is distracting.The issue in this film is with the origin material. Jack Shaefer, who wrote the novel, also wrote "Shane." Maybe he wasn't ready to go without overt drama to make his point. That's too bad.****** (6 Out of 10 Stars)
Spikeopath
Monte Walsh is the debut feature of cameraman-turned-director William A.Fraker. It stars Lee Marvin (Monte Walsh) & Jack Palance (Chet Rollins) as two ageing cowboys who find that the era of the cowpoke is coming to an end; and that work for them is now very hard to come by. Adapted by David Zelag Goodman & Lukas Heller from Jack Schaefer's novel, Monte Walsh is a gentle but astute telling of men who have outlived their time (think Will Penny/Ride The High Country). Though very sedate in pacing, and almost elegiac in tone, the film constantly remains interesting because the characters are so well written. That they are given quality portrayals by Marvin & Palance, the latter of which is nicely cast against type, is possibly of no surprise to most genre fans. But both actors push themselves to really make the film work, even exuding believability in the process. Thus when the story takes its potent laced turns we are with them all the way, for better or worse.John Barry provides the music and the film opens with a delightful and ironic tune called "The Good Times Are Comin" sung by Mama Cass. The cinematography is by David M. Walsh, where he nicely manages to make the Tuscon part of the shoot blend with the emotional state of our protagonists. And decent support comes from Mitch Ryan too. There's also much humour in the piece, such as a cooks revenge that is laugh out loud funny. While there's action moments like a taming a bronco sequence to ensure the story is not solely interested in playing out as a sad atmospheric tale. But it's really all about Marvin and the character he plays, with Fraker guiding him to emotional depth, Marvin makes Monte Walsh an essential viewing for fans and interested newcomers alike. 7/10
bkoganbing
My favorite Lee Marvin role is the title role of the film Monte Walsh. Lee and his friend Jack Palance are a couple of aging cowboys who are proud of the trade they have, but the demands for it are becoming fewer and fewer.Monte Walsh debuted two years after another film with the same themes, Will Penny brought great critical acclaim to Charlton Heston. Heston and Marvin essayed the same kind of role, the aging cowboys who are finding less and less work for themselves as the years pass.Both Walsh and Penny practice their trade in the Brokeback Mountain country and you can bet that Ennis Delmar and Jack Twist when they got into town and went to the movies, really identified with both of these guys. Ennis and Jack could easily be the descendants of both Heston and Marvin.Unlike Will Penny whose greatest challenge was with a bunch of renegade rawhiders, Monte Walsh has to deal with the death of his best friend at the hands of another he considered a friend. Palance gets tired of the cowboy life and settles down and gets married to a widow who owns a hardware store and gets killed in a robbery. The code by which both Marvin and Palance live by would allow for not even the law to mete out justice here.Lee Marvin was not known for playing the most admirable characters on the screen, but he's positively noble in this role. I've never admired him more on the screen than in Monte Walsh. He invests the title character with humanity, dignity, and pride. Of course that was in an era when one could be proud of your labor and way of life.Fourteen years earlier Marvin supported Jack Palance in an excellent World War II film, Attack. Now things came full circle as Marvin got to be a star via an Oscar for Cat Ballou and Palance supports him and well. That's the movie business for you.Western veterans like G.D. Spradlin and Jim Davis support Marvin well. French cinema star Jeanne Moreau is Marvin's consumptive girl friend and Mitchell Ryan is the treacherous Shorty. And this was the farewell performance of Roy Barcroft one of the best western villains that ever sat a saddle.People who are not necessarily western fans will appreciate the care that went into making this fine film.
AD
