fullbug
I was expecting to see a serious western. Cable Hogue does deliver with that aspect, when a down on his luck drifter discovers a water source on a stagecoach route and turns it into a going concern. The movie also depicts the main characters romantic pursuit of a young woman who is looking for a sugar-daddy in order to escape her means of prostitution. Hogue also wants revenge on the two former partners that left him high and dry (literally)...but the movie also has a comedic side to it, very similar to the likes of "Support Your Local Sheriff".An All-Star cast also adds to the viewing experience, and the sexually revealing scenes of Stella Stevens (though portrayed in a comedic way) were actually quite risqué for the time.If you're looking for a gunslinger western...this ain't it. But if you're looking for a interesting story with a great cast and some comedic overtones...then this movie will deliver.
SnoopyStyle
Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) gets double-crossed and left with nothing in the middle of the desert. He manages to find water in a waterless stretch between two stagecoach stops. He starts charging a dime for the water. After Rev. Joshua Duncan Sloane (David Warner) makes a threat to spread the news, Cable goes to town to buy up the 2 acres. He falls for local prostitute Hildy (Stella Stevens).Sam Peckinpah is trying more to make a comedy than a violent thriller. The comedy is pretty broad. It's a wild west of sometimes slapstick level. Robards is intriguing but maybe not as a comedian. The story meanders a bit. It is not Peckinpah's normal pathway and it shows a little. It has some fun moments but I wouldn't say any of this is a big laugh. It is still interesting.
metzgerjm
It is extremely rare for me to watch the same movie over and over, but that's just how much I enjoyed this one! (of course, Encore's line-up give a whole new meaning to Re-runs) I liked it so much, I bought a copy to share.Encore's ad said this was Peckinpaugh's favorite film and that the "studio brass hated it." I'd have to say Peckinpaugh's feelings were right and the studio brass at the time were not too bright.This is a movie that should appeal to both sexes: not a chick-flick or a high drama guy's film. It's difficult to file this movie into any one genre, as it has a slight Western feel with a lighthearted touch of tenderness and it's wonderfully comical. The little 'dance' Cable does after leaving the land office is priceless, LOL! Another rarity for me is to instantly like the music scores from any movie. "Tomorrow Is The Song I Sing" and "Wait For Me, Sunrise" were stuck in my head, even the day after watching the movie the first time. I was happy to find both songs on YouTube and saved them to my play-list. The lyrics from both songs contain meaning that can strike a chord with anyone who has ever faced hard times, looking for a brighter tomorrow. (I expect this would be just about everyone)
bobsgrock
In direct response to the controversy which erupted over the unprecedented violence and gritty realism of The Wild Bunch, Sam Peckinpah did what many of the greatest American filmmakers have done over the years. His next project would end up being almost intentionally counter to the previous film.The result was The Ballad of Cable Hogue, a small-scale, intimate tale that is equal parts a nostalgic look back to the Old West and a tribute to the kind of man capable of surviving and thriving in such an environment. Jason Robards is touching and firm as the title character, left for dead in the prologue but able to fight through his misfortunes and create his own oasis. Along the way, he encounters a most unusual and shifty man of the cloth and a prostitute with a heart of gold. Stella Stevens is really wonderful as Hildy, one of the best examples of this most ancient of Hollywood screenplay clichés. Her romance with Hogue is both sincere and sad as Peckinpah uses this as a template for how the romantic West quickly found its way into decline and obsolescence.Peckinpah may have gotten a lot of flack for The Wild Bunch but this film received almost just as much criticism, ironically for being almost exactly not what he had come to be known for. However, some forty years later, Peckinpah's true vision of men unable to conform to the regularities of society shines through. Gorgeous photography, solid acting, a beautiful score and themes of survival and memory point to this as one of the most brutal Western director's gentlest and personal triumphs.
AD
