John Wayne’s True Swan Song: The Classic Western Revealed
There are plenty of John Wayne flicks out there that give the Duke his due. Who doesn’t love True Grit or Rio Bravo? Stagecoach still holds up after all this time, and The Searchers is considered Wayne’s masterwork (and one of the greatest Westerns of all time). But there’s one movie in the Duke’s extensive filmography that deserves more praise than it ever got at the time. In fact, this one feels the most like the actor’s attempt to pass the torch on to the next generation than any other picture he made. If you haven’t seen The Cowboys, then it’s one you ought to give a try. This 1972 horse opera — based on the 1971 novel of the same name by William Dale Jennings, who co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation — follows Wayne as Wil Anderson, an old grizzled cowboy who teaches a group of young up-and-comers the tools of the Western trade. The cost may be deadly, but the results speak for themselves. As the tagline reads, “All they wanted was their chance to be men, and he gave it to them.”
Discover the Gripping Plot of ‘The Cowboys’
The Cowboys, one of the most historically accurate horse operas in John Wayne’s filmography, begins with the Duke’s Wil Andersen, an aged Montana cowboy, as he prepares for a 400-mile cattle drive with his usual crew. Things change, however, when his formerly faithful ranch hands drop the cattle drive in favor of a potential gold boom elsewhere, leaving Andersen high and dry for the most important drive of the season. With nowhere else to turn, Andersen searches for some willing hands at the local schoolhouse, but after witnessing the boys’ immaturity, he decides not to waste his time. However, something primal stirs within many of the boys, who show up the very next day to volunteer for the cattle drive. Andersen puts the group to the test, with the eldest, Cimarron (played by future Longmire star A Martinez), instantly proving his worth. Unfortunately, Cimarron is coaxed into a fight with another boy, Slim Honeycutt (in Robert Carradine‘s first on-screen appearance), and Andersen refuses to hire him when he pulls a knife on his opponent. Nevertheless, he hires all the others and sends Cimarron away.
Soon after, as the boys begin to show their own worth as cowboys, a man named Asa Watts (Bruce Dern), who often goes by the alias “Long Hair,” shows up looking for work. This is only a ploy, though, and Andersen sees right through the deception, rejecting the offer. As the drive begins, Andersen leaves his wife, Annie (Sarah Cunningham), behind and takes the boys and their cook, Jebediah Nightlinger (Roscoe Lee Browne), out on the open range. The group makes decent headway before Slim slips off his horse, only for Cimarron to step in and save his life. Andersen allows Cimarron to join them — after all, he’s been trailing the outfit this whole time — and they continue on. Over the course of the cattle drive, Andersen slowly teaches the boys what it means to become a man, challenging them and treating them as such on the trail. But when Watts and his men show up, he instructs them to behave like boys so as to not come across as a threat to the band of outlaws.
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Ford’s insult caused The Duke to walk off the set in tears.
As Watts’ men surround Andersen’s group, Watts confronts Andersen. This erupts into a massive fistfight that ends with Watts on the ground. However, his true colors become clear, and Watts shoots Andersen in the back after he turns to walk away. With their leader wounded, the cowboys allow Watts and his men to take the cattle for themselves. Eventually, Andersen succumbs to his wounds, but not before he notes how proud he is of the boys, having witnessed their turn into men. Though Nightlinger tries to convince the young men to turn back for home, they overpower him, retrieve their guns, and ride on after Watts and his men for revenge. Seeing their need for vengeance, Nightlinger changes his mind and decides to help the boys. With his aid, they eventually enact that revenge, rescue the herd, and complete the drive to South Dakota in Wil Andersen’s honor.
The Legacy of ‘The Cowboys’: John Wayne’s Impact on Western Cinema
If there’s one thing to be said about The Cowboys, it’s that there’s a lot of fun to be had here. Despite the often mature subject matter, there’s a deep levity in the small moments of this film that tie the whole picture together. The titular characters can joke with each other one moment, only to stare death in the face the next. The film is honest about the stark tension between childhood and adulthood and often presents its characters with opportunities to cross from one to the other. The traveling madam Kate Collingwood (Colleen Dewhurst) is a potential instigator in this, though she doesn’t stick around terribly long. The eleven cowboys — which include actors Stephen R. Hudis and Norman Howell alongside rising stars Richard Carradine and A Martinez — are a delight on screen, and the way they hang onto Wil Andersen’s words is quite endearing. In many ways, he becomes something of a father figure for the young cowboys, and who better to teach them to be men than the Duke?
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