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The Cowboys

The Cowboys (1972)

January. 13,1972
|
7.4
|
PG
| Adventure Drama Action Western

When his cattlemen abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his cowboys in order to get his herd to market in time to avoid financial disaster. The boys learn to do a man's job under Andersen's tutelage; however, neither Andersen nor the boys know that a gang of cattle thieves is stalking them.

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Ehirerapp
1972/01/13

Waste of time

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Maidexpl
1972/01/14

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

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Geraldine
1972/01/15

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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Curt
1972/01/16

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

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Benedito Dias Rodrigues
1972/01/17

The odd idea to use kids instead the real cowboys no make sense at all,even if you didn't have these men ready to do a long journey,the premise is dangerous and didn't pay a single death whose will happen along the trip,the way that the teenagers are about to do is more than they really could delivery,so the movie didn't get the target to real life,a kid's life for a few dollars didn't seems a fair trade...but if you forget all this stupid idea the movie could be an easy entertainment for all....a singular performance of old and good Roscoe Lee Browne and some boys.Resume:First watch: 1992 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7

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Wuchak
1972/01/18

Released in 1972 and directed by Mark Rydell, "The Cowboys" stars John Wayne as an aging rancher who is forced to hire pubescent drovers for a 400-mile cattle drive from Bozeman, Montana, to Belle Fourche, South Dakota, after his ranch hands abandon him for a gold rush. Roscoe Lee Browne plays the wise black cook while Slim Pickens & Colleen Dewhurst have small roles. This is a realistic, almost epic Wayne Western focusing on the long cattle drive and the amateur boys learning to be men. It lacks the fun brawling and unrealistic elements of John's contemporary Westerns of the 60s-70s (e.g. the quick-draw nonsense in "El Dorado"). A Martinez stands out as the outcast Hispanic amongst the kids while Bruce Dern is notable as a menacing ne'er-do-well. The almost shocking confrontation that opens the final act is a highlight and the boys' just strategy is great: KILL 'EM ALL. The film runs 134 minutes and was shot in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Warner Brothers Burbank Studios, California. The screenplay was based on William Dale Jennings's novel. GRADE: A-

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grantss
1972/01/19

Lesser-known John Wayne gem.Set in the 1870s, a veteran rancher, Wil Anderson (played by John Wayne), needs to drive his large herd of cattle to market, over 600 kms away. However, his hired hands have deserted him for the goldfields. As a last resort he hires a group of boys from the local school as his drivers..."cowboys" in the truest sense of the word. What follows is a journey of discovery and a transformation of boys to men...Not your typical John Wayne movie. Wayne is less of the hero here, and more a paternal figure. After all, he was 65 years old when this movie was made, so his days of acting the invincible hero were behind him. However, for all the one-dimensional casting of him as a hero, here he shows a more balanced aspect to his acting. Interesting plot, with a dramatic, un-John Wayne-like twist near the end. Plot development, and some scenes, can be clumsy at times though.As mentioned, good performance from John Wayne. Good work from Bruce Dern, as the villain, plus all of the supporting cast, including the boys.

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fredww
1972/01/20

This movie portrays an aging cattleman working with young boys to drive his cattle herd to market. The interaction between the rancher, the boys, the cook (excellently played by Roscoe Lee Brown) and the villains all fit together well and quite believable.This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Not only is it a great movie, it presents John Wayne in one of his best roles. While it has been six decades since I was the age of the boys portrayed in this movie, I still identify with the feelings expressed by them in their roles.It is a straight story with no hidden agenda. Other reviewers have summarized the story quite well, so I won't go into detail here. The story is not likely to have actually occurred, even in part, in the old west. But it is believable enough that it could have. There is sympathy, action and, and best of all, good character development. There are villains, good guys and heroes. The story line weaves it all together very well.There are no pyrotechnics nor any great special effects. The message is in the dialog and interaction amongst the characters. There is something else that happens in this movie that few other movies include. It has a few throw-away scenes that add to the viewers enjoyment, but don't necessarily affect the theme of the story. One such occurrence is early in the film when Will Anderson explains the struggle between two bulls in the cattle herd.This is a well done movie topped off with a great John Williams score. i recommend it to everyone of all ages.

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