Cowboy (1958)

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers (WGA):

Frank Harris (book) and
Edmund H. North (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 March 1958 (Japan)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

THE REAL, TRUE STORY OF THE WEST! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Chicago hotel clerk Frank Harris dreams of life as a cowboy, and he gets his chance when, jilted by the father of the woman he loves...

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Male In Bathtub | Beautiful Woman | Based On Book

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Tom Reese
Jack Lemmon	...	Frank Harris
Anna Kashfi	...	Maria Vidal / Arriega
Brian Donlevy	...	Doc Bender, Trailhand
Dick York	...	Charlie, Trailhand
Víctor Manuel Mendoza	...	Paco Mendoza, Ramrod
Richard Jaeckel	...	Paul Curtis
King Donovan	...	Joe Capper, Trailhand
Vaughn Taylor	...	Mr. Fowler, Chicago Hotel Manager
Donald Randolph	...	Senor Vidal, Maria's Father
James Westerfield	...	Mike Adams
Eugene Iglesias	...	Don Manuel Arriega
Frank DeKova	...	Alcaide (as Frank de Kova)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:U (tv rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bonanza Creek Ranch - 15 Bonanza Creek Lane, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Goofs:

Continuity: While trying to place a ring on the bulls obviously rubber horn, Don Manuel Arriegas horse is shown being gored in the right shoulder, with blood spurting out of the wound. In subsequent shots there is no sign of any wound. Additionally, many shots in the scene show lunges by the bull that would have disemboweled the horse had the horns been real.

Quotes:

Charlie, Trailhand: I've been dreaming every night about them Mexican gals for the last week. I wouldn't take $400 for what I dreamed last night.
Peggy, Trailhand-Cook: You've been talking in your sleep, too. I wish you would think of something else to dream about for a change.
Charlie, Trailhand: I'll tell you what you do. You think of something better to dream about... I'll dream about it.

A Good Realistic Western

As one of the other reviewers pointed out, this whole film is based on a few lines of an autobiography where the protagonist Frank Harris joins a group of cattle RUSTLERS for a spell. So in fact that as tough as Glenn Ford and his crew are, at least they're on the right side of the law.

Also Frank Harris is probably best known for the first definitive life of Oscar Wilde. And Harris like Wilde was born in Ireland. Might have been nice if Jack Lemmon had played him with a brogue.

Another reviewer pointed out that Jack Lemmon did not fit into the western film. True enough, but in fact this is the story of a tenderfoot who goes on a cattle drive and has quite the adventure.

Still and all Cowboy is a pretty good realistic western about life on a cattle drive. These drovers aren't any kind of heroic, but they do the job that has to be done. Jack Lemmon's ideas about cowboys are taken from the dime novels of the period. He gets rid of his romantic notions, but fast.

Among the supporting cast Brian Donlevy comes off best as the world weary former town marshal who joins the drive to get away from his job and meets a tragic end.

Cowboy came out in 1958 which was the height of Glenn Ford's career. Ford did some of the best westerns of the 1950s and Cowboy ranks right up there.