The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

John Crawford (written by) and
Edmund Penney (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

13 May 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Cable Hogue says..."Do unto others... as you would have others do unto you."

Plot:

A hobo accidentally stumbles onto a water spring, and creates a profitable way station in the middle of the desert.

Plot Keywords:

Stagecoach | Desert | Water | Partner | Prostitute

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jason Robards	...	Cable Hogue
Stella Stevens	...	Hildy
David Warner	...	Joshua
Strother Martin	...	Bowen
Slim Pickens	...	Ben Fairchild
L.Q. Jones	...	Taggart
Peter Whitney	...	Cushing
R.G. Armstrong	...	Quittner
Gene Evans	...	Clete
William Mims	...	Jensen
Kathleen Freeman	...	Mrs. Jensen
Susan O'Connell	...	Claudia
Vaughn Taylor	...	Powell
Max Evans	...	Webb Seely
James Anderson	...	Preacher
Felix Nelson	...	William
Darwin Lamb	...	The Stranger (as Darwin W. Lamb)
Mary Munday	...	Dot
William D. Faralla	...	Lucius
Matthew Peckinpah	...	Matthew
Victor Izay	...	Stage Office Clerk
Easy Pickens	...	Easy

Directed by
Sam Peckinpah

Writing credits
John Crawford		(written by) and
Edmund Penney		(written by)
Gordon T. Dawson		uncredited

Produced by
Gordon T. Dawson	....	associate producer (as Gordon Dawson)
William D. Faralla	....	co-producer (as William Faralla)
Phil Feldman	....	executive producer
Sam Peckinpah	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Lucien Ballard		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Lou Lombardo
Frank Santillo

Art Direction by
Leroy Coleman

Set Decoration by
Jack Mills

Makeup Department
Kathryn Blondell	....	hair stylist (as Kathy Blondell)
Al Fleming	....	makeup artist
Gary Liddiard	....	makeup artist

Production Management
George Templeton	....	unit production manager (as Dink Templeton)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Gaudioso	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Don Rush	....	sound
Tex Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Dan Wallin	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Bud Hulburd	....	special effects

Stunts
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steve Ward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Troy Ward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Robert Fletcher	....	costumes: Miss Stevens

Music Department
Sonny Burke	....	music supervisor
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer (uncredited)

Other crew
Frank Kowalski	....	dialogue supervisor

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1976) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Warner Bros. Finland (1970) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1983) (Finland) (TV)
• TV3 (1988) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1998) (2000) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Latigo Productions  titles

Also Known As:

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | Singapore:NC-16 | West Germany:12 (f) (re-rated) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1970) | USA:R | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Apache Junction, Arizona, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Several crew members were fired from this film. It was the job of one crew member to have bus tickets back to Los Angeles for a fired crew member. If someone lost their job, Sam Peckinpah would ask, "Do you have a bus ticket for them?"

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the Rev. Sloan is comforting Claudia and unbuttons her blouse, it is obvious that her skirt has a zipper. The movie takes place in 1908, but the modern zipper that would be used on clothing wasn't designed until 1913 and patented in 1917.

Quotes:

Cable Hogue:Josh, it's about time you earned your keep. Preach me a funeral sermon.
Hildy:Oh, for heaven's sake!
Cable Hogue:A good one. Don't make me out no saint but don't put me down to deep.
Reverend Joshua Sloan:You mean now?
Cable Hogue:Yeah. It's not knowing what they're going to say about you, that's all. Now all my life, I've been scared of this living. Now... got to do the other. Now come on now! I can't wait all day. I ain't got any time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Ladiest Damn'd Lady: An Afternoon with Stella Stevens (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Wait for Me, Sunrise

Turn-of-the-Century Saga Lives Up to Legendary Title

Jason Robards plays the hard-bitten and oft-bemused title character, Cable Hogue who somehow survives the ordeal of being left to die in the desert with no water by his partners, perfectly portrayed by the incomparable L.Q.(A Boy and His Dog) Jones and Strother Martin.

He travels from town to town with unscrupulous preacher David Warner, met in turn by some of Hollywood's classic Western supporting actors, such as R. G. Armstrong, Slim Pickens, Kathleen Freeman, and Gene Evans. Stella Stevens does a good job with the thankless obligatory role as the prostitute-with-the-heart-of-gold. All this helps lighten the mostly bemused, occasionally amused, but always revenge-dream-filled and heavy presence of Jason Robards. Eventually, Cable gets his chance at what he's been waiting for, and...

Now, you have even more incentive to go see the film - Peckinpaugh's most underrated western. 10/10