Hearts of the West (1975)

Lewis Tater writes Wild West dime novels and dreams of actually becoming a cowboy. When he goes west to find his dream he finds himself in possession of the loot box of two crooks who tried... See full summary »

Director:

Howard Zieff

Writer:

Rob Thompson

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Donald Pleasence

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Lewis Tater aka Neddy Wales
Andy Griffith	...	Howard Pike aka Billy Pueblo
Donald Pleasence	...	A.J. Neitz
Blythe Danner	...	Miss Trout
Alan Arkin	...	Bert Kessler
Richard B. Shull	...	Stout Crook
Herb Edelman	...	Polo (as Herbert Edelman)
Alex Rocco	...	Earl
Frank Cady	...	Pa Tater
Anthony James	...	Lean Crook
Burton Gilliam	...	Lester
Matt Clark	...	Jackson
Candice Azzara	...	Waitress (as Candy Azzara)
Thayer David	...	Bank Manager
Wayne Storm	...	Lyle

Storyline

Lewis Tater writes Wild West dime novels and dreams of actually becoming a cowboy. When he goes west to find his dream he finds himself in possession of the loot box of two crooks who tried to rob him. During his escape, Lewis stumbles on to the set of a Wild West movie and through mishap and chance becomes a star of Hollywood Westerns.

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Plot Keywords:

film industry | film in film

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Taglines:

Jeff Brides is Lewis Tater, the Iowa farmboy who blazed a trail across the barren wastes of Hollywood and Vine in MGM's comedy surprise "Hearts of the West."

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Genres:

Western | Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hollywood Cowboy

Filming Locations:

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Donald Pleasence's character, "A.J. Neitz", is named after prolific western / "B" picture director Alan James (real name Alvin J. Neitz), who started out in silent films and lasted through the talkie era, and who directed westerns with such stars as Ken Maynard, Jack Hoxie and Tim McCoy, among others.

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Goofs

When Tater first escapes the two correspondence school he steals a Model A Ford which soon runs out of gas. The gas gauge shown on 'E' is not from a Model A, which utilized a float window, not an electric gauge.

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Quotes

[after Lewis does the 'jumping on the horse' stunt]
Burt Kessler: Those damn cowboys! I always said they were great, didn't I? I always said you can't beat 'em.
'Tumbleweed' cameraman: You always said you couldn't trust 'em.
Burt Kessler: Well, you misunderstood me.

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Connections

Referenced in The Lion Roars Again (1975)

User Reviews

Hollywood Cowboy

At some stage in 1976 there was a misguided attempt to release this charming feature under the name "Hollywood Cowboy". Post THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT 1974 most studios seemed to flood the market with 30s movie biographies since moviegoers apparently were fascinated with Hollywood's history courtesy of the MGM doco successes.. HEARTS OF THE WEST fits into the release pattern of GABLE AND LOMBARD, W C FIELDS AND ME, DAY OF THE LOCUST, NICKELODEON, and ultimately the horribly unfunny WON TON TON THE DOG THAT SAVED Hollywood and UNDER THE RAINBOW...each and every one about Hollywood in the 1930s. I think they all lost money. However except the last two, all are very good and HEARTS is possibly the most endearing but sadly unseen. The always affable Jeff Bridges proves he was hilarious and watchable even at 25. The Bruce Willis film of the 80s called SUNSET owes a lot to HEARTS. Young guy Jeff in this one, gets to Hollywood attempting to write westerns and ends up in stunt roles in what look like Republic or Monogram oaters. Beautifully made at MGM and well worth finding and delighting friends and family.