Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Hugh Wilson

Writer:

Hugh Wilson (written by)

Release Date:

10 May 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

From the Director of 'Police Academy'

Plot:

While the audience watches a black and white horse opera, a narrator's voice wonders what such a movie would be like today...

Plot Keywords:

Singing Cowboy | Rustler | Beautiful Woman | Land Swindle | Spaghetti Western

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Patrick Wayne	...	Bob Barber
Tom Berenger	...	Rex O'Herlihan
G.W. Bailey	...	Peter
Marilu Henner	...	Miss Tracy
Andy Griffith	...	Colonel Ticonderoga
Fernando Rey	...	Railroad Colonel
Sela Ward	...	Colonel's Daughter
Brant von Hoffman	...	Jim (as Brant Van Hoffman)
Christopher Malcolm	...	Jud
Jim Carter	...	Blackie
Paul Maxwell	...	Sheepherder #1
Manuel Pereiro	...	Sheepherder #2
Margarita Calahorra	...	Sheepherder's Wife
Billy J. Mitchell	...	Town Doctor
John Orchard	...	Town Sheriff

Also Known As:

Esos locos cuatreros (Spain)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Spain | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Finland:K-8 | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Impala

Trivia:

John Orchard's last project.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the big shoot out at the end of the film, in an overhead shot, the Railroad Colonel briefly disappears.

Quotes:

Rex O'Herlihan: Give me a tall glass of warm gin with a human hair in it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Amazing Stories: Fine Tuning (#1.7)" (1985)

Worth Searching For

Gentle and loving send-up of the Singing Cowboy westerns of the 30's and 40's with Tom Berenger playing it absolutely straight as a "good guy," complete with more matching ensembles than Oscar de la Renta. Berenger is very good; Andy Griffith and Fernando Rey are suitably sinister as the "Colonels"; both Sela Ward and Marilu Henner are gorgeous and funny. G.W. Bailey steals the show as the town drunk/sidekick/narrator.

It's clear the filmmakers loved the genre they were spoofing. An especially poignant touch is the closing theme music "The Last of the Silver Screen Cowboys," sung by Rex Allen Jr., the son of Rex Allen, who starred in many of the films which are lampooned in this picture.

Your kids will enjoy it, but not as much as you will -- especially if you grew up watching all those wonderful old Westerns on tv.