Monte Walsh (1970)

An aging cowboy realizes that the West he knew and loved will soon be no more--and that there will be no room for him, either.

Director:

William A. Fraker

Writers:

Lukas Heller (screenplay), David Zelag Goodman (screenplay)

Stars:

Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Palance

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Marvin	...	Monte Walsh
Jeanne Moreau	...	Martine Bernard
Jack Palance	...	Chet Rollins
Mitchell Ryan	...	Shorty Austin
Jim Davis	...	Cal Brennan
G.D. Spradlin	...	Hal Henderson
John Hudkins	...	Sonny Jacobs
Raymond Guth	...	Sunfish Perkins (as Ray Guth)
John McKee	...	Petey Williams (as John R. McKee)
Michael Conrad	...	Dally Johnson
Tom Heaton	...	Sugar Wyman
Ted Gehring	...	Skimpy Eagans
Bo Hopkins	...	Jumpin' Joe Joslin
John McLiam	...	Fightin' Joe Hooker
Allyn Ann McLerie	...	Mary Eagle

Storyline

Monte Walsh is an aging cowboy facing the ending days of the Wild West era. As barbed wire and railways steadily eliminate the need for the cowboy, Monte and his friends are left with fewer and fewer options. New work opportunities are available to them, but the freedom of the open prairie is what they long for. Eventually, they all must say goodbye to the lives they knew, and try to make a new start.

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Plot Keywords:

revisionist western | arizona territory | arizona | two word title | horse riding | 

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Taglines:

Monte Walsh is what the West was all about.

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Monty Walsh

Filming Locations:

Circle Z Ranch - 1476 Highway 82, Patagonia, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Center Films, Landers-Roberts Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Eric Christmas.

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Goofs

The morning after Martine "dies", and Monte is sitting next to her bed holding her hand, she is still breathing.

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Quotes

Monte Walsh: I rode the Grey down Shorty. You had to sit him high.

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Crazy Credits

"Introducing Mitchell Ryan"

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Connections

Edited into Go West, Young Man! (2003)

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Soundtracks

The Good Times Are Comin
Music by John Barry
Lyrics by Hal David
Sung by Cass Elliot (as Mama Cass)

User Reviews

Elegy to the west.

Here's a case of Palance putting in a great supporting role like he has done so often, a truly selfless actor with a great humility.

Seldom does an actor allow himself to look as pathetic as Palance does in his performances. This is a great film, primarily due to the metaphor near the end where Marvin tries to tame a horse, frustratingly attempting to control the nature of all things around him. The austere writing and stilted acting lend to the overall tone, creating an elegiac western greatly under-appreciated in its time. One of those small, offbeat movies awash in a decade of so many sparkling little films, each challenging the strictures of Hollywood. I loved it.