The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972)

Young farmboy who always wanted to be a cowhand talks a tough trail boss into hiring him on a cattle drive.

Director:

Dick Richards

Writers:

Dick Richards (story), Eric Bercovici (screenplay)

Stars:

Gary Grimes, Billy Green Bush, Luke Askew

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gary Grimes	...	Ben Mockridge
Billy Green Bush	...	Frank Culpepper (as Billy 'Green' Bush)
Luke Askew	...	Luke
Bo Hopkins	...	Dixie Brick
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Russ
Wayne Sutherlin	...	Missoula
John McLiam	...	Thorton Pierce
Matt Clark	...	Pete
Raymond Guth	...	Cook
Anthony James	...	Nathaniel
Charles Martin Smith	...	Tim Slater (as Charlie Martin Smith)
Larry Finley	...	Mr. Slater
Bob Morgan	...	Old John
Jan Burrell	...	Mrs. Mockridge
Hal Needham	...	Burgess

Storyline

Teenager Ben Mockridge feels life in a Wild West farm town has nothing better to offer than horse-cart racing with other hicks, so he naively begs cattle company owner Frank Culpepper to engage him as the youngest cowboy for a long cattle trail to a fort. His mother barely notices. Ben doesn't even seem to get it when he's told to report as 'little Mary' to the old cook, whose words, "Cowboy is something you do only if you have nothing better." gradually become clear. Instead of an exciting heroic macho life, it's endless hard work, dumb chores and embarrassment, even getting literally caught with his pants down, robbed of his horse, and witnessing unpunished crimes...

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Plot Keywords:

coming of age | new mexico territory | cow | minister | crying | 

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Taglines:

The boy from "Summer of 42" becomes a man on the cattle drive of 1866.

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

9 July 1972 (UK)

Also Known As:

We Pointed 'Em North

Filming Locations:

Sonoita, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The theme melody by Jerry Goldsmith is the same as another film scored by Goldsmith, The Flim-Flam Man (1967).

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Goofs

During the final shootout, a cowboy clubs another from horseback using a rifle and the arresting cable to prevent the cowboy from falling under the horse can be seen.

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Quotes

Ben Mockridge: Sure is a nice horse. What's his name?
Luke, Drover: You don't have to put a name on something you might have to eat.

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Connections

References Red River (1948)

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Soundtracks

Amazing Grace
(uncredited)
Traditional
Lyrics by John Newton

User Reviews

Revealing Anti-Western

This is an unduly neglected work that sank quickly into audience oblivion - the Vietnam seventies were not a good time for Westerns. True to the iconoclasm of the period, the producers set out to debunk the mystique of the cattle drive, and in the process take a big swipe at that arch-romancer of the Old West, John Ford. They only half-succeed. Put simply, their stab at realism is undone by too much gunplay, too much blood, and way too much conventional violence. Staples of the ordinary Western, their presence here only serves to reinforce the usual clichés. Much better when the story-telling cowboy refuses Geoffrey Lewis's challenge by quitting the drive, saying a gunfight over trifling matters makes no sense. That's certainly no cliché. The role reversal at movie's end is stunning, given what Hollywood has led us to expect. Nevertheless, it works by bringing out a latent code of honor that at times can guide even the most brutal among us. Here Ford is trumped by Kurosawa. There are many fine touches in the movie. Billy "Green" Bush is totally convincing as the ruthless trail boss; Gary Grimes, appropriately callow; and the four gunsels, alternately abusive and sullen, while Geoffrey Lewis's cold-eyed stare bespeaks a lifetime of casual cruelty. Not the best of anti-Westerns, but deserves consideration.