When his ranch hands abandon him to join a gold rush, aging rancher Wil Andersen must find replacement drovers for his 400-mile (640km)cattle drive. He rides into deserted Bozeman, Montana, where his friend Anse Peterson suggests hiring local schoolboys. Andersen visits the school, but departs, skeptical that such immature boys could handle the job.
The next morning, the boys show up at Andersen's ranch to volunteer for the drive. Andersen tests their ability to stay on a bucking horse, and as they take turns, Cimarron, a boy slightly older than the others, rides up. He subdues the test horse but gets into a fight with Slim, the next-oldest boy. With no other options, Andersen hires all of the boys, though he sends Cimarron away after he pulls a knife on Slim during another fight.
Andersen locks the boys' guns in a box that will be kept on the chuck wagon during the drive, and they practice roping, branding, and herding cattle and horses. While they prepare, a group of mysterious men led by Asa Watts shows up asking for work, but Andersen catches Watts in a lie and refuses to hire them. The arrival of Jebediah Nightlinger, a black cook, completes Andersen's crew.
On the trail, Andersen notices Cimarron following the herd. When Slim slips off his horse while crossing a river and Cimarron saves him, Andersen lets Cimarron join the drive.
Slowly, the boys become good cowhands, impressing Andersen and Nightlinger. One day Dan, a boy who wears glasses, is chasing a stray horse when he stumbles upon Watts and his gang of cattle rustlers. Watts, who reveals he has been trailing the herd, releases Dan but threatens to slit the boy's throat if he says anything to Andersen.
Soon after, the chuck wagon throws a wheel. While the others continue on, Nightlinger and a boy named Homer hang back to handle the repairs. Seeing this, Watts and his gang come out of hiding and openly parallel the herd. Andersen sends another boy named Weedy to tell Nightlinger to rejoin the herd as soon as possible and tells the remaining boys to act like boys rather than the men they are becoming when the rustlers approach that evening. Dan tells Andersen he knew Watts had been following them but was scared to tell, and Andersen comforts him.
After dark, Watts and his gang surround Andersen and the boys in their camp. They deliver a battered Weedy, and Watts forces Andersen to surrender his gun and taunts Dan. Andersen intervenes when Watts crushes Dan's glasses, and a fistfight ensues between Andersen and Watts, with Andersen coming out on top. He starts to walk away, but Watts shoots him in both arms and a leg before shooting him twice in the torso. The boys remain passive as instructed, and the rustlers steal the herd.
In the morning, Nightlinger and Homer rejoin the group and find the boys tending to Andersen, who is near death. Andersen instructs Nightlinger to take the boys home and in his final moments tells the boys how proud he is of them.
Following Andersen's burial, the boys overpower Nightlinger and seize the firearms stored in the chuck wagon, planning to avenge Andersen's death. When they catch up to the rustlers, Nightlinger offers to help them make a plan. The boys silently kill three of the outlaws and then use Nightlinger to draw Watts and the rest of his gang into an ambush. Riding in among a stampede of horses, the boys kill all of the rustlers except Watts, whom they find pinned beneath his horse with a foot entangled in a rope. Dan cuts the reins so the horse can get up and Cimarron spooks it, sending Watts to be dragged to death.
Once the boys complete the drive to Belle Fourche, South Dakota, and sell the cattle, they have a stonemason carve a gravestone with Andersen's name and the inscription "Beloved Husband and Father", a reference to the paternal role Andersen came to hold in their lives. They place the marker in the approximate location of his grave and head for home, accompanied by Nightlinger.
The Cowboys has earned somewhat mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 80% based on reviews from 15 critics, with an average score of 7.00/10, while, on Metacritic, it has a score of 52/100 based on reviews from seven critics. The film received praise for its musical score, the original plot, and John Wayne's performance, but several critics debated the film's implication that boys become men or confirm their manhood through acts of violence and vengeance; Jay Cocks of TIME and Pauline Kael of The New Yorker were especially critical of this aspect of the film.[7]
Writing about The Cowboys, film historian Emanuel Levy noted that Wayne frequently appeared in father-like roles throughout his career:
Aware of his repetitive screen roles as a paternal figure, [Wayne] said the movie was based on a formula that worked in Goodbye Mr. Chips and Sands of Iwo Jima. In all three films, an adult takes a group of youngsters and initiates them into manhood by instructing them the "right" skills and values. Wayne did not hesitate to appear in The Cowboys, despite the fact that "no actor in his right mind, would try to match the antics of eleven kids on screen," but for him it became "the greatest experience of my life."[8]
In 1974, Warner Bros. developed The Cowboys as a television series for ABC starring Jim Davis, Diana Douglas, and Moses Gunn. David Dortort, best known for Bonanza, The High Chaparral, and The Restless Gun, produced the series. A Martinez, Robert Carradine, Sean Kelly, and Clay O'Brien were all in both the film and the television series, though only Martinez and Carradine played the same character in each project. At the last moment, ABC decided to reduce the show's runtime from one hour to thirty minutes, which, given the show's large cast, made it difficult to tell stories effectively. Only 13 episodes were filmed before the series was cancelled.
Red River is a 1948 American Western film, directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. It gives a fictional account of the first cattle drive from Texas to Kansas along the Chisholm Trail. The dramatic tension stems from a growing feud over the management of the drive between the Texas rancher who initiated it (Wayne) and his adopted adult son (Clift).
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler, specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos. Cowgirls, first defined as such in the late 19th century, had a less-well documented historical role, but in the modern world work at identical tasks and have obtained considerable respect for their achievements. Cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly South America and stockmen and jackaroos in Australia, perform work similar to the cowboy.
Home on the Range is a 2004 American animated Western musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was written and directed by Will Finn and John Sanford and produced by Alice Dewey Goldstone, from a story by Finn, Sanford, Mark Kennedy, Michael LaBash, Sam Levine, and Robert Lence.
Johnny Lang was an American cattle driver who discovered Lost Horse Mine in Joshua Tree National Park. He claimed that he had moved to the area with his father because his brother had been gunned down in New Mexico with six other cowboys. In 1890, in the process of herding their cattle, they lost their horses in what is now known as Lost Horse Valley. He tracked them to what is now known as Keys Desert Queen Ranch, which at that time was believed to be occupied by cattle rustlers from what known as the McHaney Gang, but did not find the horses. He then claimed he then met "Dutch" Frank, who claimed he discovered a rich gold claim but was afraid to develop it because he had been threatened by the purported rustlers. Lang and his father bought the rights to the mine, purportedly for $1,000.00, and named it "Lost Horse". He claimed to have taken on three partners as back-up, out of fear of the gang of purported rustlers or having his claim jumped. The four men filed their claim, set up a two-stamp mill and began to produce substantial amounts of gold. Lang's claim and mill were then sold to a Montana rancher named J.D. Ryan. Much of this history was provided by longtime Joshua Tree area resident William F. Keys, for whom Keys Ranch was named.
Hank Worden was an American cowboy-turned-character actor who appeared in many Westerns, including many John Ford films such as The Searchers and the TV series The Lone Ranger.
The Virginian is a 1929 American pre-Code Western film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Gary Cooper, Walter Huston, and Richard Arlen. The film was based on the 1902 novel The Virginian by Owen Wister and adapted from the popular 1904 theatrical play Wister had collaborated on with playwright Kirke La Shelle.
Oath of Vengeance is a 1944 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield. Shot at Corriganville Movie Ranch, the film was released by Producers Releasing Corporation as one of the studio's Billy the Kid film series.
Born to the West is a 1937 American Western film starring John Wayne, Marsha Hunt, and John Mack Brown. Filmed in black and white and based upon a Zane Grey novel, the movie incorporates footage from an earlier and higher budgeted silent version, a common practice of the era. The picture features fast chases, gun-fights, unusual poker gambling, and peppy light dialogue for the love interest.
Charles Hugh Roberson was an American actor and stuntman.
The Cowboys is an American Western television series based on the 1972 motion picture of the same name. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network from February 6 to May 8, 1974. The series starred Jim Davis, Diana Douglas, Moses Gunn, A Martinez, Robert Carradine and Clay O'Brien. David Dortort produced the series. The television show followed the exploits of seven boys who worked on a ranch in 1870s New Mexico.
The Culpepper Cattle Co. or Dust, Sweat and Gunpowder is a 1972 revisionist Western film produced by Twentieth Century Fox. It was directed by Dick Richards and starred Billy Green Bush as Frank Culpepper and Gary Grimes as Ben Mockridge. This was the first credited film for Jerry Bruckheimer, for which he received an associate producer credit. Its tagline is "How many men do you have to kill before you become the great American cowboy?" and also "The boy from Summer of '42 becomes a man on the cattle drive of 1866", which references a similar coming of age film starring Gary Grimes. The film is typical of the "hyper-realism" of many early 1970s revisionist westerns. It is particularly noted for its grainy photography and use of sepia toning in some scenes.
The Mysterious Rider is a 1938 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Douglass Dumbrille, Sidney Toler, and Russell Hayden. Written by Maurice Geraghty based on the 1921 novel The Mysterious Rider by Zane Gray, the film is about a notorious outlaw who returns to the ranch he once owned and takes a job disguised as a ranch hand. Unrecognized by the ranch's current owner, he waits patiently for an opportunity to expose the men who murdered his partner twenty years ago, framed him for the crime, and then stole his ranch. The film was later released for television in the United States as Mark of the Avenger.
Comin' Round the Mountain is a 1936 Western film directed by Mack V. Wright and starring Gene Autry, Ann Rutherford, and Smiley Burnette. Based on a story by Oliver Drake, the film is about a Pony Express rider who is robbed and left to die in the desert, where he is saved by a wild horse he captures and later uses to round up other horses to be used in the race for a government contract.
Prairie Moon is a 1938 American Western film directed by Ralph Staub and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Shirley Deane. Written by Betty Burbridge and Stanley Roberts, the film is about a singing cowboy who takes care of three tough boys sent west from Chicago after their father dies and leaves them a cattle ranch.
Saddle Tramp is a 1950 American Western film directed by Hugo Fregonese and starring Joel McCrea and Wanda Hendrix. Its uncredited theme song was "The Cry of the Wild Goose" by Frankie Laine.
Hopalong Rides Again is a 1937 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Norman Houston. The film stars William Boyd, George "Gabby" Hayes, Russell Hayden, Nora Lane, Harry Worth, Lois Wilde and Billy King. The film was released on September 3, 1937, by Paramount Pictures.
John Lacy Cason, also credited as Bob Cason and John L. Cason, was an American actor active in both films and television. During his 20-year career he appeared in over 200 films and television shows. He is best known for his work on the television program The Adventures of Kit Carson, where he appeared in several roles from 1951 to 1953.
Men in the Raw is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by George Marshall and written by George Hively. The film stars Jack Hoxie, Marguerite Clayton, Sid Jordan, J. Morris Foster, Tom Kerrick, and William Lowery. The film was released on October 16, 1923, by Universal Pictures.
Black Market Rustlers is a 1943 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby and written by Patricia Harper. The film is the twenty-third in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Dusty, Dennis Moore as Denny and Max Terhune as Alibi, with Evelyn Finley, Steve Clark and Glenn Strange. The film was released on August 27, 1943.
Cowboy Commandos is a 1943 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby and written by Elizabeth Beecher. The film is the twenty-second in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Dusty, Dennis Moore as Denny and Max Terhune as Alibi, with Evelyn Finley, Johnny Bond and Budd Buster. The film was released on June 4, 1943.
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