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Amazon.co.uk Review
Cowboy is both a sturdy Delmer Daves picture--his third with Glenn Ford, following Jubal and 3:10 to Yuma--and also one of the most offbeat Westerns ever. It must be the most true to form too, with Frank Harris's memoirs as the source and a picaresque screenplay by Edmund H. North and Dalton Trumbo (a blacklistee, credited only posthumously). There's a pileup of oddities and complications at the outset, with Chicago hotel clerk Harris (Jack Lemmon) already in mid-romance with a daughter of the Mexican aristocracy (Anna Kashfi--Mrs Marlon Brando at the time), and Texas cattleman Tom Reese (Ford) storming in to commandeer an entire floor of the hotel for him and his drovers so they can party 'till, well, the cows come home. Partying is curtailed when Reese loses big at cards; Harris bails him out with his savings, and Reese finds he's taken on not only an unwanted partner but a tenderfoot besides. Soon everyone is headed south.
Cowboy merits its bedrock title. This is a rare Western in which the job of breaking horses, trail herding, and so on, figures as a dynamic aspect of the storytelling. The film also has a blunt and original way of looking at death, not as a genre convention but as something abrupt, ungainly, and often absurd, in both senses of the word. (This applies equally to men and cattle, by the way.) The camerawork is trim, angular, and somehow precarious, and the jagged editing hustles the very eventful proceedings to a close in barely an hour and a half. Saddle up. --Richard T. Jameson, Amazon.com
DVD Description
Feature Length: 88 mins Approx
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Enhanced for 16:9 widescreen TVs
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
Language: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish
Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Colour
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Enhanced for 16:9 widescreen TVs
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
Language: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish
Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Colour
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Cowboy"(58) is another very good Delmer Daves Western. It is certainly unusual in having Jack Lemmon as one of the main leads. I cannot recall him making another film in that genre and this film certainly involves some serious acting from him. The film is based on the memoirs of the cowboy Frank Harris. The screenplay was part written by the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo who was only credited posthumously. Glenn Ford a Daves stalwart plays the part of Tom Reese a cattle ramrod.
The story commences in a Chicago hotel where Ford and his men are about to start a long cattle drive down south. Harris a hotel clerk played by Lemmon has been romancing the daughter of a Mexican aristocrat. When she leaves he is keen to see her again. He has the opportunity when Reese loses all his money gambling and needs to borrow from Harris, but on condition he allow him to come on the drive down south towards old Mexico. Reese although not taken with the idea of having a tenderfoot along, reluctantly agrees. The drive is an eye opener for Harris and a baptism of fire. He slowly and painfully becomes a useful trail hand but along the way he becomes hard and cynical. Happily this situation changes by the end.
Overall this is a very enjoyable film. It is a type of coming of age experience. Ford is rock steady and reliable as always and Lemmon throws in a strong performance, although I felt he overdid the cynicism on occasions. Brian Donlevy provides good support as an experienced trail hand. It is a good honest look at the cowboy life which was far from the romantic notion some people may have. Tom Gries's "Will Penny"(67) developed the theme further. Although perhaps not quite as good as Daves other Westerns "3:10 to Yuma"(57) and the excellent "The Last Wagon"(56), it is still a very good film. Recommended viewing.
The story commences in a Chicago hotel where Ford and his men are about to start a long cattle drive down south. Harris a hotel clerk played by Lemmon has been romancing the daughter of a Mexican aristocrat. When she leaves he is keen to see her again. He has the opportunity when Reese loses all his money gambling and needs to borrow from Harris, but on condition he allow him to come on the drive down south towards old Mexico. Reese although not taken with the idea of having a tenderfoot along, reluctantly agrees. The drive is an eye opener for Harris and a baptism of fire. He slowly and painfully becomes a useful trail hand but along the way he becomes hard and cynical. Happily this situation changes by the end.
Overall this is a very enjoyable film. It is a type of coming of age experience. Ford is rock steady and reliable as always and Lemmon throws in a strong performance, although I felt he overdid the cynicism on occasions. Brian Donlevy provides good support as an experienced trail hand. It is a good honest look at the cowboy life which was far from the romantic notion some people may have. Tom Gries's "Will Penny"(67) developed the theme further. Although perhaps not quite as good as Daves other Westerns "3:10 to Yuma"(57) and the excellent "The Last Wagon"(56), it is still a very good film. Recommended viewing.
Format:DVD
Columbia Pictures presents "COWBOY" (1958 92 min/Color) -- Starring: Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, Anna Kashfi, Brian Donlevy, Dick York & Richard Jaeckel
Directed by Delmer Daves
Chicago hotel clerk Frank Harris (Jack Lemmon) harbors romantic notions of the West and prevails upon hard-living, hard-drinking trail boss Tom Reese (Glenn Ford) to take him along on Reese's next cattle drive. In the months that follow, Harris' idealized notions of the West are cruelly dispelled, though he eventually becomes accustomed to the rough-and-tumble life on the trail and to the curious camaraderie between the drovers
The once-scandalous autobiography of Frank Harris was the source of the fascinating "adult" western Cowboy. Note the memorable performance of Hollywood veteran Brian Donlevy as Doc Bender, an aging gunfighter who can't stand the notion of becoming an anachronism.
One of the more unorthodox westerns of the 1950s, but also one of the best.
Oscar Nominated for Best Film Editing
BIOS:
1. Delmer Daves [Director]
Date of Birth: 24 July 1904 - San Francisco, California
Date of Death: 17 August 1977 - La Jolla, California
2. Glenn Ford (aka: Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford)
Date of Birth: 1 May 1916 - Sainte-Christine, Quebec, Canada
Date of Death: 30 August 2006 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California
3. Jack Lemmon
Date of Birth: 8 February 1925 - Newton, Massachusetts
Date of Death: 27 June 2001 - Los Angeles, California
4. Anna Kashfi [aka: Joan O'Callaghan]
Date of Birth: 30 September 1934 - Cardiff, Wales, UK
Date of Death: Unknown
5. Brian Donlevy
Date of Birth: 9 February 1901 - Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Date of Death: 5 April 1972 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
6. Richard Jaeckel
Date of Birth: 10 October 1926 - Long Beach, Long Island, New York
Date of Death: 14 June 1997 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
7. Dick York
Date of Birth: 4 September 1928 - Fort Wayne, Indiana
Date of Death: 20 February 1992 - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 92 min on DVD ~ Columbia Pictures ~ (May 14, 2002)
Directed by Delmer Daves
Chicago hotel clerk Frank Harris (Jack Lemmon) harbors romantic notions of the West and prevails upon hard-living, hard-drinking trail boss Tom Reese (Glenn Ford) to take him along on Reese's next cattle drive. In the months that follow, Harris' idealized notions of the West are cruelly dispelled, though he eventually becomes accustomed to the rough-and-tumble life on the trail and to the curious camaraderie between the drovers
The once-scandalous autobiography of Frank Harris was the source of the fascinating "adult" western Cowboy. Note the memorable performance of Hollywood veteran Brian Donlevy as Doc Bender, an aging gunfighter who can't stand the notion of becoming an anachronism.
One of the more unorthodox westerns of the 1950s, but also one of the best.
Oscar Nominated for Best Film Editing
BIOS:
1. Delmer Daves [Director]
Date of Birth: 24 July 1904 - San Francisco, California
Date of Death: 17 August 1977 - La Jolla, California
2. Glenn Ford (aka: Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford)
Date of Birth: 1 May 1916 - Sainte-Christine, Quebec, Canada
Date of Death: 30 August 2006 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California
3. Jack Lemmon
Date of Birth: 8 February 1925 - Newton, Massachusetts
Date of Death: 27 June 2001 - Los Angeles, California
4. Anna Kashfi [aka: Joan O'Callaghan]
Date of Birth: 30 September 1934 - Cardiff, Wales, UK
Date of Death: Unknown
5. Brian Donlevy
Date of Birth: 9 February 1901 - Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Date of Death: 5 April 1972 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
6. Richard Jaeckel
Date of Birth: 10 October 1926 - Long Beach, Long Island, New York
Date of Death: 14 June 1997 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
7. Dick York
Date of Birth: 4 September 1928 - Fort Wayne, Indiana
Date of Death: 20 February 1992 - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 92 min on DVD ~ Columbia Pictures ~ (May 14, 2002)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not watched
When this dvd arrived, I found its aspect, or format, was widescreen, and thus unsuitable for showing on our television, so I returned it, unviewed. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Aimée Algérie
COWBOY--A WESTERN CLASSIC
Film legends-GLENN FORD and JACK LEMMON-star in the 1958 colour Western-COWBOY-which also includes amongst the fine cast-ANNA KASHFI,BRIAN DONLEVY,RICHARD JAECKEL. Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2009 by Mr. W. J. Wright
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