Wild Rovers PromoFor our latest Western Night session, Kirk Ellis chose WILD ROVERS (1971), an enjoyable, almost gentle Western.

Having worked the better part of his fifty years cowboying in Montana, Ross Bodine (William Holden) has a dream of living a good life down in Mexico. Frank Post (Ryan O’Neil) is half Bodine’s age, and he’s already tired of the hard cowboy life and robbing a bank seems like a good idea.

Written and directed by Blake Edwards (THE PINK PANTHER, DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES), this was his first and only Western and a dream project for him. It features a bank robbery that’s not only clever, but darn-near courteous. And just about every character in the film makes bad decisions for themselves, and that’s part of what holds your attention.

There are moments of cinematic poetry, such as when Bodine must catch and break a wild horse on a snow-covered plain. (Edwards had Holden and Ryan perform their own stunts.) It’s gorgeously shot, exciting to watch, and has humorous moments, but it goes on too long. Other scenes run too long, as well, which is the film’s biggest drawback.

Holden carries his age well, the years marking his face with hard experience, much the same as in THE WILD BUNCH a couple of years earlier. For O’Neil, fresh off starring in LOVE STORY, his boyish good looks bring both charm and just the right amount of callowness.

Like some other films produced by MGM at that time, such as PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID, WILD ROVERS was taken away from its director by the studio. Deciding Edwards’s version was too long at 2 hours and 16 minutes, studio executive James Aubrey cut out about 30 minutes. The version Kirk brought is considered the director’s cut and it has that footage restored. It is available on Blu-ray and Amazon Prime.

Along with Kirk, Emmy-winning screenwriter and producer and also author of the book RIDE LONESOME about the production, themes and historical relevance of that film, our group includes Johnny D. Boggs, record nine-time Spur Award-winning and Owen Wister winner whose work includes BLOODY NEWTON, Kirk’s wife Sheila, David Morrell, award-winning author and New York Times best-selling author of FIRST BLOOD, the novel that introduced the character Rambo, and Robert Nott, author of several books on Western films, including his most recent RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY that examines the production, themes and legacy of the picture that launched Sam Peckinpah’s career.

Watch “Wild Rovers” Below

Thomas Clagett Post Image - Western BG

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