This is the old western-hero-hooks-up-with-mother-and-child tale that’s been done more than a few times before but what makes this so special is the central character of Will Penny. It’s as much a character study as anything else with the first half of the film dealing with his quest for work after completing a cattle drive and it’s only in the second half that the film becomes a love story, when he comes across Catherine Allen and her son Horace holed up in the line rider’s shack where he should be spending the winter.
Will Penny is possibly Charlton Heston’s finest performance, with the inveterate poser giving a rare understated performance. There’s a subtlety here that you don’t usually associate with big movie stars. Will Penny isn’t a larger than life hero, he’s a down to earth cowpoke who knows his best years are behind him and Heston plays him as such, allowing Heston the actor to overshadow Heston the Movie Star for a change.
Writer/director Tom Gries script gives the film an authentic, gritty feel that shows what a cold hard place the West was for aging cowboys like Penny, while Lucien Ballard’s cinematography lets us see that while it was a harsh place it was also a beautiful one.
Donald Pleasence is the patriarch of the villainous brood Will comes into conflict with early in the film and who returns to add some action at the end. This was his first serious western role (he’d appeared in John Sturges’ comedy western The Hallelujah Trail a few years before) and it would be the blueprint for his future appearances in Soldier Blue and the TV mini-series Centennial. His ‘Preacher’ Quint is an over the top display of insane evil, very one dimensional but still fun to watch. Bruce Dern plays one of his sons with somewhat more restraint.
In the role of Dutchy, one of Will’s friends from the first half of the film, Anthony Zerbe does a comedy accent and provides a few laughs but Lee Majors is a little too clean-cut as Blue. Elsewhere real cowboys-turned-actors Slim Pickens and Ben Johnson add a bit more grit to proceedings.
The central relationship with Catherine Allen is never overly sentimental, Joan Hackett matching Heston’s restraint. It’s that understated feel the makes the ending so affecting. Even the kid, played by Jon Gries (the director’s son though not apparently his choice for the part) turns in a good performance, with the on set bond he formed with Chuck adding to his performance.
This is Heston’s film though and he dominates it without ever seeming to do very much. It’s a world away from the historical epics he’s more famous for and makes you wish he’d done a few more less showy parts.
Horror and Western film buff, Marvel comic geek, music lover and occasional gamer. 