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Cowboy

Cowboy

Western · 1958

Chicago hotel clerk Frank Harris dreams of life as a cowboy, and he gets his chance when, jilted by the father of the woman he loves, he joins Tom Reece and his cattle-driving outfit. Soon, though, the tenderfoot finds out life on the range is neither what he expected nor what he's been looking for...

Movie details

Cowboy

“THE REAL, TRUE STORY OF THE WEST!”

1958 Western 1h 32m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Chicago hotel clerk Frank Harris dreams of life as a cowboy, and he gets his chance when, jilted by the father of the woman he loves, he joins Tom Reece and his cattle-driving outfit. Soon, though, the tenderfoot finds out life on the range is neither what he expected nor what he's been looking for...

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Cowboy?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Last Wagon

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Buchanan Rides Alone

Buchanan Rides Alone

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Passing through a border town, a man is caught up in a Mexican's murder of a member of the town's most powerful family.

Cimarron

Cimarron

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The epic story of a family involved in the Oklahoma Land Rush of April 22, 1889.

Heaven's Gate

Heaven's Gate

Drama · 1980

Harvard graduate James Averill serves as the sheriff of prosperous Jackson County, Wyoming, standing at the center of a conflict between impoverished immigrants and affluent cattle farmers. Politically connected ranchers enlist mercenary Nathan Champion—who is also vying for the affections of local madam Ella Watson—to combat the immigrant uprising. As tensions escalate, both Averill and Champion start to question their decisions.

Forty Guns

Forty Guns

Western · 1957

An authoritarian rancher rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns. When a new Marshal arrives to set things straight, the cattle queen finds herself falling for the avowedly non-violent lawman. Both have itchy-fingered brothers, a female gunman enters the picture, and things go desperately wrong.

Hombre

Hombre

Western · 1967

John Russell, disdained by his "respectable" fellow stagecoach passengers because he was raised by Indians, becomes their only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws.

Shane

Shane

Drama · 1953

A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.

Giant

Giant

Drama · 1956

Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

Purgatory

Purgatory

Fantasy · 1999

An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.

3:10 to Yuma

3:10 to Yuma

Western · 1957

Dan Evans, a small time farmer, is hired to escort Ben Wade, a dangerous outlaw, to Yuma. As Evans and Wade wait for the 3:10 train to Yuma, Wade's gang is racing to free him.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Delmer Daves

Written by

Dalton Trumbo · Edmund H. North

Glenn Ford

Glenn Ford

Tom Reese

Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon

Frank Harris

Anna Kashfi

Anna Kashfi

Maria Vidal / Arriega

Brian Donlevy

Brian Donlevy

Doc Bender, Trailhand

Dick York

Dick York

Charlie, Trailhand

Víctor Manuel Mendoza

Víctor Manuel Mendoza

Paco Mendoza, Ramrod

Richard Jaeckel

Richard Jaeckel

Paul Curtis

Court is in session

Put Cowboy on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Patience is part of the point.”

Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“A test of endurance, your honour.”

Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.