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The Plainsman

The Plainsman

Western · War · Romance · 1936

Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Buffalo Bill go up against Indians and a gunrunner.

Movie details

The Plainsman

“IT'S MIGHTY OUTDOOR ADVENTURE!”

1936 Western · War · Romance 1h 53m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Buffalo Bill go up against Indians and a gunrunner.

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 The Plainsman?

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 Pride and the Passion

The Pride and the Passion

War · 1957

During the Napoleonic Wars, when the French have occupied Spain, some Spanish guerrilla soldiers are going to move a big cannon across Spain in order to help the British defeat the French. A British officer is there to accompany the Spanish and along the way, he falls in love with the leader's girl.

Will Penny

Will Penny

Western · 1967

Will Penny, an aging cowpoke, takes a job on a ranch which requires him to ride the line of the property looking for trespassers or, worse, squatters. He finds that his cabin in the high mountains has been appropriated by a woman whose guide to Oregon has deserted her and her son. Too ashamed to kick mother and child out just as the bitter winter of the mountains sets in, he agrees to share the cabin until the spring thaw. But it isn't just the snow that slowly thaws; the lonely man and woman soon forget their mutual hostility and start developing a deep love for one another.

Colorado Territory

Colorado Territory

Western · 1949

After escaping from jail, outlaw Wes McQueen is convinced by his old partner in crime to do one last heist.

Oklahoma!

Oklahoma!

Western · 1955

There's a box social coming up, and Curly asks Laurey if she'll be his date. Trouble is, Laurey thinks he's waited too long, and in a fit of pique accepts an offer from the boorish ranch hand Jud instead. Meanwhile, Laurey's friend Ado Annie is also torn between two men: cowboy Will and foreign peddler Ali Hakim. Both women struggle to know their own hearts before it's too late.

Major Dundee

Major Dundee

Western · 1965

During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners and scouts on an expedition into Mexico to destroy a band of Apaches who have been raiding U.S. bases in Texas.

The Horse Soldiers

The Horse Soldiers

Western · 1959

A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind confederate lines in strength to destroy a rail supply center. Along with them is sent a doctor who causes instant antipathy between him and the commander. The secret plan for the mission is overheard by a southern belle who must be taken along to assure her silence.

Distant Drums

Distant Drums

Western · 1951

After destroying a Seminole fort, American soldiers and their rescued companions must face the dangerous Everglades and hostile Indians in order to reach safety

The Fighting Kentuckian

The Fighting Kentuckian

Western · 1949

John Breen (John Wayne), a Kentucky militiaman falls in love with French exile Fleurette De Marchand (Vera Ralston). He discovers a plot to steal the land that Fleurette's exiles plan to settle on and aims to foil it.

The Big Sky

The Big Sky

Adventure · 1952

Two tough Kentucky mountaineers join a trading expedition from St. Louis up the Missouri River to trade whisky for furs with the Blackfoot Indians. They soon discover that there is much more than the elements to contend with.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Cecil B. DeMille

Written by

Waldemar Young · Harold Lamb · Lynn Riggs

Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper

Wild Bill Hickok

Jean Arthur

Jean Arthur

Calamity Jane

James Ellison

James Ellison

William "Buffalo Bill" Cody

Charles Bickford

Charles Bickford

John Lattimer

Helen Burgess

Helen Burgess

Louisa Cody

Porter Hall

Porter Hall

Jack McCall

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey

Yellow Hand

Court is in session

Put The Plainsman on trial.

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

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.