Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

JohnHowardReid Much praised by professional critics in its day, this movie seems to have disappeared. I've never seen it on TV and if there was a DVD release, it was certainly not stocked by any of my local stores. So here is an update of my original review: The screenplay has something to say, and says it well. Here's the real West where men were real men and buddies only occasionally ride to the rescue. The action spots are solidly handled and the shots of rugged, picturesque landscapes stay in the mind, along with such memorable episodes as the rattler thrown into the camp. Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon share all the highlights, with Richard Jaeckel backing them up on a couple of memorable occasions. Ultra-publicized Anna Kashfi – in her third of only four movies – has little to do except to look sorrowful (which she does rather well). The movie also has a highly appropriate music score by George Duning. The action scenes still come across with a high degree of power, despite the very obvious use of doubles. In all, the movie is extremely well produced by Julian Blaustein. He also handled Broken Arrow and Cowboy.

padrelaw I caught this film at 5 am one morning, and was so glad I did. The story was simple: city slicker joins hardened cowboys for cow drive. Typical "fish out of water" ? Not by a long shot.Jack Lemmon is his usual excellent. He has the ability to undergo character metamorphosis so subtly the viewer hardly notices, yet his transformations drive the films (see, i.e., "Mister Roberts").One thing I want to point out is the photography: it is really outstanding. The camera angles are not intrusive, yet every scene was made a little more interesting than it could have been. There was one shot, right before the Indian confrontation, in which the camera focused on Reese walking left to right, then followed his back as he went down a knoll, called to another man. The camera then followed this man on his horse as he rode up, then met up with Reese. They then had a conversation: this was all one beautiful shot!In all, if you like cowboy movies with scant amount of shoot-'em- ups and a lot of character interaction, growth and conflict, you will enjoy this memorable film.

dougdoepke Cowboy (1958) is one of a series of outstanding westerns directed by Delmer Daves that includes the classic 3:10 to Yuma (1957) and the dramatically scenic Jubal (1956). Too bad his body of western work has failed to receive the recognition it deserves. Here he's concerned with de-romanticizing the myth of the trail drive, showing how harsh conditions breed harsh men. Lemmon is well chosen as the cowboy wannabe, worming his way into the rowdy Glenn Ford's trail drive. There he discovers the routine brutalities that help explain behavior as a tenderfoot, he couldn't understand. But in the process he has some civilizing lessons of his own that manage to take hold among the rough cowboy crowd.And whoever thought up that snake twirling episode deserves an award for sheer originality. I've seen nothing like it in years of viewing. Plus the deadly consequences of that witless cowboy fun is put on tragic display in a way that cleverly revises decades of cowboy mythology. To me, it's the movie's brilliant centerpiece. Still, the film is filled with exciting and unusual action, such as the cattle car that could crush a tank, or the pin-the-ring on the angry bull that's more like a test of manhood than a game.No, this is certainly no cliché western. Ford and Lemmon are excellent, especially the latter who's certainly extended out of his usual mild-mannered character. Daves directs with flair and some well-timed tinges of humor. All in all, however, I'm still not sure how to take the movie's overall message even though it appears to have one in mind.

moonspinner55 An unusual change-of-pace for Jack Lemmon, excellent as always portraying a hotel clerk in Chicago who invests $3800 in a struggling cattleman's next herd; he hits the trail with the cowboys as a partner and tenderfoot, though rough-hewn cattle-boss Glenn Ford has his doubts. Frank Harris' autobiographical book "My Reminiscences as a Cowboy" becomes a forthright dramatic film about responsibility and endurance, with Lemmon going through the rigors of boot camp--with cowboy boots. Ford works surprisingly well with Lemmon, and when these two--at odds from the start--stare each other down under the cloudy open skies, the tension in their familiarity seems arrived at honestly. Delmer Daves directed, with little sentiment, and the supporting cast of salty old pros is solid. Refreshing for the genre, and exceptionally well-made. *** from ****