Wild Rovers (1971)

Two cowboys, a fifty-ish cowpoke (William Holden) and a 20 something kid (Ryan O'Neal), decide to break away from the ranch where they work and rob a bank and then head for Mexico. But the indignant ranch owner (Karl Malden) vows to track them down and bring them to justice at all costs. One can see what director Blake Edwards is trying to do but he just can't make it work. To be fair, the film was reputedly altered by MGM against Edwards' wishes. But based on what we have, I'm not sure it would have worked anyway. The film seems a patchwork from other better westerns. There's the male bonding between the two leads taken from the Howard Hawks westerns, the comedic barroom brawls from the John Ford westerns, the slow motion violence of the Sam Peckinpah westerns, the brooding resignation of the Anthony Mann westerns etc. The craggy faced Holden seems born to the saddle but O'Neal comes across as too Malibu for the Old West. The handsome wide screen exteriors (including Monument Valley where Ford shot many of his classic westerns) are by Philip Lathrop (THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY?) and there's an excellent score by Jerry Goldsmith. With Tom Skerritt, Rachel Roberts, Joe Don Baker, Lynn Carlin, Leora Dana, Moses Gunn and James Olson.