The Cowboy as Everyman
Possible SpoilersAlthough Charlton Heston has made a number of Westerns, he has never been regarded as one of the great Western actors like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, probably because he has played such a great variety of other roles. 'The Big Country' is probably the best of his films in this genre, although he only played a supporting role. 'Will Penny' is probably his best Western in which he had the main starring role.
The film is more downbeat and realistic than many Westerns, which try to give a heroic or glamourised image of the West. The central figure, Will Penny himself, is not the cowboy-as-hero but the cowboy-as-average-working-man- tired, disillusioned, middle-aged, badly paid and having difficulty finding work. (Is it significant that his surname is the name of a low-value coin?) He eventually finds employment as a 'line rider' on a ranch, a demanding and lonely job which involves him riding long distances to guard his employer's property. On one of his trips, he discovers that a young woman named Catherine Allen and her son Horace, abandoned by their guide while traveling overland to California to join her husband, have taken refuge in a hut in the mountains. Although he is under strict instructions not to allow trespassers to remain on the property, Penny takes pity on them and allows them to stay.
Penny has earlier fallen foul of an outlaw family, having killed one of them in self-defence during a quarrel over a dead elk. The patriarch of the family and his surviving sons swear vengeance, track Penny down, beat him and leave him for dead. Penny's earlier kindness is rewarded when Catherine finds him, takes him in and nurses him back to health throughout the long winter. The two find themselves becoming drawn to one another, but danger threatens when the outlaws reappear.
The two leading roles are both well played. Charlton Heston states in his autobiography that a number of well-known actresses turned down the role of Catherine, possibly because she script described her as 'plain'. Joan Hackett, then little-known, was far from plain, but was excellent in the part. Hackett made relatively few feature films before her career was tragically cut short by her early death, but her performance as the practical but tender Catherine shows that she had real talent. Heston himself is equally good, bringing out both Will Penny's resigned world-weariness and his fundamental decency. (There are also moments of humour between them, especially when Catherine tries to persuade the reluctant Penny to take a bath).
There were other things about the film which were perhaps less good. The first half seemed very slow-moving, although there was more action in the second. I was not really convinced by Donald Pleasence as the leader of the outlaws. (Despite his name, Pleasence seemed to specialize in playing unpleasant characters; I wonder if he ever considered changing it to Unpleasence). His character here (known as 'Preacher Quint', although he does not seem to be an ordained minister of any church) is, for my taste, too exaggerated and cartoonish to seem really threatening. He is the sort of character who would be more at home in a tongue-in-cheek Western than he would in a serious one. (There have been other Westerns where the temptation to overplay the villains has detracted from an otherwise serious film- 'Hannie Caulder' is another example).
Despite my reservations, this is still one of the better Westerns of the late sixties. An added bonus is the visual beauty of the scenery against which it is shot. Most of the action takes place in winter, and we are treated to some marvelous scenes of the snow-covered mountains. This forbidding, wintry landscape is perhaps symbolic of Penny's disillusionment and the toughness of his life. This is a very watchable film, both for its acting and its cinematography. 7/10
score 7/10
JamesHitchcock 16 July 2004
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0105246/34927
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