The Cowboy Cocktail Movie Thee-ater

Here's the Classic Western Movie watchlist from my iconic Cowboy Cocktail book.

Some years back I co-authored a crucial tome, Cowboy Cocktails: Boot-Scootin’ Beverages and Tasty Vittles from the Wild West. This wasn’t a particularly meaty assignment; Dallas and Alpine chef/restaurateur Grady Spears provided 99% of the drink and snack recipes. My brief was to provide humor, headnotes, and listening/watching/reading suggestions to ride along with the bevies and snackies. Since I was otherwise unemployed at the time, I threw myself into this project like a hound-dog after a wabbit, ordering multiple “reference” books on Texas-style humor, and listening to fabulous country music, like this classic: Did I Shave My Legs for This?

While I am gallivanting about Southern Europe for a couple of weeks eating cannoli, I thought I’d share the Western movie list from Cowboy Cocktails, for your watching and tippling pleasure. Giddy-yup lil’ doggie.

• The Alamo, 1960 ### 1/2: A John Wayne-fest

• Angel & the Badman, 1947 ####: Low-budget John Wayne morality play.

• Bad Company, 1972 #####: Jeff Bridges in the civil war era

• Ballad of Cable Hogue, 1970 #### 1/2: Sam Peckinpah directs Jason Robards

• Barbarosa, 1982 #### 1/2: Aussie Fred Schepisi directs Gary Busey and Willie Nelson

• Broken Lance, 1954 ### 1/2: Spencer Tracy, Richard Widmark, Robert Wagner

• Cat Ballou, 1965 ###: Jane Fonda & Lee Marvin, who both should have known better

• Comes a Horseman, 1978, ####: Dark and somber; Jason Robards, Jane Fonda, James Caan

• Dances with Wolves, 1990 #####: A 3-hour and 5 minute Costner-fest

• Decision at Sundown, 1957 ####: Brooding Randolph Scott sleeper

• Duel in the Sun, 1946 ###: Morality-play disguised as steamy epic; Gregory Peck and Joseph Cotton

• El Dorado, 1967 ##### 1/2: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum

• Giant, 1956 ### 1/2: Edna Ferber’s compelling Texas epic; Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean. Read the book, too, for the full experience.

• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 1966 ####: The Best of “Sergio Leone Directs Clint”; obtain the soundtrack if possible.

• High Noon, 1952 #####: Gary Cooper classic

• Hud, 1963 #####: Paul Newman sizzles with Patricia O’Neil in an unforgettable contemporary Texas tale. Clock the grin under those steely blues.

• The Last Picture Show, 1971 #####: Also contemporary. Peter Bogdanovitch directs the impossibly young Cybill Shepherd and Jeff Bridges

• Lonesome Dove, 1989 #####: Robert Duvall & Tommy Lee Jone. ‘Nuff said.

• The Magnificent Seven, 1960 ####: Talk about star-studded; Yul Bryner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson

• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962 #####: John Ford’s final western; John Wayne, Jilly Stewardt, Lee Marvin

• McCabe and Mrs. Miller, 1971 ####: Warren Beatty & Julie Christy; visually stunning sets and locations as well as stars

• Once Upon a Time in the West, 1969 #####: Cult classic of the spaghetti genre; Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards

• Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, 1973 #### 1/2: Peckinpah directs James Coburn and Krsi Kristofferson in this under-appreciated classic

• Rancho Deluxe, 1975 ###: Western comedy; Jeff Bridges, Sam Waterston, and a cameo by Jimmy Buffett

• Red River, 1948 #####: Howard Hawks’ respected classic with Wayne again, this time with Monty Clift

• Rio Bravo, 1959 #### 1/2: A true super-western; John Wayne, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin

• Shane, 1953 #####: ‘Nuff said. Alan Ladd, Jack Palance, Van Heflin.

• Stagecoach, 1936 #####: Hokey, but still a must-see for the first view of young John Wayne, and all the other stars

• Support Your Local Sheriff, 1969 #### 1/2: James Garner parodies all that has been, ever, western

• Take Me Back to Oklahoma, 1940 #####: Tex Ritter; Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys; Top 10 of B Western movies

• Heller in Pink Tights, 1960: A theatrical troupe travels through the Old West (“One foot on the stage…and one step ahead of the law!”), with Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, and my DAD, aka Edward Binns as the Sheriff

• Tell Them Willie Boy is Here, 1969 ###: One of the few westerns to tell a story from the Indian point of view; Robert Redford, of course

• Texas to Bataan, 1942 ##: Bargain-basement B movie for nights when you need some amusement, though the makers of the movie didn’t consider it a comedy

• They Died with Their Boots On, 1941 ####: Classic tale of Custer’s last stand with Errol Flynn and a star-studded cast; Raoul Walsh directed

• 3:10 to Yuma, 1957 ####: The first iteration of this story. An adult, thinking-person’s western; Glenn Ford, Van Heflin

• Tribute to a Bad Man, 1956 ####: James Cagney chews scenery along with Lee Van Cleef, Vic Morrow, and Irene Papas

• The Unforgiven, 1960 ### 1/2: Audrey Hepburn is  an Indian girl raised by whites; John Huston directs her and Burt Lancaster, Audie Murphy

• The Unforgiven, 1992 ####: Only if you have a strong stomach; Clint Eastwood (stars and directs), Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris

• The Virginian, 1929 #####: Gary Cooper is superb with Walter Huston, in the latter’s final film

• The Wild Bunch, 1969 #### 1/2: Peckinpah’s landmark best; William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan.

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Tidbits For The Week of May 20, 2024

Brigit’s What I’m

CURRENTLY LOVING ➡️ My very first pistachio cannolo in Noto!
THINKING ABOUT ➡️ My second pistachio cannolo in Noto. 
LISTENING TO ➡️ Ultimate Painting cover of Sheryl Crow I Just Wanna Have Fun.