When his cattlemen abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his cowboys in order to get his herd to market in time to avoid financial disaster. The boys learn to do a man's job under Andersen's tutelage, however, neither he nor the boys know that a gang of cattle thieves is stalking them.
Acting
Bruce Dern's unhinged villainy steals every scene
Cinematography
Big Sky country shot like mythic American dream
Direction
Rydell balances sentiment and sudden brutality
Director
Mark Rydell
John Wayne
Wil Andersen
Roscoe Lee Browne
Jebediah Nightlinger
Bruce Dern
Long Hair
Colleen Dewhurst
Kate
Alfred Barker Jr.
Cowboy Fats
Nicolas Beauvy
Cowboy Dan
Steve Benedict
Cowboy Steve
Robert Carradine
Cowboy Slim Honeycutt
Norman Howell
Cowboy Weedy
Stephen R. Hudis
Cowboy Charlie Schwartz
A Martinez
Cowboy Cimarron
Clay O'Brien
Cowboy Hardy Fimps
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Roscoe Lee Browne improvised his campfire monologue about his mother; it's the film's most celebrated scene.
Wayne took the role specifically to soften his image after criticism of his Vietnam politics, yet the film's violence undercut that attempt.
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