Monte Walsh is an aging cowboy facing the ending days of the Wild West era. As barbed wire and railways steadily eliminate the need for the cowboy, Monte and his friends are left with fewer and fewer options. New work opportunities are available to them, but the freedom of the open prarie is what they long for. Eventually, they all must say goodbye to the lives they knew, and try to make a new start.
Acting
Lee Marvin's weathered face tells whole stories without dialogue.
Cinematography
William Fraker shoots the dying West like a funeral procession.
Direction
First-time director captures elegiac tone through lived-in detail.
Director
William A. Fraker
Lee Marvin
Monte Walsh
Jeanne Moreau
Martine Bernard
Jack Palance
Chet Rollins
Mitchell Ryan
Shorty Austin
Jim Davis
Cal Brennan
G.D. Spradlin
Hal Henderson
John Hudkins
Sonny Jacobs
Raymond Guth
Sunfish Perkins
John McKee
Petey Williams
Michael Conrad
Dally Johnson
Tom Heaton
Sugar Wyman
Ted Gehring
Skimpy Eagans
Bo Hopkins
Jumpin' Joe Joslin
John McLiam
Fightin' Joe Hooker
Allyn Ann McLerie
Mary Eagle
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
William A. Fraker was primarily a cinematographer (Rosemary's Baby, Bullitt) and this was his directorial debut.
Released the same year as Little Big Man and The Wild Bunch, forming a trilogy of films mourning the West's violent end.
US
