Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-26 01:10:52

The "Odyssey" to "The Wild Bunch's" Iliad

This review is from: The Ballad of Cable Hogue (DVD) Shot back-to-back with The Wild Bunch, Cable Hogue is that film's complement; lyrical, romantic, spiritual, an ode to the home that Peckinpah's heroes rarely find. Jason Robards is a half-mad prospector left for dead by his sleazy comrades (Strother Martin & LQ Jones,reprising their duo-routine from "Bunch") About to perish after wandering in the desert, Cable "finds water where it wasn't." Eventually, Cable's oasis becomes an essential stage coach stop, and the loner, unwillingly, finds himself drawn into a burgeoning frontier community, via his friendship with a randy preacher (David Warner) and a whore with a heart of gold (Stella Stevens). But when his would-be murderers show up, will his new-found grace give way to Peckinpah-ish blood-lust? Peckinpah's most uncharacteristic film (slapstick comedy,love story, even a musical number) is actually of a piece with his violent work, just in a different key; and finally, it concludes with a line that serves as the film-makers own epitaph -- "Take him, Lord - but do not take him lightly."

Azriel peskowitz 2012-05-25 10:56:49

tragicomic peckinpah

This movie is a truly different Sam Peckinpah movie. Clear sharp humorandbeleivable romance. Not exactly your typcal Bloody Sam Movie. JasonRobardsJr is very poignant as Cable, a man out of his time. Stella Stevens isstunning, and Strother Martain an L.Q. Jones play their villain roles withcharacteristic aplomb. But the real show stopper is David Warner as therandy reverend Joshua Sloan. There isn't scene he's in which he doesn'tsteal. The mix of tragedy comedy and romance is flawless. Truly aclassic western, as well as a milestone in Peckinpah's career.

2012-05-23 02:23:37

Found Water (And Love) Where It Wasn't

The reputation of director Sam Peckinpah as a director of ultra-violent action movies is not completely an accurate one. It is true that many of his films are violent and provocative, but they do more than just spill the blood and guts around. Still, that "Bloody Sam" reputation of his has tended to overshadow other very worthwhile projects of his that are far less violent. One such example is his congenial 1970 western THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE.In this film, Jason Robards is Cable Hogue, a desert rat left to die in the Nevada flatlands when his two unscrupulous partners (L.Q. Jones; Strother Martin) overpower him and abscond with the only canteen on them. Vowing to get revenge on them, Robards wanders the desert for three days, calling to God to send him water. At the end of his rope, caught in a sandstorm, Robards finally hits that magical water--in a part of the world where it isn't supposed to be.Subsequently managing to open up his own stagecoach rest stop, Cable Springs, Robards becomes very chummy with a lecherous preacher (David Warner), and he also falls in love with a prostitute (Stella Stevens). But all this good fortune of his is overshadowed by his desire to get back at Martin and Jones for abandoning him, and his suspicious and somewhat uncouth nature bothers Stevens, and causes Warner to question his goodness.Without a whole lot of killing, and very little violence to speak of, THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE finds Peckinpah managing to mine his favorite theme, people in a West that is changing too fast for them, and doing so with a goodly amount of humor, along with a period-style score by Jerry Goldsmith. The musical numbers don't necessarily work as well as they should, but that doesn't detract too greatly from the story. Robards, Stevens, and Warner give very good performances here; and Martin and Jones, part of Peckinpah's "Usual Suspects" stock company, are as caddy here as they were in THE WILD BUNCH. One thing that perhaps is deceptive about THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE is the 'R' rating that was originally placed on it in 1970--these days, despite some nudity, the film would at worst get a 'PG-13' rating.Filmed exclusively on location in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, and at Apache Junction, Arizona, THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE is one of Peckinpah's easier-going films and, like his later 1972 rodeo film JUNIOR BONNER, showed that there was more to this irascible Hollywood reprobate than bullets, blood squibs, and violent death. Highly recommended.

2012-05-22 17:13:00

Dying Of Thirst In The Desert? Stop By And See Cable Hogue!!!

I enjoyed The Ballad of Cable Hogue alot. It's quite a wonderful, lesser-known cinematic gem from 1970 and certainly not your typical western, which is a good thing. Out of all of director Sam Peckinpah's numerous westerns, this one is probably the most viewer-friendly and identifiable. The story concerns titular frontiersman Cable Hogue (the great Jason Robards) doing his best to live out a minimalist existence while resisting change out on the western Arizona/Nevada plains in the very last days of the waning Old West in 1908. When we first meet him in the film's opening, he's betrayed by his two former partners, Bowen and Taggart (Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones, respectively) who steal his mule and provisions and leave him to die out in the blazing sun of the vast Arizona desert. He stumbles around dehydrated for four days close to death until he is saved by miraculously discovering water from a natural underground spring close to a regularly traveled wagon route. With the help of supplies dropped off to him from the passing wagons and stagecoaches, he decides that instead of leaving the desert behind, he will instead stay with the spring he has discovered and build it up into his very own little pitt-stop-style oasis in the desert, so other thristy travelers and wanderers passing through the area will have a place to stop and drink. Along the way, Cable is befriended and assisted by a lascivious preacher, Joshua Sloan (David Warner) and a feisty prostitute, Hildy (Stella Stevens), from a local, nearby town who dreams of the big, upscale life in San Francisco. Early on he even stakes a claim and gets a bank loan on the land and spring and eventually even builds it up into an impressive little hitching post complete with a cabin, horse pens, rattlesnakes and a picnic area and watering spring. Pretty soon, customers from all over are stopping by Cable's now bustling and thriving little watering hole and pitt-stop. He eventually starts making good profits and becomes a legitimate, locally well-known businessman. He even dubs his oasis as Cable Springs, a cinematic implication that this watering hole was the foundation of what eventually became the modern-day city. Interestingly enough, Cable Hogue's primary motive for starting the oasis is not profit, but a patient revenge strategy in knowing the fact that his two afforementioned former comrades are still out there and will eventually and unsuspectingly drop by for a drink at some point. That's when Cable Hogue will be ready for them! Will he have his retribution on the two no-good weasels who left him for dead? You'll just have to watch and see.It's an interesting and original little story, with good humor and characterization throughout. Jason Robards provides an excellent, gently wry performance and his character of Cable Hogue is a man with passions we can feel and understand. It's fairly safe to say that The Ballad of Cable Hogue is the most likeable and watchable of Sam Peckinpah's films, especially to the casual viewer. Unlike Peckinpah's other western features, the focus here is less on action-violence and more on characterization, which should make it a good introductory film for those new to or not as familiar with Sam Peckinpah's normally gritty style. It also even has a few poignant elements here and there, namely that of people's attitudes in the very first days of the 20th Century toward the progress and changing landscapes of the American West, a theme that was recurrent in many of Sam Peckinpah's westerns. Overall, a great, enjoyable film that's still worth a view.

Bandy Coote 2012-05-21 05:00:58

Quirky and tender

I can't ever resist this movie if it's on TV. A great assortment ofstrange, complex characters, and a fine story. Jason Robards at hisbest.

2012-05-20 14:40:10

Love Stella Stevens

Oh My; Stella Stevens! How do I love you!? Let me count the ways! Love this film.

Everett Jones 2012-05-20 10:44:04

Not of Peckinpah's best

Most people who have heard of Sam Peckinpah still probably think of himas "Bloody Sam," a gleeful sadist who love of violence inspired hisfilms' slow-motion bloodbaths. This is unfair,because Peckinpah wasmuch more than just an exploitation filmmaker, and it was no doubt inpart to avoid being thought of in this way that he decided to film TheBallad of Cable Hogue. Like all filmmakers who create masterpieces,Peckinpah was faced with the question of what could possibly match TheWild Bunch, and so, no doubt wisely, he decided to bypass the questionby making that film's complete antithesis. Cable Hogue is also aWestern that shows the closing of the frontier, but it does so in amuch more gentle fashion (which, granted, isn't saying too much) withbarely any violence. Instead of an epic, here Peckinpah is trying tomake a surreal allegory. So I can understand why Peckinpah would wantto make a movie like Cable Hogue as a follow-up to The Wild Bunch, butI still can't completely understand exactly what he was trying to do inthe movie itself. It gets off to a good start but bogs down in atedious, inexplicable ending. Jason Robards appears in the title role,a man, played by Jason who is left to die in the desert by hispartners, played by Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones, essentiallyreprising gentler versions of their scummy bounty-hunter in The WildBunch. Just as he is apparently about to die, Cable discovers water inthe ground, and decided to stay there selling water to passingstagecoach passengers. Though Peckinpah's reputation was partly on hisimage as the anti-John Ford, in Cable Hogue he shows that in onerespect he was the perfect artistic heir to Ford: in his handling ofhumor. Both directors, at ease with majestic landscapes and excitingaction scenes, are almost completely lost when it comes to comedy.Peckinpah's attempts at raising laughs reminded me of The Simpsonsepisode where Homer gives Mel Gibson suggestions on how to "improve"his Mr. Smith Goes to Washington remake, including speeding up themotion in one scene: "Speeded-up motion is funny!" Homer must have alsobeen creative consultant to Peckinpah when he was making this movie,because that's exactly his approach. Peckinpah was often criticized forhis attitude towards women, and this flaw comes to the forefront inCable Hogue with his handling of the character Hildy. Peckinpah triesto have it both ways by treating her as a sex object and a seriouscharacter. Because of this, I never believed in the supposedly deepfeelings that Cable had for Hildie. The movie's most embarrassingsequence is a montage of Cable and Hildie's time together, supposedlyshowing us the deep feelings they have for each other, and all to thesound of an unbelievably saccharine song, "Butterfly Mornings (!)." I'dlike to think that Peckinpah was forced to add this song by greedystudio execs, but from what I read about the film's production in abiography of the director, he was given complete creative control.Aside from misogyny and unfunny humor, the main reason for Cable Hogueis simply that the end is completely bizarre. Peckinpah was supposed tohave been a big admirer of Fellini, and as strange as it sounds, heseems to be attempting his own version of Fellini in the closingscenes. Once again, automobiles are used as a symbol of the passing ofthe West and the beginning of the modern era. Hildy, who had left Cableto go to San Francisco and make her fortune, returns a wealthy widowdriven by a chauffeur. Cable decides to leave his successful businessin the desert and leave with Hildy, but before he can, he isunexpectedly run over. This should remind anyone familiar withPeckinpah of Angel being dragged behind a car at the end of The WildBunch, but here Peckinpah handles the scene in an offhand fashion, withRobard barely complaining of any pain. His subsequent death isobviously supposed to be more allegorical than realistic, but it justseems off. Instead of subsiding to an elegiac feeling, as was the casewith The Wild Bunch, Cable Hogue just seems to sputter out. I'm sure ifI would have appreciated the movie more if I had seen it on a restoredletter-boxed DVD that I'm sure would have only provided more evidenceof Peckinpah and cinematographer Lucien Ballard's flair for usingmajestic western landscapes. But I don't think that it would havesolved this movie's main problems, which have to do with the basic toneand intention behind the story. If anything kept me interested, itwasn't the writing or the direction but Jason Robard's performance inthe title role. Cable may be intended by Peckinpah to be a symbol, butRobard makes him into a believable, likable human being. He's the mainreason to watch this deeply flawed film.

Wulfstan10 2012-05-19 23:55:54

Revenge and "Butterfly Mornings" in the Demise of the Old West

Not the usual Peckinpah fare, this movie is interesting and had a lotof promise but it sputtered out and fizzled in the end. I really wantedto love this movie, and thought that I would, until it came to a close.The story is of a man abandoned in the desert by his two "partners" andleft for dead, but who finds the only spring for many miles aroundright on a stagecoach route and sets up a rest stop and watering hole.At the same time, his original sole purpose is revenge, but otherforces, including some key people and the changing nature of the westlead him to reexamine himself and pull him in new directions.This story sounds great, and it basically is. It's a promising taleexploring luck, friendship, love, the value of revenge, whether peopleshould bother with revenge and where one will go when obsessed withrevenge, and the demise of the Old West. It thus possesses manyinteresting themes, and is really a very unusual western, with adifferent and fresh approach.For much of the film, the story and themes are handled well. Unlike theusual Peckinpah movie, the issues are handled gently, yet they are noless powerful for that. it draws the viewer into the story.Moreover, the characters are great and the actors's performancesexcellent. Jason Robards (Cable Hogue) and David Warner (Cable'sfriend, the "preacher" Joshua) are always a pleasure to watch and herethey excellently and compellingly portray interesting and wonderfulcharacters. Robards' performance is particularly compelling andsympathetic, while being fairly subtle and without being over the top,or begging for empathy.There are some other elements that are a little questionable, but stillgenerally work or which at least do not detract too much from the film.Some elements of the romance, particularly the song "ButterlfyMornings" are a little saccharine and corny, but I can overlook theseeasily. The speeded-up motion to convey humor is also not very subtle,original, or particularly effective. However, it does generally workand it fits the mood of the film and the characters of Cable and Josh.Another point is the theme music, such as that played at the beginningof the film during the credits. It's a type of 60s/70s folk music andwhile unusual for a western it certainly fits in with the notion of thefilm as a ballad of a colorful character.The real problem is the end. It has its good points such as the messageabout the end of the Old West, and David Warner's concluding monologue,which is enjoyable (if perhaps a tad long),poignant, and compellingwhile making some pretty good points. Cable's ultimate transformationon revenge is also handled fairly well at the end. I do not want togive it away, but suffice it to say that otherwise the ending is a tadstrange and comes across as hurried and thrown together. The transitionfrom the second to last scene to the last scene sudden and apparentlyinexplicable. The events seem to be a cheap way to end the moviequickly, with an all-too-facile-and-convenient instrumentality usheringin the final moments, giving the impression that Peckinpah, et al.,didn't quite no how to conclude it so threw this in to do the job. Inaddition, the conclusion does not really fully address the issues thatthe movie seemed to be raising, such as revenge and the end of the oldwest, and it leaves the develop of some of the characters (especiallyJosh) dangling. It just throws some elements of the issues andcharacters in and calls it a day. The result is that the rushed, cheapending does much to nullify the strong virtues oft he movie. I don'thave a problem with the basic result, but I do have major problems withthe way it was handled.In the end, this film is certainly well worth a look. Don't expect theusual Peckinpah-type film, but don't deride the film on that basis.Even knowing the ending I still would watch the film again, and thereis a lot to appreciate. Unfortunately, I can also really appreciate howgreat this film could have been.

2012-05-14 07:59:44

Stella!

This review is from: The Ballad of Cable Hogue (DVD) I saw this during its theatrical release and loved it. When I purchased the boxed set of Peckinpah westerns, it was the first I played. How has it held up? I would have given it five stars back then; today just four (which ain't shabby). The difference represents the effect of 30+ years on my sensibilities more than theatrical viewing versus DVD. The cast features excellent performances: Jason Robards is perfect as Cable; David Warner effective as the preacher; and Peckinpah stalwarts Strother Martin, L. Q. Jones, and Slim Pickins are always interesting. The clunker, for me, was Stella Stevens. The whore-with-a-heart-of-gold is a character type with which I have a problem. It's not a problem of morality; it's a problem of reality. The problem here is compounded by the choice of Miss Stevens. It's not her acting - her performance is quite good - it's her appearance. While the scruffy appearances of the other characters place them plausibly in turn-of-the-century Arizona, Miss Stevens's appearance screams 1960s Southern California. I would have found a less attractive actress with a harder edge more effective in the role. The problem here may be mine alone (Miss Stevens's performance was widely praised); that had I viewed the movie more as a fantasy, Miss Stevens would not have posed the problem she did. Overall, it is a quibble with what is otherwise an immensely enjoyable film.

2012-05-13 13:21:50

touching, clever and funny

gee what a crappy review by Leonard Maltin. The film is not overlong. And it is a FILM, not a moo-vie, and it deserves to be praised. It is not overlong at all. I guess he's too busy reviewing chop-house wasterns, surely not his favorite genre anyway; he prefers all glitz, big names and no substance. This film is wonderful. All the roles, ALL, are played extremely well, and very believably. It has much to offer.. truly funny moments and situations, a fair amount of suspense and action, and an excellent screenplay. It is more like you are there, watching real people, not Hollywood actors who are thinking about something else when being filmed. The most memorable moments in The Ballad of Cable Hogue are the tender ones between Cable and his ill-found, but adoring younger sweetheart. The music is very special also. I love the song " Butterfly mornings and Wildflower Afternoons " I think it deserves 5 stars.

2012-05-12 19:07:10

Tomorrow is the song I sing....

This review is from: Ballad of Cable Hogue [VHS] (VHS Tape) When I was younger, Sam Peckinpah's more violent films were my favorites, now, as I approach the age of the title character, this film is far and away my favorite. Peckinpah came up with a philosophical, almost biblically themed picture here- yet it is also filled with the most laugh-out-loud humor of any of his films. It had to be an accident, it just works too perfectly to have been done on purpose....This is the story of Cable Hogue, a prospector in the Arizona territory of 1908. He is left to die without water by his two partners. Not only is he left to die- he is laughed at because of his "yellowness" at not doing the same to them when given a chance. So Cable tries to walk out of the desert knowing that he has no chance. He talks (he never prays) to the God that he has never had much use for. As a result, he finds water; water where it never was and could never possibly be.This is the start of Cable's desert kingdom. He builds it out of nothing and out of bluff. He builds it with his own hands, out of what the desert provides. When necessary, he defends it with deadly force. Yet Cable gains respect and friends along the way. Sure, he can be mean and ruthless when he has to be, but to those who prove worthy, he can be a generous and loyal friend. He even wins the love of the most beautiful woman in a land where women are scarce (Stella Stevens- she never looked better than she did in this film.)Then, at the height of his success, the two former partners that left him to die are delivered into his hands....I used to wonder at the name "Cable", since I had never heard it before. Then I got it, Cable is a combination of Cain and Abel. This is because Cable is a combination of good and bad. On the one hand he is capable of hardness, even to the point of taking a life, but on the other hand he can show justice and mercy in sparing a life. To paraphrase the phoney preacher at the end of the film, Cable wasn't strictly a good man, and he wasn't strictly a bad man, but Lord- he was a MAN!

2012-05-12 12:34:41

Great Westerns

- Four of the greatest westerns ever made, especially "The Wild Bunch" and "Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid". The extras are first-rate too.

Jack Gattanella 2012-05-11 04:29:51

an uncommonly sweet film from Peckinpah; can't wait to see it again!

The Ballad of Cable Hogue isn't exactly a "light" offering fromPeckinpah, but then again what would be? This is however not somethingalmost unthinkable at the time like the Wild Bunch. If anything, afterthat film, Peckinpah decided to go onto something that would let himfocus even more on just character, and on a story that took anotherlook at the old west (while, also, looking at the changing-of-the-tidesort of theme from the previous picture). Robards is terrific, and veryfunny, as the drifter who makes a buck after building up a way-stationin the middle of the desert. Cable Hogue is a man of ideals that arejust grand enough for him, as he stumbles upon a luck of a spring inthe ground and makes it his own.Robards often has the good memory of his career of that as a characteractor mostly, with memorable parts in Once Upon a Time in the West, Allthe Presidents Men, and lastly in Magnolia, among many many others.Here, in one of his leading roles, he gives full life to thischaracter, and under Peckinpah's direction he's a man who's a littletoo complex to peg as just one thing with women, or one thing indealing with a gunslinger or a prospector, and gives him a feature ofrespectability, or at least some interest, even when Hogue should be athis worst. Despite some of the darker undertones that come up from timeto time, it might be Peckinpah's sweetest film, where a prostitute witha heart-of-gold like Hildy (amusing Stella Stevens) works just right,and the music by Jerry Goldsmith matches the mood every step of theway, notably in that opening scene with Hogue stumbling about and goinginto freeze-frame. Sometimes the humor even gets a little dirty (howabout that panty shot!), but it doesn't ring untrue.In one of the few times in Peckinpah's career where the producers knewwell enough to let him alone to make his movie, The Ballad of CableHogue turned out as one of his better films, a testament to one of hispet subjects without the notorious angle of violence with it.

Petri Pelkonen 2012-05-10 10:21:52

From the director of The Wild Bunch

Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) is left in the desert without any water.After afew days he finds a springs with lots of water.He offers some water to the stagecoach passengers for money.Until the automobiles take over.He becomes a friend with a preacher JoshuaSloane (David Warner).In the nearest town lives a whore called Hildy (StellaStevens) who becomes Cable's lover and later they move together.SamPeckinpah directed a terrific western comedy in 1970-one year after hedirected The Wild Bunch.Some people may not like it so much because it isn'tas violent as The Wild Bunch but I don't mind, I don't mind atall.The casting in the movie is brilliant.Jason Robards was a perfect man toplay Cable Hogue.The movie has many memorable scenes.The Ballad of CableHogue left a good taste in my mouth-and I still haven't got it out.

2012-05-06 00:20:37

Single Best Collection of Western Varieties Ever

This review is from: Sam Peckinpah's Legendary Westerns Collection (The Wild Bunch / Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid / Ride the High Country / The Ballad of Cable Hogue) (DVD) If you view the four movies comprising the Sam Peckinpah's Legendary Westerns Collection and don't agree it is the single best collection of western varieties ever . . . well, just as Angel said to the Bunch--as some didn't share his vision that Mexico was more beautiful than Texas crossing the swollen river into his homeland--"You have no eyes." The Wild Bunch is simply the best real Western ever. Men learn how to be men; how to handle failure with its recognition then laughing the pain away so one can go forward. The idea of loyalty, so missing in modern day bunches, is emphasized here like Pike preaching, "Once you side with a man, you stay with him; otherwise you're just like some animal." And so your modern personal business model has changed . . . Medicare doesn't reimburse enough, commissions are squeezed, selling a book doesn't earn what it used to . . . all of those things are not new. A startling hero of the movie, Edwin O'Brien as Freddie Sykes, remembers at the end whatever you like and want and need to do, "It ain't like it used to be, but it'll do," electrically making it okay to go on and enjoy, the heck with everything else. After this movie, worth every penny of the collection, the rest cost nothing but are perfect attendees to the king of westerns, The Wild Bunch. Billy Bob Thornton comments in the special features of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, this is his favorite of Peckinpah's Westerns because it is so far out there--way out. The story between the two "friends," James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson, is cut in the Peckinpah way of surprises, twists, and then touching moments interspersed with the harsh realities of the untamed West. You'll never again see anything like this. Leaving the lead character's performances for the moment--Coburn is as menacing a psychopath as Kristofferson's Billy--Richard Jaeckel as Sheriff Kip McKinney "goes loco" with his fundamentalist beliefs trying to redeem Billy's soul before the hanging. Peckinpah's slight of hand in his direction allows the viewer to inhabit the moment as a shotgun loaded with 16 dimes does far more than $1.60 worth of killing. The minor character Donnie Fritts brings to life Beaver who is so unintentionally funny as his lines are repeating what was just said, causing even Garrett so laugh behind clinched teeth over a cigar while he contemplates "tickling (Fritts') private parts" with a bullet. The entrepreneurial Cable Hogue, the best blue-collar frontiersman hero yet, winning the pretty girl, Stella Stevens' Hildy, with his deep pioneering spirit and fumbling ways, tells a life one comes to see as the way Peckinpah may have viewed his own, even down to the funeral. His conversations with the Lord are a reflection of a religion where Holy Ones are friends, and when you need water, and on about the third day going without, you're going to talk to that friend in a pretty harsh, direct way. ". . . Now about sinnin', you just send me a drop or two (of rain), and I won't do it no more... whatever in hell it was that I did." L Q Jones calls Ride the High Country the best Saturday matinee, take your girl friend and eat popcorn Western movie ever. There's a love story here and with feeling the viewer sees it develop in a wonderful way even at a dinner she cooks "a fine ham hock; eating Chapter one," in a reference to the strict Biblical father's quoting scripture to squeeze every drop out of happiness. But the powerful story here is of two men, now out-of-date cowboys, aging, and in doing so, refinding their moral compass and friendship of one another. This yields one of the all-time best lines in any movie, a thought that can guide one's life as a goal, an aspiration higher than any other: "All I want is to enter my house justified." View the movie and the special featurette where this notion is discussed . . . you won't be able to forget it. The box-set cover reflecting a scene from each of the four films also has a side portrait of Peckinpah himself, looking into a camera as his mind saw and interpreted a unique vision of changes in life and how one is left behind in a different era. It is in many respects like any modern times, yet the parable is set in these frontier times, and harsh times lead to some very difficult outcomes. But along the way, all of these characters lived, really lived, a lesson all of us need to remember as we find ourselves becoming politically-correct stiffs. Watching this collection will enhance your life, broaden your horizons, and deepen appreciation of the twisted but brillant creator, Sam Peckinpah.

keith-kendall 2012-05-05 07:53:25

Tremendous movie reflecting heavy theological message

The beginning of this movie is very much like the 40 years in thewildernessexperienced by the Jewish People and recorded in the Old Testament. Avicious cycle of dependence, repentance, and rebellion. The movie carriesaheavy theme about the attitude of religion of the times and today. Themostgodly people of the film are Cable and Hilde.The scene between Cable and the Banker is one of most powerful scenes inthemovie.The music and songs are very appropriate and memorable. I have beensinging"Butterfly Morning" for over 30 years. My children love the movie andwatchit all them time.I used it in a class I taught on the History of Religion at the collegelevel.The movie examines religious values, hypocrisy and piety in a veryinteresting way.This is by far one of the best films ever made. A timeless classic.Everyoneshould see this movie.

dav07dan02 2012-05-03 07:47:38

don't overlook this wonderful film!

Director: Sam Peckinpah, Script: John Crawford, Edmund Penney, Cast:Jason Roberts (Cable Hogue), Stella Stevens (Hildy), David Warner (Rev.Josua Douglas Sloan)I don't know. For some reason this movie seems to be all but forgotten.Maybee because it came between The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Bilythe Kid. I actually like it better than Pat Garrett and it is just asgood as the Wild Bunch in its own way. Jason Robards in his greatestperformance plays Cable Hogue. Poor old cable gets double crossed byhis comrades. They rob him and leave him for dead in the desert. Wellnot only does old Cable survive but he finds water in the desert thatnot only helps him survive but also makes him rich! He turns this landinto a stopping point for stagecoach travelers. In the nearby town, hemeets Hidy(Stella Stevens), the town hooker and they become lovers. Oneday a couple of travelers stop by for a drink. Guess who?! Like in mostPeckinpah movies the western frontier is being replaced by moderncivilization. He realizes his days are through when one day a strangestagecoach comes to his place. This stagecoach can move by itself! I just love Jason Roberts in this. This film is different from anyother I have seen from Penkinpah. It was released after the Wild Bunchand just before Straw Dogs and what a different film it is! This filmis very funny! I love the scene with the reverend trying to 'councel' ayoung women when she thinks her husband is dead. It is one of manyfunny moments. Unlike his other films of this time, this one has verylittle violence but it does have nudity. Even when he is not showingthe beautiful Miss Stevens in the nude he is focusing on her chest. Onesees this in several scenes. Well physical attributes aside she wasgreat in this as well. She is actually treated better then most of thefemales in his films! Peckinpah had so many good westerns that it ishard to say what his best one is. I really enjoy this movie. I mightadd that I sold my Scream collection box set to get the Sam Pechinpahcollection. I actually like the Scream movies but I do not regret thetrade! Get the Sam Peckinpah collection as soon as you can!

2012-05-02 09:11:43

A must Own Collection

This review is from: Sam Peckinpah's Legendary Westerns Collection (The Wild Bunch / Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid / Ride the High Country / The Ballad of Cable Hogue) (DVD) I,ve must tell you after Receiving Sam Peckinpah's Legendary Collection and Watched for the First Time Ride the High Country i realised, Just For that Movie was Worth Buying This Box,not to say that the Wild Bunch is one of the Best Westerns ever made and one of my Favorites.This Collection is the best money can buy A lot of Extras Documentaries interviews with actors family members,who knew the man also called Bloody Sam.I also recommend Sam's Biography If they move Kill'em

tomhendrix69 2012-04-30 12:58:34

Never Give Up!

The Ballad of Cable Hogue is one of the finest examples of the"American Spirit Unbridled" ever portrayed in any medium. What I tookwith me (and kept all these 35 years) from the film was the underlyingphilosophy NEVER DOUBT YOURSELF!. Jason Robards will take up residencein your heart along with Stella Stevens while David Warner and StrotherMartin are at the top of their craft. In fact, the entire cast cametogether as fine an ensemble as to be seen in the cinema. This movie isto be enjoyed time and again to appreciate the subtle-and not sosubtle-nuances and interwoven themes of individuality, persistence andself-esteem.

Tahoe61 2012-04-29 20:45:25

"Cable Hogue" soundtrack CD + comments

Yes, there is a soundtrack CD. It contains an engrossing and detailedpictorial liner-notes chronology written by Nick Redman about themovie's apparently unpleasant production, how it was termed "the BATTLEof Cable Hogue" on the set, how rains in southern Nevada delayedfilming, that dozens were fired, how Peckinpah held firm for unknownRichard Gillis's ideally-suited singing and songs, and how personalvendettas at Warner Brothers virtually buried the film (and I agree, itis Peckinpah's masterpiece). Warners, in my opinion, blew it.Excellent pictorial CD by mail from: www.VareseSarabande.com BTW, As a point of interest, Director Sam Peckinpah of "The Wild Bunch"and "Ballad of Cable Hogue" previously had directed TV's "Gunsmoke."