Casey Chong with a selection of underappreciated 1970s westerns that don’t get the recognition they deserve…
By the 1970s, a lot of things had changed even for the movie landscape. This includes the Western films, one of the most enduring genres for several decades. Gone are the traditional portrayals of Old West heroes and enemies populated by the then-dominant John Wayne era. The 1970s period saw a significant thematic shift into exploring darker themes, morally ambiguous or flawed characters, and the depiction of violence. Notable Western movies like The Outlaw Josey Wales, McCabe & Mrs. Miller and High Plains Drifter were some of the better-known entries in the 70s but there were numerous others that were either overlooked or haven’t quite managed to receive the plaudits of many of their contemporaries. And this brings us to six of the best underrated Western movies of the 1970s…
The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)
It’s hard to believe that Sam Peckinpah’s follow-up to the controversial violent Western of The Wild Bunch would be something… unexpectedly lightweight. Or more accurately, a Western comedy about a down-on-his-luck prospector, Cable Hogue (Jason Robards), who is betrayed by his sneaky partners, Taggart (L. Q. Jones) and Bowen (Strother Martin) while scouting for water. Poor Cable is left to die in the scorching desert, only to be lucky enough to stumble upon an ample source of water. The discovery of water leads him to turn the place into a stagecoach stop, allowing him to make money for any travelers passing by to enjoy a cup of water.
Cable is portrayed as an ambitious but somehow illiterate prospector (he can’t even spell “water” right when he made a wooden sign). His journey to fulfilling his dream leads to a series of comedic moments, covering everything from broad humor (at one point, the picture of a Native American on a dollar bill becomes animated with a smiling face after Cable keeps looking at the beautiful prostitute Hildy, played by Stella Stevens, from a distance) to witty dialogue.
And not to forget, Robards does a good job anchoring one of his best performances playing the titular character. Peckinpah’s trademark of gritty violence is significantly reduced, with only sparse action in The Ballad of Cable Hogue. Beneath all the lighter tones, he has something subtle to say about the ever-changing landscape in the Old West, particularly during the bittersweet third act revolving around “horseless carriages” and the ironic fate of Cable Hogue.
The Grand Duel (1972)
Otherwise known as The Big Showdown, the perfectly stoic Lee Van Cleef plays Sheriff Clayton, who is on a mission to seek justice for a man (Alberto Dentice’s Philip Vermeer) framed for murder. The film is directed by Giancarlo Santi, previously an assistant director for Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (also starring Van Cleef) and Once Upon a Time in the West, and he manages to master a thing or two about making a spaghetti Western.
The opening stretch establishes Santi’s directorial prowess in deliberately building the anticipation from the introduction of Van Cleef’s Sheriff Clayton, to walking into the town full of gunslingers waiting to pull the triggers in nonchalantly before the shooting starts. Santi also deserves equal mention for injecting some humor into his movie. At one point, Sheriff Clayton is fast enough to catch a bullet with his teeth. The action, apart from the Once Upon a Time in the West-style opening scene, culminates in an inevitable duel with Santi borrowing one of Leone’s signature visual aesthetics: the extreme close-up shots that focus on the eyes of the characters looking around to ratchet up the tension.
Ulzana’s Raid (1972)
Robert Aldrich has proved his versatility as a director, who successfully crosses over multiple genres from film noir (1955’s Kiss Me Deadly) to psychological horror (1962’s What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) and war film (1967’s The Dirty Dozen). He is no slouch either when it comes to making Westerns such as Ulzana’s Raid, which reunites the filmmaker with the laconic Burt Lancaster in a story about McIntosh, an experienced U.S. Army scout joining a young lieutenant (Bruce Davison’s Garrett DeBuin) and Apache tracker Ke-Ni-Tay (Jorge Luke) to track down Ulzana (Joaquin Martinez) and his remorseless Chiricahua war party.
Shot on locations in the vast Arizona landscape, Aldrich captures the brutally harsh environment and scorching heat of the desert that reflects the pessimistic nature of this revisionist Western. The violence is uncompromisingly pragmatic with none of the romanticization. There are no traditional heroes other than flawed characters, even for Lancaster’s leading turn as McIntosh.
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid was notoriously known for its troubled production, including heavy studio interference, which ultimately overshadowed the quality of the movie. It drew mixed reviews at the time of its release, but as time went by, it has since been re-evaluated as Peckinpah’s misunderstood masterpiece. The story follows Pat Garrett (James Coburn), a lawman who is hired by wealthy cattle barons to deal with the outlaw, Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson). And that means killing him, even though Billy the Kid happens to be his childhood friend.
True to Peckinpah’s depiction of a gritty Western, he doesn’t shy away from blood and gun violence. The movie also gets a boost from solid performances all around, notably James Coburn’s conflicted lawman turn as Pat Garrett, who is torn between the commitment of fulfilling his duty and killing his former friend, Billy the Kid. The latter excels in his charismatic performance, displaying rebellious charm and youthful spirit, despite the actor’s significant age of 36 at the time (the real Billy the Kid died as young as 21 years old).
Duck, You Sucker! (1971)
Sergio Leone has given us some of the best Western movies ever made, including the Dollars trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) and Once Upon a Time in the West in the ‘60s era. But his other spaghetti Western, Duck, You Sucker! didn’t receive the same towering acclaim as his aforementioned masterpieces. The title itself is particularly misleading, suggesting Leone chose to let loose for something lightweight in its tone and style.
But in reality Leone, who also co-wrote the movie, favors realism while highlighting strong themes of friendship and the matter-of-fact depiction of war and political turmoil, which in this case, is the oppressive Mexican Revolution. Duck, You Sucker! also features two of the best performances from James Coburn and Rod Steiger as explosives expert John Mallory and bandit leader Juan Miranda, whose contrasting personalities and viewpoints allow them to shine in their layered performances.
Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)
Clint Eastwood is no stranger to Western movies, including solidifying his reputation as The Man with No Name in Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy. But Two Mules for Sister Sara, where he plays an ex-Civil War soldier, Hogan saves a nun played by Shirley MacLaine as the titular character from a gang of bandits before they join forces on a mission in Mexico, is largely overlooked within Eastwood’s Western filmography.
Directed by Eastwood’s frequent collaborator, Don Siegel, the movie highlights the chemistry between Eastwood’s Hogan and MacLaine’s Sister Sara, where they play off each other well with their strong character dynamics. Despite being positioned as a Western film, Siegel doesn’t confine strictly as such, mixing and matching different genres – action, comedy, romance and drama with political undertones – to mostly engaging results. He even subverts the expectations of turning Shirley MacLaine’s character, who is both witty and resourceful, rather than your average token love interest.
SEE ALSO: The Essential Revisionist Westerns of the 21st Century
What other underappreciated 1970s westerns are worthy of a spot on this list? Let us know on our socials @FlickeringMyth…
Casey Chong
