The Cowboy (1954/Special Interest)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: B     Film: C+

 

 

Elmo Williams’ The Cowboy (1954) is an amusing, mixed attempt to capture the ideas, life and ways of cowboys.  It is oversimplifying and amusing at a time when The Western Genre was king.  It was also in transition at the time and one has to wonder if it was done as a reaction to changes made by the likes of High Noon, Broken Arrow and Johnny Guitar that were making traditionalists nervous.

 

The film gets repetitive, but if you watch it for how unintentionally amusing it can be, then it will be more bearable.  If you are not a fan of cowboys or Westerns, than you will get bored quickly.  The footage is interesting at times, but there is no major form to this work.  VCI has issued it for fans who would want it and they will be the ones who enjoy it the most, but for everyone else, it is worth a look if one is really interested.  Tex Ritter, William Conrad and John Dehner are participants in the project.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image is soft and grainy, on top of some haziness that comes form the video transfer, with dull colors and might have been shot in 16mm.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is flat and aged, but just clear enough to hear the narration throughout.  Extras include select audio commentary, text on Williams plus text making of on the film, trailer for this and seven other Westerns, a 46-minutes piece from 1989 hosted by a disguised Rip Torn as Ghost of The Old West and an audio commentary by cast members.  The supplements are better than usual and really enhance the film and DVD.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo