Directed By: Tom Gries
Starring: Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett, Donald Pleasence
Tag line: "The Brute in Every man Was Also in Him - And the Love and the Violence"
Trivia: First credited role in a theatrical film for Lee Majors.
In movies such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, and El-Cid, Charlton Heston played larger-than-life characters whose courage and strength inspired those around them. In Will Penny, a 1967 western written and directed by Tom Gries, he portrays a different sort of hero altogether, a simple cowboy who has spent his entire life in the saddle, and doesn’t know how to live any other way.
Having just finished a cattle run for boss Anse Howard (G.D. Spradlin), 50-year-old cowhand Will Penny (Heston) finds himself in need of a job. Tagging along with fellow cowboys Blue (Lee Majors) and Dutchy (Anthony Zerbe), Will sets off in search of work, hoping to secure a position before winter sets in.
Along the way, the three have a run-in with an overzealous preacher named Quint (Donald Pleasance), who is traveling with his adult sons Rafe (Brice Dern), Romulus (Matt Clark) and Rufus (Gene Rutherford). A fight ensues, during which Will shoots Rufus dead, and a grief-stricken Quint vows to one day take his revenge on the aging cowboy.
Saying goodbye to Blue and Dutchy, Will swings by the Flat Iron Ranch and is hired by the foreman (Ben Johnson) to be one of the company’s new line riders, keeping his eye on a remote section of the ranch during the winter months. But when he arrives at his new cabin, Will finds it's already occupied! Catherine Allen (Joan Hackett), who, along with her son Horace (Jon Gries), moved into the cabin after their guide, who was hired by Catherine’s husband to lead them westward, abandoned them in the middle of nowhere.
Instead of kicking them out immediately, Will allows Catherine and Horace to stay while he’s riding the line. Unfortunately, during his travels, Will once again encounters Quint and his sons, who savagely beat him and leave him for dead.
Saying goodbye to Blue and Dutchy, Will swings by the Flat Iron Ranch and is hired by the foreman (Ben Johnson) to be one of the company’s new line riders, keeping his eye on a remote section of the ranch during the winter months. But when he arrives at his new cabin, Will finds it's already occupied! Catherine Allen (Joan Hackett), who, along with her son Horace (Jon Gries), moved into the cabin after their guide, who was hired by Catherine’s husband to lead them westward, abandoned them in the middle of nowhere.
Instead of kicking them out immediately, Will allows Catherine and Horace to stay while he’s riding the line. Unfortunately, during his travels, Will once again encounters Quint and his sons, who savagely beat him and leave him for dead.
Somehow making his way back to the cabin, Will is cared for by Catherine, who treats his wounds and nurses him back to health. As thanks, Will lets her and Horace stay for the winter, during which he experiences something he never has before: family life. Over time, Will and Catherine develop feelings for one another, but does he have it in him to settle down, or is it too late for Will Penny?
What sets Will Penny apart from most screen westerns is its realistic depiction of the life of a cowboy. Unlike most western heroes, Will Penny is not a sheriff or even a gunslinger; he’s a hired hand, and worries when he’s out of work. Even more revealing are the scenes in which Will interacts with Catherine and Horace. Accustomed to being alone, Will is suddenly living with two other people, and it’s a difficult adjustment for him. Even the simple things most of us take for granted are a challenge; In one of the film’s more poignant scenes, Catherine tries to teach Will a Christmas song, so that he can join in the next time she and Horace are singing (to her amazement, he doesn’t know a single carol).
What sets Will Penny apart from most screen westerns is its realistic depiction of the life of a cowboy. Unlike most western heroes, Will Penny is not a sheriff or even a gunslinger; he’s a hired hand, and worries when he’s out of work. Even more revealing are the scenes in which Will interacts with Catherine and Horace. Accustomed to being alone, Will is suddenly living with two other people, and it’s a difficult adjustment for him. Even the simple things most of us take for granted are a challenge; In one of the film’s more poignant scenes, Catherine tries to teach Will a Christmas song, so that he can join in the next time she and Horace are singing (to her amazement, he doesn’t know a single carol).
Over time, Will and Catherine fall in love which leads to even more complications (Will has a hard enough time providing for himself, let alone a small family). Though excellent throughout, Heston is particularly superb in these scenes, capturing the shyness and uncertainly of a man out of his element, who believes he is too old to change his ways.
There are a handful of action scenes scattered throughout Will Penny, not the least of which is an exciting finale. But despite the occasional thrill, the movie is more a character study than it is a traditional western, and thanks to the fine work of it’s star (with an assist from Gries' intelligent script), it’s a damn fine one at that.
There are a handful of action scenes scattered throughout Will Penny, not the least of which is an exciting finale. But despite the occasional thrill, the movie is more a character study than it is a traditional western, and thanks to the fine work of it’s star (with an assist from Gries' intelligent script), it’s a damn fine one at that.
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