7.2/10
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64 user 24 critic

Will Penny (1967)

Aging cowboy Will Penny gets a line camp job on a large cattle spread and finds his isolated cabin is already occupied by a husbandless woman and her young son.

Director:

Tom Gries

Writer:

Tom Gries
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston ... Will Penny
Joan Hackett ... Catherine Allen
Donald Pleasence ... Preacher Quint
Lee Majors ... Blue
Bruce Dern ... Rafe Quint
Ben Johnson ... Alex - Flat Iron Ranch Foreman
Slim Pickens ... Ike Walterstein
Clifton James ... Catron
Anthony Zerbe ... Dutchy
Roy Jenson ... Boetius Sullivan
G.D. Spradlin ... Anse Howard
Quentin Dean ... Jennie
William Schallert ... Dr. Fraker
Lydia Clarke ... Mrs. Fraker
Robert Luster Robert Luster ... Shem Bodine
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Storyline

Will Penny, an aging cowpoke, takes a "line-rider" job on a vast cattle ranch requiring him to keep trespassers and squatters moving until they're off the property. Ironically, he discovers that the mountain cabin reserved for the line rider has been appropriated by Catherine Allen and her young son, Horace, whose guide has deserted them en route to Oregon to join Catherine's husband. Too soft-hearted and ashamed to kick mother and child out just as the bitter Rocky Mountains winter sets in, he agrees to share the cabin until the spring thaw. But it isn't just the snow that slowly thaws; lonely man and woman soon forget their considerable dissimilarities and start developing a deep, if awkward and unstated, love for each another. Beyond this, Horace finds in Will the father he's never known, and Will finds in Horace the son he's never known he's wanted. The trio's little refuge is then invaded by Bible-quoting preacher Quint and his murderous family of "rawhiders", who'd earlier ... Written by Alfred Jingle

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

He was a peaceful man, but he could KILL! See more »

Genres:

Romance | Western

Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 1968 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

...E o Bravo Ficou Só See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$1,400,000 (estimated)
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures See more »
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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Feature debut of Jon Gries. He is the son of Director Tom Gries. Billed as Jon Francis, it was never the producers' intention to cast him in the part of Horace (Button). According to a DVD Special Feature, he was at the studio while this movie was in development. He spent time playing until one day the producers invited him into the office. Later, they told Tom Griers they had found the boy for the part, his son. See more »

Goofs

Throughout the movie, Blue (played by Lee Majors) owns and drives a wagon. After the cattle drive is over, he drives his wagon away with his friend Dutchy riding with him. Will Penny (Charlton Heston) and Blue use the wagon to haul Dutchy to the doctor after he is wounded. In the final fight scene, Will and Blue use the wagon to attack the raw-hiders in the line shack allowing Will to jump onto the roof to pour the sulfur down the chimney.

Yet in the concluding scene, Will, Blue and Dutchy ride off on horseback leaving the wagon behind with horses still attached to it. See more »

Quotes

Ike Walterstein: [referring to the whiskey] That stuff's for doctorin'! It's not for drinkin'!
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Unforgiven (1992) See more »

Soundtracks

The Lonely Rider
Music by David Raksin
Lyrics by Robert Wells
Sung by Don Cherry
See more »

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User Reviews

 
A Heston Favorite
18 February 2006 | by bkoganbing – See all my reviews

In his memoirs Charlton Heston waxed pretty eloquent about this film, that he considers a personal favorite. He does some of his best work here in a role that's against type.

Charlton Heston probably has played more real people on screen than any other actor in history. Everything from Moses to Andrew Jackson to Brigham Young to Henry VIII. All of them are endowed with Heston's peculiar talent to bring a certain nobility to all of them.

Will Penny is just an ordinary aging cowboy from the last century working in Brokeback Mountain country. Nothing noble about him, nothing special unless you count the fact that he does his job, does it well and expects to be paid for same. He's probably the kind of guy that Ennis Delmar and Jack Twist would identify with.

Penny gets himself tangled up with a woman and her small son who've taken refuge in the line rider's cabin he's supposed to be in. And he's also earned the emnity of a murderous family of thieves led by crazy patriarch Donald Pleasance.

Heston in his memoirs paid tribute to his co-star Joan Hackett who he says was a great talent and left us too early. She gives a good performance in her role fighting for herself and her child to survive in a rugged winter.

Look for some realistic western portrayals from veterans like Ben Johnson, G.D. Spradlin, Slim Pickens, Anthony Zerbe, Lee Majors, Bruce Dern, and William Schallert.

Will Penny is very similar to Lee Marvin's classic Monte Walsh. A whole lot of the same issues and problems are portrayed there in the same realistic style.

I'm sure Ennis and Jack would have made it point to see Will Penny back in the day.


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