Lonesome Cowboys

All this buzz about a new movie featuring gay cowboys (which I haven't seen) put me in mind of Andy Warhol's 1968 movie Lonesome Cowboys (which, regrettably, I have seen). Of course, Warhol's film is a travesty, which I gather is not the intention for this new one. But I have a problem with cowboy movies that don't stick to conventions of the genre. The last thing I want to see is a cowboy movie that's focused on sex rather than guns. Cowboys aren't supposed to fall in love with girls or other cowboys; they're supposed to love their horses and their guns, but especially their guns (and I'm talking about firearms here). That's the message of the cowboy movie.

Now the best cowboy movies usually have John Wayne in them. There are a few exceptions with Alan Ladd (Shane) or Gary Cooper (High Noon) or even Jimmy Stewart (Bend of the River), but the real classics are the ones with the Duke. And for my money the best of these is Rio Bravo. This is the one with John Wayne in one of his typical strong but silent type roles, a small town sheriff who is holding the brother of a very bad guy in his jail, with no support from the town and only a crippled and cantankerous old deputy (Walter Brennan) and a washed up gunman turned town drunk (Dean Martin) for backup. Eventually, these three are joined by a young gunman (Ricky Nelson) who also plays guitar and sings. Of course, there's the saloon girl (Angie Dickinson) who falls in love with Wayne, but she's not the main love interest. That is saved for their guns. There's a wonderful scene where the sheriff (Wayne) gives the Dude (Martin) back his six shooters, which the Dude had hocked to buy whiskey. The sheriff has lovingly kept these pistols in excellent condition, and all of the men are nearly in tears as the Dude straps the holsters onto his hips.

The movie builds to the climax, when the sheriff, the Dude, the Kid and the old cripple wipe out the bad brothers and their gang of hired guns, confirming the code of the west: the best thing to do with bad guys is to just shoot them. They tried putting one of them in jail, but that never works. Somebody always comes along to try to break them out. Then the good cowboys have to just go on ahead and shoot the whole bunch of them. The movie ends with the Kid and the Dude joining forces with the sheriff and the old deputy. The Dude is no longer a drunk, but is now clean cut and walking with his old swagger, guns resting on his hips. And the Kid has joined him, having found a good use for his skill with six shooters.

And that is the main point of cowboy movies. Guns can be redemptive, especially when used to clean a town of bad men. They can bring justice as well as sobriety. Sometimes they are all that stands between civilization and chaos. And that's what cowboy movies are supposed to be about. The good guys use their guns to bring justice. It's cleansing and pure and simple. It gives you a good feeling inside, a catharsis. I suspect that's why cowboy movies are so appealing. If only we could strap on our guns and clean the world of bad guys! But at least we can watch the Duke do it in the movies.