The Cowboys

PG

Released Jan 13, 1972

2h 8m

Western

List

75%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

88%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

A grizzled veteran rancher, Wil Andersen (John Wayne) is almost ready to embark on a big cattle drive when his crew abruptly quits to join in a gold rush. Left with no alternative, Anderson enlists the help of a group of local schoolboys. Training the youngsters to be cowboys, Andersen manages to get the drive underway, but their long journey is placed in jeopardy when the devious bandit Long Hair (Bruce Dern) sets his sights on stealing the herd.

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

The Cowboys which features one of the most torpid cattle drives since the invention of motion pictures, is an incomparable index to the confusion of values in the movie business right now.

Sep 29, 2023

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The scenes along the way of the kids learning to be cowboys are good, warm fun, and it's a shame they had to go for the unlikely, violent, and totally contrived last thirty minutes.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a better-than-average Wayne vehicle...

Rated: 3/4

Aug 20, 2021

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Dern certainly has no difficulty donning the guise of a villain.

Rated: 10/10

Aug 27, 2020

Full Review

Mark Jackson

Epoch Times

A summer of brutally hard work, hunger, camping in the elements, and rattlesnake danger will certainly turn boys into men. In this case, however, it appears to supernaturally turn boys into a seasoned platoon of modern-day special operations warriors.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 10, 2020

Full Review

Barbara Shulgasser

Common Sense Media

Classic action-packed Western has lots of cursing, violence

Rated: 4/5

Jan 3, 2017

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Gunnar Q

Bruce Dern terrifies, Roscoe Brown has lines I still hear in my head every day (Is that true? "If it isn't, it ought to be."), and John Wayne is every boys dad. I was a teen when I saw The Cowboys the first time and it was then, and still is my favorite John Wayne movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/05/24

Full Review

Marc C

One of Wayne's better latter day films with great performances and a rousing score by John Williams.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/19/24

Full Review

Steve D

For me it was one of Wayne's worst but I am not a fan.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/23/23

Full Review

Link

Stirring and heartwarming. Like all westerns great cinematography. Well acted with likable hard boiled characters and sinister villains. Good plot that becomes more exciting as it goes.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

cindy r

This is John Wayne at his best. He should have had the Oscar for this.. Compelling story backed up by music by John Williams. Bruce Dern as the bad guy was so evil he received death threats from playing the bad guy. Excellent film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Liam D

A More Family Friendly and by the end more violent movies in The Duke's vast filmography

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/14/22

Full Review

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Mark Rydell

Director

John Wayne

Wil Andersen

Roscoe Lee Browne

Jebediah Nightlinger

Bruce Dern

Long Hair

Colleen Dewhurst

Kate

Slim Pickens

Anse

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Synopsis

A grizzled veteran rancher, Wil Andersen (John Wayne) is almost ready to embark on a big cattle drive when his crew abruptly quits to join in a gold rush. Left with no alternative, Anderson enlists the help of a group of local schoolboys. Training the youngsters to be cowboys, Andersen manages to get the drive underway, but their long journey is placed in jeopardy when the devious bandit Long Hair (Bruce Dern) sets his sights on stealing the herd.

Director: Mark Rydell
Producer: Mark Rydell
Screenwriter: Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank Jr., William Dale Jennings
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Rating: PG
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 13, 1972, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2008
Runtime: 2h 8m

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