MovieChat Forums > Cowboy (1958) Discussion > snake

snake

posted 10 years ago by bodyspiritsoul
7 replies | jump to latest

it was crazy that nobody acted like it was a big deal that the guy got killed by the snake. finally Frank said something but it was pretty much murder.

Maybe he doesn't answer to Chuck. Call him Charles. Charles!

[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 10 years ago

No, it was pretty much negligent homicide, which is far removed from murder.

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae

[–] bodyspiritsoul 10 years ago

murder homocide, means the guy was dead. still crazy the way it was like, oh well no big deal.

Maybe he doesn't answer to Chuck. Call him Charles. Charles!

[–] mloessel 10 years ago

This was the only scene that was strange. A member of Reese's cattle drive gets bit by a snake and new comer Harris is the only one that cares. In the days of the cattle drives I'm sure these things happened. However, the non caring attitude of the other cowboys was strange.

[–] foster1234 10 years ago

Well, you're pretty much in the middle of no-where, guys jacking around. dude gets bit in the neck by a snake, a rattler.

What are you going to do????

Sucking the poison out has never been a good idea.

Anti-venom hadn't been invented yet.

What exactly were they supposed to do?

Never underestimate the healing power of hatred.

[–] bradford-1 9 years ago

I have the feeling that death was much more a part of people's lives in the 1870s than it is now. What was male life expectancy in the U.S. circa 1880? Those cowhands lived with infections, and diseases we never think twice about: cholera, malaria, meningitis, gunshot/arrow/knife wounds, rheumatic & scarlet fever, all manner of STD's (Dick York's character, beware!), and tuberculosis. Do you think there was first aid kit in the chuck wagon?

May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

[–] steveintucson 7 years ago

I thought this was one of the most memorable and poignant scenes in the movie. Coming so early in the movie it really set the tone for what follows. It showed how the tenderfoot had sensitivities that he needed to "harden up." It also let Glen Ford demonstrate he was not only the leader as far work was concerned but a sort of father figure that could quell the tempers that cause problems.
Poor Martin Strother was kind of a freaky little guy without many friends and it was so sad when he died from a prank gone bad. His demise was a clue that this sort of work was wrought with danger and like Glen says, "it's no use making bad things worse."

[–] liscarkat (16515) 6 years ago

Curtis, who was screwing around with the snake and tossed it at the guy who got bit was not only an idiot, but probably a psychopath. He didn't seem to feel anything other than the urgency of grabbing the guy's new boots before they buried him. At the very least, Reese should have fired him.