Well filmed,desert scenery and Western Skies.I did not notice anyone but Mr.Blake and I have seen this 20 times.
Male actors, today sissy boys.
Mr.Blacke and that Vince Gironda's gym build.When SoCal was clean and uncrowded.
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He attacks poor ol' Dean Wormer!
shareIt is a phenomenal performance from an actor who never disappoints. It's unfortunate Robert Blake doesn't get top billing here because this is really his movie, with Robert Redford in a supporting role.
shareHey Warped,
When I first saw this when it was first released in 1969, I also thought Blake could have been billed before Redford. While I thought Redford was just great as Coop, you really hit the nail on the head when you said this was really Blake's film with Redford in a supporting role. I could not agree with you more. Also like you, this film is one of my top ten or maybe twenty.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
Hello, Dave:
You were very lucky to see this upon its release. Somehow it's escaped my awareness for the past 43 years, but I found it on VHS for 50 cents and it looked intriguing. It was a much different film that I expected – much better actually, mainly because of Robert Blake's superb performance.
Because this is one of your favorites, have you seen "Electra Glide in Blue"? It's a counterculture-type film about a police officer in Arizona facing serious doubts about the direction of his life. Blake plays a much different character there, but it's an equally memorable character in my opinion, and the final scene is haunting.
Hey Warped,
No, I have neither seen nor even heard of "Electra Glide in Blue." I don't know where I was in 1973 that I would have missed this so completely. In all fairness, however, I never really cared for Blake as a fellow human being. I certainly liked a lot of his performances, but he always seemed to me to be a wacko bore in person. I suppose I came to my conclusion based on seeing him on his many television appearances on various talk shows at the time. I am sure there are many other actors whose work I may like while disliking their personal character, but right now Robert Blake seems to be the one in the forefront for me.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
Hello, Dave:
There's nothing inherently likable about Robert Blake as a person as far as I can tell, but I find him convincing enough in films like this (and "Electra Glide in Blue") to be able to put my misgivings about the person on hold and just relish in the characters he plays so well.
Hey Warped,
I agree with you about Blake. I simply skip his personal life and enjoy his work. I feel the same way about James Dean. He was another actor who was very wacky to me, but he sure could make some great characters appear on screen.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
Hey David,
Here we go again liking the same things. "Tell Them Willy Boy Is Here" has always been one of my favorite westerns. It seems like I'm in a minority on this one, as not a lot of people seem to have even seen this flick. I love the ending where Redford and Blake meet up on the top of that mountain as equals. Great movie.
Best wishes,
Clintessence
P.S. You say you like James Dean's body of work? You mean all three of his movies. Let's see, I'll bet you were a tortured teenager filled with angst at about that time, so you probably identified with his roles.
Hey Clint,
Dean's body of work may be small because of his death at 24 years of age, however, his body of work consisted of more than three films. A lot of folks think only of "Rebel Without A Cause," East Of Eden," and "Giant" as his only films; the first two released in 1955 and the last in 1956. Dean also has minor roles in at least four other films between 1951 and 1953.
More importantly, he had several stage roles and received good reviews for "The Jaguar" in 1952 and "The Immoralist" in 1954. Between 1951 and his first big film success with "Rebel" in 1955, he was probably in thirty or more television dramas some of which were notable and others of lesser quality. While about seven years younger than Paul Newman, Dean actually beat Newman to TV by a year, and he beat Newman to film by about three years.
Now please do not interpret my above comments to mean that I was/am a James Dean fan on some personal level. Like I said earlier, I think Dean, like Blake, were both flakey in so many ways in their personal lives. On the screen, however, both of these guys created some pretty good characters in my opinion. Paul Newman also created some great characters for me. On the flip side from Dean and Blake, however, Newman's personal life seems to have been a lot more closely aligned to most of the personal values I think the two of us share.
Newman's body of work is obviously massive compared to Dean's simply because of his longevity compared to Dean. I may like both Dean and Newman's works, but I am pretty sure I would much rather have had Newman for a neighbor than Dean.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
Robert Redford is the central character in this film. He goes through many moral and emotional stages while trying to come to terms with what he must do.
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