When Monte Walsh rode down that horse in the middle of the night, he wrecked about half the town. Seems to me more than a few people would've showed up wanting to be compensated for property damage (plus putting in a request for payment for a new water tower).
shareYeah, that bothered me.
In fact, from the initial mount when it goes crashing through the fence the whole of town would have come running and the demolition of the front porch section over the boardwalk would have had the inhabitants scrambling for safety (and probably grabbing their guns, too!).
That only the Western Show owner was out and about, obviously as a plot point made it even more outlandish.
Come on lads, bags of swank!
Yeah, it seemed a moment when the writer/director let symbolism take precedence over realism. Monte trying to tame the last wild bronco is sort of like him destroying everything he has known-- himself and his way of life.
Might have been an editing thing.
I have seen this movie many times, and it is a bonafide classic.
However, I notice some abrupt things at times between the relationship with Monte and the girl as if there were some scenes cut.
Don't get me wrong, it works great, but on my last viewing, and I have seen this movie many times, I noticed in the credits that there were about 5 editors on it, which tells me something.
Correct. Lee Marvin didn't take that beating the gray gave the rider during the scene of damage done to the town.
Whoever had the job of actually breaking the horse must have been a talented guy (or guys). Editors would have had the tough job of making sure that the audience saw Lee Marvin as the only rider.
E pluribus unum
The OP implies it was a plot hole, which if you think about it is pretty silly. The story was not about whether the town got compensated for the destruction. It wasn't even about the town. It was about Monte getting to the end of the whole lifestyle and all that. It was as another said symbolic that he rode the horse and what happened.
shareNot necessarily a plot hole, but the scene, as played, was awfully inconsistent with reality to the point where it seemed false. I mean, not a single town-dweller came out to see what all the consternation was about? You don't just wreck the inner part of a town like that without waking at least a few people up - some of whom just might be pissed about the property damage, with them obviously wondering, "Who's gonna' pay for all this?"