Controversy?

Let's not forget here that this film was release in 1972. Bruce Dern's character get's no name in the credits other than "Long Hair." There is definitely a lot of 1972 in the film. Setting it in around 1872 is an interesting choice given that the film is as much about 1972 as it is about 1872.

Canby was an old lizard.

We all know there were no Jews west of the Mississippi; that among the freed slaves of the era, there were none who were well-spoken or took any pride in it, and there certainly weren't any bastards born to Mexican whores in the Southwest.

More seriously, yeah it's unlikely that a group of this ethnic mix would come together by happenstance, but The Cowboys is a romantic fable, not a documentary.

But then, in the 70s, there was an impetus toward realism that had little tolerance for fabulation, which critics have nowadays largely outgrown.

Here in the UK we just thought it was another very good John Wayne film. Personally I thought it was one of his best. We Brits didn't take part in the Vietnam war so any US politics or hidden messages, if there were any, would have gone straight over our heads. At the end of the day it is entertainment, a good story well told.

The critics got thier panties in a wad over Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" because he had his two sons killing British soldiers. Most of these critic's ideas of roughing it is when, sitting at a mist-cooled cafe, they receive a chabli instead of the zinfendel they ordered. That's adversity!
If you liked the film(The Cowboys or The Patriot)that is your perogative. Piss on the critics.

"How about my mama in Ceder City. She's only ninety-two!"

According to what I have heard, since this was a Vietnam era movie, the media (and others)got very upset by the fact that children were using guns to seek justice/vengence(depending on your point of view)on the Bruce Dern character and his cronies. Sort of a "What are we teaching our children?" response.

dparker, I saw this as a first run and as far as the girls go, there were suggestion by the ladies to some of the boys, most of whom rode off scared. A. Martinez's character stuck around but was insulted by one of the ladies and he too rode off. As I recall it, none of the boys was ever serviced by the ladies.

With all due respect, I think dparker and others who remember the scene with the traveling brothel girls continuing to show the boys all riding up to lose their cherries have conflated the book (where the scene takes place exactly as described -- after Mr. Nightlinger bargains with the madame and gets her to agree to charging the boys a discounted group rate!) with the movie, which never took it to that point. Maybe the sequence was filmed and edited out before release, but I saw the movie shortly after it opened, and the scene ended with Mr. Nightlinger sweet-talking the madame into moving on.

Sparrow 13
the Extremely DeLux One

Producer-director Mark Rydell is a liberal, and he's the one who got the ball rolling on THE COWBOYS after he read the unpublished novel. John Wayne was brought on because he was the perfect choice to play Wil Andersen. Discussion of politics was avoided on the set, and afterward both Rydell and the equally-liberal Roscoe Lee Browne continued to speak glowingly of Wayne and what a genuinely nice guy he was.

I doubt very much that Mark Rydell set out to make a pro-Viet Nam war allegory. He did make one hell of a great Western, though.

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This is from Wikipedia...

Characters, controversy and symbolism

This survival story of learning and maturation through hardship, hard work and discipline, propounds the values of truth, loyalty, and fighting for what you believe in.

The Nightlinger character teaches the boys diversity and respect in their initial exchange after Jeb enters the bunkhouse. In the comical tension-relieving scene, Fats says, "Well sir, you're the first *beep* we've ever saw [sic].", After some prodding, Jeb confirms that he's black everywhere, "Except for the whites of my eyes." The oldest boy, Slim, then proclaims, "See he's the same as us, except for that color." Jeb laughs-off being "just like you" with a fantastic Moorish tale of seduction, mayhem and heroism that thrills the boys, who ask if it is true. Jeb only says, "If it isn't, it ought to be."

Anderson and Nightlinger are both Civil War veterans. On the trail, the ramrod Anderson, accepts counsel from the outspoken Nightlinger on perhaps being too rough on the boys. The world-weary Jeb diplomatically manages an encounter with Kate (Colleen Dewhurst) and her traveling brothel.

Around the evening campfire, Slim picks out a Vivaldi tune (Largo from the Lute concerto in D major, RV 93) on his guitar in stark contrast to when the boys later are caught raucously singing Home on the Range while getting drunk on stolen liquor.

After accidentally coming across the rustler gang, Long Hair threatens to slit Dan's throat if he reveals their presence. Out of mortal fear Dan betrays the trust of the group by remaining silent (until after it is too late). The reality of death is confirmed that very night when Dan is responsible for Charlie's death.

The film is known for depicting Wayne's cold-blooded killing after being shot in the back by Dern's character. This resulted in co-star Dern becoming typecast as a villain, which made it difficult for him to get worthwhile subsequent roles. During filming of this scene, Wayne warned Dern, "America will hate you for this." Dern wryly replied, "Yeah, but they'll love me in Berkeley."[1]

Another well-known scene was that of a minor using profanity. "Stuttering Bob" was unable to alert them to danger. After Wayne chews the child out, the boy mutters, "Son of a bitch.", only to have Wayne coax him to say it repeatedly. The boy angrily builds longer curses until the boy is no longer stuttering, with, "You God damned mean, dirty son of a bitch!". To which Wayne finally responds, "I wouldn't make it a habit calling me that, son.".

Fatherhood, and more specifically, the father-son relationship is a recurring theme. Andersen has lost two of his own sons. He becomes a surrogate father to his "cowboys" during their cattle drive and eventually risks his own life to save them from a deranged killer. This father-son dynamic takes on a Christian resurrection metaphor at the end when his cowboys, baptized by violence in their quest to avenge his death, return to the scene of Andersen's murder with a tombstone and are mysteriously unable to locate his body. The tombstone inscription reads: "Wil Andersen: Beloved Husband and Father".

This is another insight I have wondered about. The name Nightlinger. I have never heard it before but if you take the first 3 letters and the last 3 letters, you have the N word. Did they do that on purpose?