The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972), directed by Dick Richards and starring Gary Grimes, Bill Bush, Luke Askew, Bo Hopkins, is noted for its grainy photography and use of sepia toning in some scenes. In this hyper-realistic Western, a sixteen-year-old eagerly signs on to be an assistant on a cattle drive and is given menial tasks. He soon realizes that a cowboy’s life is not the romantic adventure he had imagined. On the long trail to Colorado, he experiences hard work that is usually tedious, sometimes dangerous, and occasionally violent. The movie tagline was “How many men do you have to kill before you become the great American cowboy?”

Chief Curator Andrew Patrick Nelson will provide a pre-recorded introduction to the film.

Rating: PG

Length: 1h 32m

Pricing:
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McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), directed by Robert Altman and starring Warren Beaty, Julie Christie, Shelly Duvall, and Keith Carradine, was based on the 1959 novel McCabe by Edmund Naughton. Set in Washington state in the early 1900s, the film is about a gambler and a prostitute who go into business together running a bordello and tavern in a Northwest mining town when a big corporation moves in and threatens their success. Julie Christie was nominated for Best Actress as Mrs. Miller. The film is noted for its cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond, and its soundtrack, which features several songs by Leonard Cohen. It was deemed the eighth greatest Western of all time by the American Film Institute in 2008.

Bob “Boze” Bell will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion with the audience.

Bob “Boze” Bell is an author, artist, and executive editor of True West magazine. His work has appeared in Arizona Highways, Playboy, National Lampoon, and other publications. He is author of numerous books about legends of the Old West including Billy the Kid and Wild Bill Hickok, as well as a visual memoir of growing up on Route 66 titled The 66 Kid.

Rating: R

Length: 2h 

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Filmed on location in Durango, Mexico, Lawman was director Michael Winner’s first Western and his first American production. The film focuses on Jered Maddox, played by Burt Lancaster, a rigid marshal who arrives in a small town to arrest a group of cattlemen for the accidental death of an old man, sparking a conflict between his absolute adherence to the law and the community’s desire for peace. The film explores themes of justice, obsession, and the changing nature of the American frontier and is appreciated for its moral complexity and performances.

Richard M. Roberts will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion with the audience.

Richard M. Roberts is a film historian, collector, preservationist, and filmmaker. He is author of numerous essays, books, and DVD and Blu-Ray commentary tracks; has appeared as an expert in programs on PBS and Turner Classic Movies; and served as a consultant to major archives including the British Film Institute, the Library of Congress, and the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

Rating: R

Length: 1h 38m

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The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972), directed by Phillip Kaufam and starring Cliff Robertson, John Pearce, and Robert Duvall, provides a gritty look at the 1876 bank caper that spelled disaster for the James and Younger gangs. Frank (John Pearce) and Jesse James (Robert Duvall) are expecting to receive amnesty from the state of Missouri for their previous crimes, but the railroad owners whom the brothers have repeatedly robbed intervene, stopping the amnesty and sending the Pinkertons to kill the gang. Meanwhile, Frank and Jesse team up with Cole Younger (Cliff Robertson) and his gang, and plot to rob the biggest bank west of the Mississippi, located in Northfield, Minn.

Bob “Boze” Bell will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion with the audience.

Bob “Boze” Bell is an author, artist, and executive editor of True West magazine. His work has appeared in Arizona Highways, Playboy, National Lampoon, and other publications. He is author of numerous books about legends of the Old West including Billy the Kid and Wild Bill Hickok, as well as a visual memoir of growing up on Route 66 titled The 66 Kid.

Rating: PG

Length: 1h 31m

Pricing:
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FREE with Museum Admission
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The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) is an American Western comedy-drama film directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman and Ava Gardner. It is loosely based on the life of American saloonkeeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas. Saved from near death by a young Mexican girl, a former outlaw sets himself up as sole arbiter of the law in a small town. The town prospers as Judge Bean dispenses his own form of judgement until the townsfolk begin to turn against him.

Richard M. Roberts will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion with the audience.

Richard M. Roberts is a film historian, collector, preservationist, and filmmaker. He is author of numerous essays, books, and DVD and Blu-Ray commentary tracks; has appeared as an expert in programs on PBS and Turner Classic Movies; and served as a consultant to major archives including the British Film Institute, the Library of Congress, and the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

Rating: PG

Length: 2h 

Pricing:
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Buck and the Preacher (1972) was the directorial debut of Sidney Poitier, who also starred in the film. Following the end of the Civil War, soldier-turned-trail-guide Buck (Sidney Poitier) makes a living by helping former slaves find settlements in the West. Along the way, a con artist, the Preacher (Harry Belafonte), joins the group, and constantly clashes with Buck. But when a gang of bounty hunters attempts to round up the freed slaves to bring them back to Louisiana, the two put aside their differences to fight a common enemy. This film broke Hollywood Western traditions by casting black actors as central characters and portraying both tension and solidarity between African Americans and Native Americans in the late 19th century. Notable blues musicians Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Don Frank Brooks performed in the film’s soundtrack, composed by jazz great Benny Carter.

Chief Curator Andrew Patrick Nelson will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion with the audience.

Andrew Patrick Nelson, PhD, is Chief Curator at Western Spirit. He is a leading authority on Western cinema, art, and culture, and the author and editor of numerous books and essays. Dr. Nelson’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and on NPR, and he regularly appears as a commentator on the History Chanel and other networks. He also cohosts the popular Western movie podcast How the West Was ‘Cast and is the author of the book Still in the Saddle: The Hollywood Western, 1969 – 1980.

Rating: PG

Length: 1h 42m 

Pricing:
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Hannie Caulder (1971) directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Raquel Welch, Robert Culp, and Ernest Borgnine, is a film of the Wild West in which vicious but bumbling bandit brothers Emmett (Ernest Borgnine), Frank (Jack Elam) and Rufus Clemens (Strother Martin) botch a heist, and in anger they rape local woman Hannie Caulder (Raquel Welch), murder her spouse and destroy her home. Set on retribution, Hannie seeks out a bounty hunter who helps her learn to shoot – a skill that she’ll need as she attempts to track down and exact revenge on the merciless Clemens brothers.

Chief Curator Andrew Patrick Nelson will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion with the audience.

Andrew Patrick Nelson, PhD, is Chief Curator at Western Spirit. He is a leading authority on Western cinema, art, and culture, and the author and editor of numerous books and essays. Dr. Nelson’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and on NPR, and he regularly appears as a commentator on the History Chanel and other networks. He also cohosts the popular Western movie podcast How the West Was ‘Cast and is the author of the book Still in the Saddle: The Hollywood Western, 1969 – 1980.

Rating: R

Length: 1h 25m 

Pricing:
FREE for Museum Members. Not a Member? Join
FREE with Museum Admission
$10 for program attendance only (does not include further admittance to the museum/galleries)