The Ballad of Cable Hogue

The Ballad of Cable Hogue, 1908. Scraggly frontiersman Cable Hogue (beautifully played by Jason Robards) gets left in the fierce Arizona desert to die by his treacherous no-count partners Bowen (the always excellent Strother Martin) and Taggart (a splendidly nasty L.Q. Jones). Hogue discovers water in the middle of nowhere and starts his own business running a rest stop located on a well-traveled road. Director Sam Peckinpah, working from a quirky and colorful script by John Crawford and Edmund Penney, expertly crafts a winning blend of earthy humor and gentle lyricism with this funny, moving and thoughtful fable on redemption, second chances, and the last dying days of the wild’n’woolly Old West. Stella Stevens shines in one of her best-ever roles as Hildy, the brassy and beautiful whore Hogue falls in love with. Moreover, there are equally terrific supporting performances by David Warner as friendly, but lecherous itinerant preacher Joshua, Slim Pickens as amiable coachman Ben Fairchild, R.G. Armstrong as irascible banker Quittner, Peter Whitney as helpful benefactor Cushing, and Gene Evans as surly brute Clete. The sequence with Stevens and Robards singing the sweet duet “Butterfly Morning” rates as a definite delightful highlight. Lucien Ballard’s lush, picturesque cinematography makes inspired occasional use of artful fades, dissolves and split screen. Extra props are in order for Jerry Goldsmith’s folksy, flavorsome score and the catchy soundtrack of tuneful’n’twangy songs. A real treat.