User Reviews

Ross Bodine (William Holden) and Frank Post (Ryan O'Neal) are a couple of cowboys complaining about life. They work for cattleman Walter Buckman (Karl Malden). They play with the idea of robbing a bank and riding off to Mexico. They are forced into a fight and wreck the saloon. Walter holds back their wages to pay off the damages. The two men see no way out other than to really do the robbery. Ross robs banker Joe Billings while Frank holds his wife Sada hostage. They allow him to keep some money to pay the local cowboys but Sada convinces him to steal it. Walter is angry that his two employees did the robbing. His two sons, John Buckman (Tom Skerritt) and Paul Buckman (Joe Don Baker), join the posse.

The poster is a little funny. The intention seems to be portraying this a light fun action western. I don't actually find it funny. It tries to be light at times. Mostly, it's bit muddled and long. I would rather have some better action. Blake Edwards is using too much slow motion when he doesn't need it. The bank robbery should be better. The horse roundup is the best action. Otherwise, the action is less than impressive. All in all, this is fine but I would find a comedian to be one of the leads especially if Blake intends this as a comedy. Apparently, the studio took over the finishing and Blake disowned the final product. At least, he got material for another film. I doubt he has a sense of the western genre.

Sensitive Western with satisfying and impressive directorial by Blake Edwards , in his Western debut , being based on his own screenplay . The film starts at the ending XIX century when appears railway , big companies buy ranches and new technologies put difficult things for traditional cowboys who are yearning the freedom of the open prairie and attempt to go on their hard jobs . Cowboys lives are divided between months on the range and the occasional trip into town . It deals with an aging Montana cowboy called Ross (William Holden) who finds himself a dinosaur in an old West that's dying out , he befriends a younger colleague named Frank (Ryan O'Neal) and both of whom turn to bank robbing . Both of them tired of cow-punching for a living , carry out rob a bank and flee but they are relentlessly pursued by a posse formed by two deputies and the employer's (Karl Malden) sons (Tom Skerritt , Joe Don Baker) . Declining the Old West and with the stolen stash they attempt to make a new upright start in Mexico .

Sad , melancholic and dusty-looking Western , worthy of genre , with lots of shootouts in Peckimpah style , and adding a phenomenal duo protagonist , though the pace is too slow . Moving and sensitive Western where two cowboys must say goodbye to their old lives and embark a way to crime , while a bunch chases after them . Stands out great performances for all the casting with top-drawing main roles from William Holden and Ryan O'Neal . This melancholic picture is acclaimed like one of the best twilight Westerns and has a nice nostalgic feeling . It's an excellent Western with thrills , wars between cattlemen and shepherd people , shoot'em up , gorgeous scenarios , emotion ; but also melancholy , competition , unlovable camaraderie and emotionalism . And a magnificent soundtrack by the great maestro Jerry Goldsmith , providing a rich, vibrant , and sometimes stark score to accompany the story . Interesting but uneven script and too much referential baggage , including faint shades of ¨Wild Bunch¨ by Sam Peckimpah , ¨Monte Walsh¨ by William A. Fraker and ¨Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid¨ by George Roy Hill . Marvelous slow-moving scenes when Ross/William Holden is riding a wild horse under an impressive musical background , wonderfully composed by Jerry Goldsmith . Moving Western , elegiac , subdued and worthwhile for genre lovers , including great acting by two big stars hanging right in there all the way . Perhaps one of the greatest Westerns of the sixties -as well as unknown- and certainly one of the most likable with Holden and O'Neal in their charismatic acting as cowboys turned into outlaws . And it still looks good more the 40 years on . The dialogue shines with constant wit , the noisy action is spot-on and the photography is best-ever . Even the supporting cast are beautifully drawn , such as : Karl Malden , James Olson , Joe Don Baker , Tom Skerritt , William Bryant , Victor French , Rachel Roberts , Charles Gray and a glimpse of the secondaries : Moses Gunn and William Lucking as a card player . Cinematographer Philip H. Lathrop proves himself a proficient cameraman in this awesome yarn . Special mention for the breathtaking musical score , wonderfully heard when the two pals try to take some wild horses , including a thrilling and exciting leitmotif .

This wacky Western-comedy-adventure motion picture was compellingly directed by Blake Edwards . The excessively twilight tone and overlong runtime doom this brave effort and achieved limited success at box-office . Blake's first venture Western has a nice nostalgic feel , but the pace is too slow to keep a long as well as good grip on the interest . Blake had some hit smashes with ¨Pink Panther¨ series who became him a world-wide celebrity , such as ¨A shot in dark¨ , ¨Return of pink panther , ¨Revenge of pink panther¨ , ¨Curse of Pink Panther¨ , ¨Pink Panther strikes again¨ , ¨Trail of Pink Panther¨ , ¨Son of Pink Panther¨ , among others . Since then , there have been many more hit-and-miss comedies , some wildly unsuitable vehicles for his second wife Julie Andrews as ¨The Tamarind seed¨ , ¨Darling Lili¨, ¨SOB¨ , ¨10¨ , ¨That's life¨ . His greatest hits were ¨The party¨ , the tranvestite comedy ¨Victor/Victoria¨ and of course the joyously ¨Breakfast at Tiffany's ¨. The flick will appeal to Western fans . This is arguably one of the Blake Edwards' best . This consistently entertaining Western titled ¨Wild Rovers¨ or ¨Frank and Ross¨or ¨Dos Hombres Contra El Oeste¨ deserves 'Two thumbs up' .

The Wild Rovers had a lot of potential, but it needed someone versed in the western genre to make it come together. That it didn't have with Blake Edwards.

Edwards certainly was eager enough in this assignment. Watching the film you can see some touches of Ford, of Peckinpah, even of guys like Lesley Selander and William Witney who directed hundreds of B westerns back in the day. But it's like a copy of a masterpiece.

William Holden and Ryan O'Neal a pair of knockabout cowboys who up and decide one day that they're tired of breaking their backs for the local Ponderosa owner, Karl Malden. They decide to rob James Olson's bank and leave the territory with a fresh stake for a new start.

Karl Malden is not just comparative to Ben Cartwright in the immense size of his property. He's a most upright individual who feels that the robbery of the bank where it's mostly his money inside is a blot on the character of his establishment. He charges his two sons Joe Don Baker and Tom Skerritt with bringing back Holden and O'Neal alive or dead.

There's a subplot going on involving a range war with Karl Malden battling some sheepherders who want to invade his domain. The two parts of the story are not well knitted together. In fact, I'm not sure it was necessary to begin with.

On the plus side Holden and O'Neal have a nice chemistry between them, in fact there's a bit of a hint of homosexuality between them. The camera work is fine, but it's more than a homage to Sam Peckinpah.

Blake Edwards should stick to comedies. In fact he directed Holden in his last film, S.O.B., and that one is more in his element and it's a classic. That's the collaboration I strongly recommend.

This is not a film about which you hear a great deal, which is a shame because it is one of the most enjoyable westerns I have seen for a long time. I think the problem lies in the fact that it tries to be too many different things and cover too many bases. It is funny, but not as funny as BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID; it is elegaic, but not as elegaic as PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID; it is violent, but not as violent as THE WILD BUNCH; and it is beautiful, but not as beautiful as JEREMIAH JOHNSON.

It may sound odd but the film it most resembles, in as much as it combines all these elements, is THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT. We have a mismatched pairing of a wise man and a headstrong youth who combine to pull off a major robbery. They are pursued relentlessly by an almost psychotic adversary. They meet a tragic end. This may sound like high praise and indeed it should because this is a fine movie and I never thought I'd say that about a Blake Edwards movie.

There are moments within this film which you rarely get in a run of the mill western. For instance I never see a western which deals so well with the equivocal relationship between a cowboy and animals. This film is full of them: sheep, cows, horses, mules, cougars, cats and dogs. And not just in passing either. All the best westerns have a snowbound sequence but not many of them combine it with a horse-breaking scene, as this movie does to breathtaking effect.

Skip it – There are a lot of positives that make this a unique western that's worth a watch. There's good dialogue, a rousing musical score, beautiful cinematography, and a great acting job by William Holden. Unfortunately, this is more of a buddy movie than a good old-fashioned western. I've even heard some comparisons drawn to "Brokeback Mountain," although I personally would disagree. The story is about two ranch hands who decide on a whim to rob a bank, and the chain of events that unfold as a result. It is part "Sundowners" and part "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." The two men are an unlikely pair, but they become close friends as a result of their desperate situation. The first half of the movie feels like a comedy. The second half gets a lot better, with a couple gunfights and some Peckinpah-esque slow motion violence. Unfortunately, this western is too long and just too sluggish to keep an action buff entertained. But I believe that it is good enough to be considered a classic. 2 action rating

It seems like it could have been great but fails at just about every turn, unfortunatly. Likeable characters with all their actions unfolding logically and leading to dilemmas but for whatever reason the movie is rather boring and a bit over sentimental at times. It seems like the script was prob great but lost in the execution of production.

I found this western to a cut above the run-of-the-mill for a few reasons. 1) The acting, particularly by William Holden and, in a lesser role, Karl Malden, is good. Even Ryan O'Neill is better than one might expect. 2) The dialogue - aside from a couple of rather worn "cowboy philosophy" cliches - is on the whole tersely realistic and often witty. 3) The western scenery, photographed with a sense that might have been David Lean's, is simply gorgeous (a good reason to catch it in letterbox). In the end the movie instills in the viewer a kind of sadness for the two central characters, who typify the rootless, lonely, live-for-today life of the cowboy. One mild criticism is that the first half of the movie seems to be played almost for local color and comedy, looking like a western version of 'The Sundowners.' The tone changes a bit abruptly as our two leads go into the bank robbing business. On the whole, though, the movie - though a tad long - is a good popcorn-burner.

Overlong, but the wide-screen cinematography (a must-see in letter-box format), music score and character relationship of Holden and O'Neal, make this one of my favorite westerns. As a nature-lover, I find the outdoor scenes, especially the horse-breaking in the snow, among the best I've seen in any western. The cinematography in this scene is breath-taking, exhilarating and thrilling. The superb and beautiful music score by Jerry Goldsmith adds to the overall enjoyment of this film. Please, M-G-M, bring this film out on DVD. It needs to be seen in it's original, uncut, widescreen version so it can take it's place along other great western films.

Perhaps this picture is why westerns fell out of favor right about...........after this was released. Character development is minimal and cliched. Studios did period pieces poorly in the 60's and 70's-----costumes look like actors in the 1970's dressed up like 1870's people.........but wait! We are never told what year the action takes place: with no dialogue about civil war, no telegraph lines, no light bulbs or motorized ANYTHING.....we're stuck pretty much with a late 1860s period. Maybe viewers with a strong sense of Montana history can place it better. I'll place it in the circular file.

I was very surprised when I saw that "Wild Rovers" was written and directed by Blake Edwards. Edwards is more known for his comedies and occasional dramas...not westerns. Was he up to the task? Well, considering what sort of film it is, having a non-western writer/director is actually a very good thing!

Why would I say this? Because "Wild Rovers" is a totally deconstructed view of cowboys. Instead of the usual macho theatrics you see in a western, this one is much more like the lives of REAL cowboys....their dull and somewhat pointless lives. In the film, the guys work hard, get paid little, visit prostitutes, fight because they are bored, puke, and die young...like a real cowboy of the era. There's nothing romanticized about the men in this film and, if anything, they are a bit sad and pitiful.

In the story, two of these drifting cow punchers, Ross and Frank (William Holden and Ryan O'Neal) begin to question their lives and their futures. To escape this, they consider robbing a bank. After all, better to die this way than to die on the job. But if they follow through with their plan, it's pretty certain that it won't be easy and some folks will come gunning for them.

In order to maintain the realistic style of the film, Edwards does not rush the film at all. Instead, it's slow and deliberate. Additionally, the cinematography often helps to convey a sense of loneliness--with wide screen shots of the lonely prairie. It's lovely...but stark. This could make for a dull film (like "Heaven's Gate") but the writer/director seemed to maintain the proper balance of dullness, scope and the story itself.

So is it any good? Well, it's difficult to judge based on the IMDB reviews. They run the gamut...from those hating it, the indifferent as well as those who think it's a masterpiece. As for me, I really appreciated "Wild Rovers" because I used to be an American History teacher...and know Edwards' view of the west is far more realistic than 99% of the movies in this genre. Thoroughly exciting? No...but neither was life in the old west. Overall, very well made and well worth seeing provided you have an open mind and don't demand the usual western cliches and plot twists.

The late sixties/early seventies was a great time for westerns -- McCabe and Mrs. Miller came out the same year as Wild Rovers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid two years before, and, of course, William Holden was just coming off of The Wild Bunch when he was cast here. Alas, this is not a great western. The first problem is that Blake Edwards seems intent on making a grand spectacle, along the lines of Duel In The Sun or The Big Country, rather than the more introspective westerns that reinvigorated the genre. Note, for instance, that the movie has an overture and an intermission, Hollywood spectacle staples. The photography is spectacular -- sometimes -- but poorly handled. For instance, in the movie's opening shots we see a pair of cowboys beautifully silhouetted against a big sky as they come riding, riding... Riding somewhere for a long time. This underscores the poor editing in this film: make your point and move on, don't just pile shot on shot of the same thing -- but perhaps I'm being too harsh here, as the "restored" version may not be true to Edwards' vision. But it is precisely that vision that is the movie's main flaw: there are numerous plot lines (some of which are never resolved) and the focus on the main characters is lost. Rambling and self-indulgent, this could have been a good western; instead, it gets lost in its own pretentiousness. What should have been a tale about two cowboys and their scheme to rob a bank becomes a steaming mess of plot lines. I find it interesting to compare this film to Edwards' comedy work with Peter Sellers or his ventures into the private detective genre, which are far better written, edited, and directed.

I saw WILD ROVERS when it first came out - in the early 70s. It had been butchered by the powers that be at MGM. Still there was a lot to recommend the western: William Holden at his post-WILD BUNCH grizzled best, Jerry Goldsmith's classic, Copelandesque score that somehow manages to be lyrical, evocative but not a bit cloying (learn something, James Horner and Hans Zimmer), and the stunning cinematography. I saw it again in the late 80s restored to its original length (on a double bill with the restored PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID, also butchered by MGM in the early 70s). I found more to like about the movie: the unexpected spurts of humor, the observations of the connectedness between cowboy and animal life, and Blake Edward's staging of the scenes of violence - he never does the same thing twice, and the barroom shootout is an object lesson in blocking and editing. (If there is any complaint one can level against Clint Eastwood's UNFORGIVEN was how uninterestingly the action scenes were staged.) Anyway, I just caught WILD ROVERS again on HD.Net Movies during 4th of July weekend, and its virtues have actually grown with age. And it looks gorgeous on a 16:9 Hi-Def screen. Give it a few more years and it might attain classic status.

Like Brando's "One Eyed Jacks", "Wild Rovers" was pretty much ignored when first released, but over the decades its brilliance has shone through.

Writer/director Blake Edwards utilised the same powerful theme that worked so well for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid": two guys with contrasting personalities who have each other's backs and will lay down their lives for each other. He set this against a beautifully realised feeling for the times.

Ross Bodine (William Holden) is an aging cowboy who befriends a younger cowboy, Frank Post (Ryan O'Neal). They work on a large ranch owned by Walt Buckman (Karl Malden). Bodine and Post live a day-to-day existence, but both have a reckless streak and decide to alter their fortunes by robbing a bank. The decision seals their fate.

We sense that the way Bodine and Post stick together - partners, buddies, mates - was the key to surviving in a tough environment - the loner, hero of many a western, stood less chance.

Many reasons have been given as to why the film failed at the box office in 1971: it was badly cut by the studio and given a happier ending, plus the advertising was wrong. Although I have only seen the restored version, even in truncated form its quality would have come through; I think something else undermined it.

The two stars, Holden and O'Neal, arrived with all the baggage they carried at the time. Ryan O'Neal had just made "Love Story" and had been big on TV in lighter fare; his star status gave the wrong perception. But like his role in "Barry Lyndon", time has stripped away the distractions, now he fits the role of the wild young cowboy perfectly. William Holden never gave a bad performance, but maybe he was seen to be repeating himself - "The Wild Bunch" was made a couple of years earlier. However as with O'Neal, distance has allowed us to appreciate his role as the weather-beaten, 50-year old cowboy in isolation; it's surely one of his best performances.

The film has a feeling of nostalgia for the passing of the Old West and much of that is down to Jerry Goldsmith's Coplandesque score. Many film music buffs still think that Jerry was The Man, and his score for "Wild Rovers" is one of the reasons why.

"Wild Rovers" can be appreciated on many levels; it's simply one of the best films of its type ever made.

In between "Love Story" and "What's Up, Doc?", Ryan O'Neal sneaked in this minor, forgotten western co-starring William Holden. It's one of those outdoor character studies which critics love to label 'picaresque' (i.e., episodic story of or relating to rascals or rogues). Two Montana cowboys plan to rob a bank and retire to Mexico, but life has other plans. Holden is restrained and easy, O'Neal very awkward, but the main culprit here is writer-director Blake Edwards (of all people), who sets the early pacing at such a slow drag that the picture never recovers. Supporting cast is unusually strong, but no one here is able to do much with this colorless script. ** from ****

Wild Rovers is written and directed by Blake Edwards. It stars William Holden, Ryan O'Neal, Karl Malden, Joe Don Baker, Tom Skeritt and James Olsen. Music is scored by Jerry Goldsmith and the Panavision/Metrocolor cinematography is by Philip Lathrop.

It's a Western that not only was butchered by cretinous execs at MGM, but has also proved to be divisive among the Western faithful - those that have seen the now thankfully available un-butchered version that is. Wild Rovers is one of those Oaters that is very much concerned with the changing of the West, where cowboys start to find themselves out of place with their era. Think Monte Walsh/Will Penny/Ride The High Country, with a bit of Wild Bunch/Butch & Sundance thrown in for good measure, and you get where Wild Rovers is at.

Some critics were quick to accuse Edwards of merely copying Western films of past, but that is unfair. For this is a loving homage to those movies, also managing to be its own beast in the process. The tale is simply of two cowpokes, one aged and world weary, the other a young excitable buck, best friends who want more from life, so decide to rob the local bank and flee to Mexico to start afresh. Of course two men and destiny are quite often not the best of bed fellows...

There's an elegiac beauty to Edwards' screenplay, with some of the scripted dialogue lyrical and poetic. And yet even though the harshness of the West, of the life of a cowboy, and the violence that is abound, is deftly pulsing within the story, there's plenty of dashes of humour as well. This is not a perpetually downbeat movie, slow moving? Absolutely, short on ripper action? Also correct. But as the themes of heroism and honour, of friendship and folly, are born out, and the many tender sequences draw you in, a pratfall is never far away.

Technically it's high grade stuff. Holden is superb and he drags O'Neal along with him to avert what could have been a casting disaster. They make a fine and beguiling partnership and both men are turning in some of their best ever work here. The photography of the Arizona locations is outstanding, with Lathrop (Lonely Are the Brave) managing to add some ethereal beauty to the story. Goldsmith knocks out a triffic score, part blunderbuss Western excitement, part intimate pal to all and sundry.

Skip any version that is under two hours, for that is an MGM crime. The MOD DVD comes complete with overture, intermission, entr'acte and exit music, while TCM shows the uncut version but minus the aforementioned roadshow segments. This is not a Western for those looking for a Magnificent Seven style actioner, for as fun as that great movie is, this is an altogether different and mature beast, and it deserves to be better known. 9/10

Blake Edwards must have had a huge ego after the success of The Pink Panther. What else possessed him to try his hand at a genre that was beyond him in so many ways. This film is so self indulgent on behalf of the writer-director, you can almost hear him in every scene praising his brilliance. Brilliant it ain't. Though it looks nice and shows off some beautiful scenery, this film is slow, OVERLONG, unfocused, mostly pointless and very badly acted by everyone but maybe William Holden (still not stellar) and Victor French. Ryan O'Neal is as miserably out of his depth here as Edwards, a performance that never gets off your nerves. Holden basically carries him throughout every scene they share.

The story? Almost non existent. Two cow punchers decide on a whim to rob a bank (just about the dullest 25 minute bank robbery in history), then go on the trot to Mexico pursued by two characters played by Tom Skeritt and Joe Don Baker who really have no character development and have not much to do with anything. Along the way we're treated to endless tedious ambling over hill and dale and slow motion sequences that give you bad Antonioni flashbacks.

Forget the positive comments on here, this is one of the worst westerns you'll ever see unless you don't mind being bored senseless. Edwards has made a hash of most films he's directed (SOB and Victor/Victoria excluded), but this has to be one of his three worst. Ford or Peckinpah he isn't. A disaster all the way around.

Boy oh boy, I have watched this film several times now and it always feels like the first time even though I know what is going to happen next. The acting by William Holden, Ryan O'Neal, Tom Skerritt, Karl Malden, Moses Gunn, Lynn Carlin, Joe Don Baker and Victor French were all born to play such great film roles in what turned out to be a great western film classic.

Director Blake Edwards known more for making camp classics such as the 1965 The Great Race, and the entire Pink Panther franchise collection, really showed his mettle as a director in guiding this ensemble of first rate film stars such as Karl Malden and William Holden who seamlessly made this western as real as if we were there in the present day when men worked hard and long for whisky and women money.

Ryan O'Neal who plays a handsome fast gun toting cowpoke teams up with William Holden and these two novice bank robbers perform their first bank robbery and then they high tail it out of town with a posse chasing them comprised of the towns local cattle rancher family, the Buckman's.

As the chase continues through the mountain terrains young Frank Post (Ryan O'Neal) and seasoned aged cowpoke Ross Bodine (William Holden) form a fun and daring journey that most men would be proud in sharing such a close friendship. Their friendship would be more closely associated with a father and son relationship than with two cowpokes who recently met and quickly form a strong bond that only death could separate these two cow hands and recent novice bank robbers.

The film is filled with expansive scenery, men of the wild west with ruggedness, adultery, bar room fights, bank robbery, loyalty, guilt, and misguided beliefs that one bad crime could set these two misfortunate cowboys up for a life of leisure without consequence. It is a western that must be seen....at least twice in a lifetime. The only thing lacking was a great musical collaboration that writer/director Blake Edwards could have used his music director Henry Mancini to complete.

I give the film a timeless 9 out of 10 rating.

This movie tried but just didn't make it as a good classic western. The problem with this story is it couldn't decide what it really wanted to be, a comedy or action.

The first half of the movie had the comedy and the two good old boy's stuff, but then it drifted off in a different direction that never really fit into the movie.

I personally think the movie would have been better if they made it about the sheriff played by Victor French. Victor played the sheriff with a touch of magic and should have gotten at least a nod for best supporting actor that year. I'm not saying he was better than Ben Johnson, but Leonard Frey or Richard Jaeckal, please.

This movie is to long and has to many dead spots in the end. It looks like Blake was looking for a ending and just through something in, it could have been a lot better. If you have nothing to do and have a couple of hours to kill, why not, but don't expect much.

MY RATING- 7.6

I've just watched this one last night, and it's quite an impresssive western from Blake Edwards, the king of Pink Phanter. Spite the vulgar screenplay, the characters view is fascinating, specially William Holden, without his usual and cynical presence. We really care for that middle aged cowboy and his tender friendship with the young man Ryan O'Neal. Together, they pass throw challenges after robbing a bank, including a scene with a dog, and most important the slowmotion use in the horse scene. The curious thing is that we see two different points of view: from the main characters and from the law men chasing them leaded by Karl Malden. In fact, Malden with his wife seems to be a person a bit far away from the story of the mov. The mov also stars younger Tom Skeritt and Joe Don Baker, Moses Gunn and a yelling Rachel Roberts. Pretty good western, and I'm not a western fan.

All little boys like to play cowboys in their lives and director Blake Edwards gets a late start in The Wild Rovers his first and last (Sunset boasts Wyatt Earp but it's Hollywood in the Twenties) western. Having gained his reputation on comedies (The Pink Panther franchise) and some taut contemporary dramas (Days of Wine and Roses) he does little more than mimic Sam Peckinpaugh right down to employing dead ender cowpoke Bill Holden in the lead.

Ned Bodine (Holden) and Frank Post (Ryan O'Neal)work as ranch hands for cattleman Walter Buckman (Karl Malden). When a fellow cowboy is killed in a corral accident the boys take stock of their life and decide to retire by robbing the local bank by holding the bank president's family hostage. The robbery works without a hitch and the boys make a clean getaway leaving the posse in the dust. They decide to turn back but Buckman's two sons continue the pursuit. Back home a range war with sheepherders keeps the old man busy.

Edwards pacing plods when it should be galloping. His convoluted screenplay merely flies off in another direction, fraught with peripheral action that neither advances or energizes the plot. Characters are ambiguously developed and while Holden and O'Neal show decent chemistry they only serve to express generational points of view in one lack lustre scene after another. Tom Skerrit as one of Buckman's kids out trying to garner his father's approval turns out to be the picture's most interesting character.

Edward's regular cinematographer Phil Lathrop is along to lens and he does offer up some fine compositions and panoramas but Edward's use of slo-mo blood letting (the rage of the day) is both heavy handed and gratuitous and it glaringly reveals Edwards is out to copy rather than be original.

A couple of cowpokes rob a bank on a whim and go on the lam. This is a genial character study that focuses on the relationship between the two cowboys, one older and theoretically wiser and the other a callow youth. Edwards' only Western feature is marked by lyrical outdoor scenes and a leisurely pace, allowing characters to develop. In a variation on the character he played in "The Wild Bunch," Holden is excellent as a man who is nearing his twilight years but has little to show for his life. O'Neal is surprisingly good as Holden's animal-loving partner. The ending is somewhat disappointing but the journey is worthwhile.

At regular intervals throughout this film you can't help but be reminded of 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' and unfortunately, for this film's sake, you're reminded of how inferior 'Wild Rovers' is.

One of the film's biggest problems is that it's so disjointed as the section involving Holden and O'Neal seems to belong to a different film to the bits involving Malden, Skeritt and Don Baker. Also, the reason why Malden sends his sons off to go after the two outlaws is unconvincing and as this is one of the key plot points, it hurts the film badly.

The film, in typical 1970's fashion, seems to be wanting to make a "realistic" Western so we're treated to a totally unnecessary scene where Holden and O'Neal vomit, mild but gratuitous swearing and a scene where the two central characters are smothered in urine (quite adroitly done, it must be said). The slow-motion sequences, a la 'The Wild Bunch', add nothing to the film and Rachel Roberts has a small role unworthy of her talents where every line she utters is at the top of her lungs.

Despite all this, the film isn't without some notable qualities, as you'd expect from a film by Blake Edwards. A poker scene towards the end involving O'Neal is very well-handled and Holden's character is impressively written and acted.

But in the end, while 'Wild Rovers' is trying to be a film of significance (note how long it takes to get to the opening credits despite nothing happening), it has to be counted as an honourable failure.

Best western featuring 2 unprincipled, ignorant saddle bums who decide to leave their employer and rob the local financial repository. Things go well for the pair until the willful son of their former boss gets on their trail and absolutely nothing will remove him from it. Tenacious little grubber played well by Tom Skerritt. He and his brother chase the bandits across a desert, over mountains, and through the snow until finally they meet in Monument Valley National Park. However, the thieves were a tad worse for wear seeing as they had a little trouble on the way during a friendly little game of poker. Except for a couple of sluggish moments this film moved along right nice like. Good performances, starkly beautiful scenery, and decent dialogue kept my interest all the way through. I especially liked the poker game scene: it was one of the better played out scenes in the picture. Morbid ending.