1 / 7
ERA
Did you know
55 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Wild Rovers
"They were damned good cowboys, until they robbed a bank."
1971 2h 16m EN
😐
6.1
MID
★6.1TMDB · 52
ActionWestern
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Ross Bodine and Frank Post are cowhands on Walt Buckman's R-Bar-R ranch. Bodine is older and broods a bit about how he will get along when he's too old to cowboy. Post is young and rambunctious and ambitious for a better life than wrangling cows. When one of their fellow cowboys is killed in a corral accident, Post suggests a way into a better life for himself and his friend: robbing a bank. Bodine reluctantly joins in the plan and the two contrive to rob the local bank. They make good their escape initially, but Walt Buckman and his two sons, John and Paul, are incensed at this betrayal by their own trusted employees. John and Paul set out to bring Bodine and Post to justice.
“They were damned good cowboys, until they robbed a bank.”
Cast
William Holden
Ross Bodine
Ryan O'Neal
Frank Post
Karl Malden
Walter Buckman
Lynn Carlin
Sada Billings
Tom Skerritt
John Buckman
Joe Don Baker
Paul Buckman
Geoffrey Edwards
Attendant's Son
James Olson
Joe Billings
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Blake Edwards
- Writers
- Blake Edwards
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 7
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Blake Edwards, shot by Philip H. Lathrop. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 7
ERA
Did you know
Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 7
ERA
Did you know
William Holden and Ryan O'Neal and Karl Malden carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 7
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "They were damned good cowboys, until they robbed a bank.".
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 7
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0067989 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 7
WILD
Did you know
Only 52 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Blake Edwards directs. Philip H. Lathrop behind the camera. Jerry Goldsmith scores. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 155 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
- 2Directed by Blake Edwards, shot by Philip H. Lathrop. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 3Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 4William Holden and Ryan O'Neal and Karl Malden carry the top of the cast.
- 5Marketing tagline: "They were damned good cowboys, until they robbed a bank.".
- 6IMDB entry: tt0067989 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 7Only 52 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Philip H. Lathrop
- Original score
- Jerry Goldsmith
- Runtime
- 136 min · 2h 16m
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- PG
Also by
Blake Edwards
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- John Chard★ 9/10
A reflective gem of an Oater. 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
Production companies
Who made it
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
US
Key crew
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- ranch
- female gunfighter
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1971-06-23PG· Rated GP
Also known as
International titles
- Deux hommes dans l'OuestFR
- Vad csavargókHU
