Tom Horn (1980)

This is unfairly forgotten western from the decade were western were slowly dying until the 1985. " Tom Horn" deserves more praise , since this is a good western and one of last movies of Steve McQueen. It's his last good movie.The movie is full of brilliant dialogues. I don't remember when was the last time I have seen a movie where almost every exchange is intelligent and funny. The movie is worth watching for the dialogues alone.The story is a little predictable , but the movie is well directed by William Wiard and grips you from start to finish. I felt sad at the end and that was the whole point.The movie made me sad , because it was not only the goodbye to Tom Horn, but also to Steve McQueen ("Papillon") . Both were heroes from the past that were slowly dying in a changing world that didn't need them. McQueen did make one more movie after this one , but for me this is his good bye. A good movie and a great farewell to wonderful actor.I give it 7/10.

This picture was released in theaters on March 28 1980 starring Steve McQueen as Tom Horn Linda Evans as Glendolene Kimmel, and Richard Farnsworth as John C Coble. He grew up in the violence of the Old West. He became a cowboy, rode shotgun for the stage line, was an agent with the Pinkertons and fought with Rough Riders under Teddy Roosevelt. He made his reputation as a cavalry scout by bringing in Geronimo in the bloody Apache wars. In 1901, he made his to Wyoming Territory and this man name was Tom Horn. Tom is open country of Wyoming drinking coffee, and watching animals move on Wyoming Territory. Later in the day, Tom drifts into and drops his horse of at the stables. He tells the keeper to take care of his horse and if things go wrong, he'll sleep in the same stall as his horse. After getting into a fight, Tom wakes up in the same stall with his horse just like he said he would. Along comes John C Coble who's interested in hiring Tom for a special job. John Coble owns one of the biggest ranch in the Wyoming territory. Therefore, John offers Tom a good job and a place to put his head every night along with good meals to feel his stomach. Therefore, John and Tom start riding out of town when the stop at a local watering hole to give there horses a chance to drink some water. John lets Tom know that some of the cattle that are in the corral pen are his. After John gets of his horse some outlaws sitting on the porch start to play music and they want John to dance. However, John isn't interested in dancing so the outlaws start shooting at his feet. Tom starts shooting back and they booth ride off towards Cobles Ranch. The next day Tom starts his new job and later in the day, John introduces Tom to the Cattlemen Association. It turns out that John is a member of the Association and they want to hire John. After dinner Tom is introduce to Glendolene Kimmel who's the local school teacher. Tom is told that he's to do anything he has to get rid of the cattle rustlers that are plaguing the cattlemen's association. That brings me to some questions that need to be answered. Is Tom able to get the job done that the cattlemen's association wants him to do? Is the schoolteacher interested in Tom as Much as Tom is interested in the schoolteacher? Here are some personal thoughts of my own on the movie. I thought Steve McQueen was great in his role as Tom Horn. Some actors when they play a hero like Tom Horn let it go to their head and Steve McQueen was nowhere close to that. I do think that the movie could've used some more action in it but it wasn't bad they way it was. The reason I bought the movie was for Linda Evans. I was disappointed for time she received and I thought she deserved better. Based on that and the fact that there was no real leading woman I give this picture 6 weasel stars.

Many good comments are already posted. I want to point out a few additional facts about the making of the movie that might be interesting to some. I remember reading a feature article about the making of Tom Horn in American Cinematographer or American Film or one of the other trade magazines. One technique that is very different for a major Hollywood film is that the filmmakers decided to use very little makeup on the actors in order to make the film a more realistic portrayal of life at that time. The fact that Linda Evans agreed to be photographed without makeup is a testament both to her natural beauty and her strong commitment to this film. Watch closely and you will spot many scenes where the lighting and makeup are unflattering to the actors, but the effect adds to the feel of this under-appreciated film. The costumes are also accurate for the period -- no belts (remember suspenders?), lots of wool and plenty of earth tones. In order to avoid the unpredictable weather and short summer in the location on the northern plains where the film is set, the movie was filmed in (if memory serves) Arizona. And guess what? Right in the middle of production, it snowed big-time! A quick decision had to be made whether to delay the filming or to go ahead, knowing that the snow would not last long in that climate (making continuity a problem). They decided to go for it and the shooting schedule was changed so that all outdoor snow scenes were shot over the course of a couple of days. This was a mammoth task for the crew and cast to pull off, but they managed to shoot all the outdoor scenes before the snow melted, and only had to use fake snow in a couple of street scenes. Anyway, Tom Horn was one of the first westerns to try and give a more accurate historical portrayal of the old west and that alone sets it apart from most Hollywood westerns.

Directed by William Wiard and based on a true story, "Tom Horn" opens in 1901, in Wyoming, where McQueen meets John C. Coble (Richard Farnsworth) who offered him to ease up at his place for a while… Tom accepted, but he said I'd to earn my keep… Seeing Horn with great ability with a rifle, and after speaking with the Association, John asks him to eliminate the rustlers who have completely wiped out their herd profits not to mention what the buzzards and the predators have done to their cash crops… But after one incident has disturbed the Association in town, and the rustling has stopped, they determined to get rid of Horn forgetting he was only doing what they hired him to do… Mc Queen plays well the Indian tracker "scared to death of lobster, the man of the West "afraid to lose his freedom and not be able to get back up in those hills again." Linda Evans is appealing as the school teacher from Hawaii who saw a man of the Old West trying to live in the New… Richard Farnsworth is the loyal friend John C. Coble who was quite sure that Tom never killed that kid… John advices him not to try to break out of the jail… He knows he can do it, but it's just admitting his guilt if he tries… Billy Green Bush is the U.S. Marshal Joe Belle who asks the newspaperman to sit behind the door and write lying down what he hears real good… Slims Pickens is the old Sheriff Sam Creed who arrested Tom… With a legendary hero, great photography and good direction "Tom Horn" is very good Western to watch