“The Cowboy Iliad reaches back to the spoken tradition of storytelling — designed to have no simple resolution, but a mix of history, nostalgia and speculation. And, of course, we wanted to honor the tradition of the Western… In other words, Bobby Woods and I had a couple of shooters and made a record.”
– Walter Hill
During the summer between junior high school and high school, a movie came to our little local theater that I simply had to see. It was titled The Long Riders and it had this cool gimmick — four sets of brothers played four sets of brothers — the James Boys, the Youngers, the Millers, and the Fords, played by James and Stacy Keach; the Carradine brothers; the Quaids; and the Guests. My parents thought it was too violent and they didn’t like the idea of “glorifying outlaws.” My mother, in particular, hated that I was so drawn to the rough and wild frontier folk. I badgered my dad relentlessly until he broke down and took me to see the R-rated flick.
It was glorious. Bloody glorious.
I was just a kid, of course, and I didn’t pay attention to things like who composed the soundtrack (the great Ry Cooder) or who directed the movie — a cat named Walter Hill. I just knew what I liked. Turns out, I generally like everything Walter Hill does, which is not too surprising, since he cops to the fact that everything he does is a Western, whether it is a genre flick or not. By the time Geronimo: An American Legend came out in 1993, I knew damn well who Walter Hill was. Ry Cooder, too. That movie was directed by Hill, with a weird and wonderful soundtrack by Cooder, and scripted by John Milius — cloverleafing in my aesthetic and historical x-ring.
*
So here we are in 2019. Walter Hill is 77 years old and still in the saddle. He’s come out with The Cowboy Iliad: A Legend Told In The Spoken Word. The spoken word record tells the story of a deadly shootout that occurred in Newton, Kansas in 1871 and its aftermath of violence and controversy. The record was produced by Bobby Woods and features Les Deux Love Orchestra.
The Newton General Massacre of August 19-20, 1871, was a bloody affair that left five men dead and three wounded in a cowtown saloon. It started over a political argument. See what happens? For some strange reason, though it attracted plenty of press in the day, the episode has slid into obscurity while events like the OK Corral gunfight have entire library shelves devoted to them. History is capricious.
At any rate, you know what I’ll be listening to tonight as I deliver The Nugget… Sorry Mom.
Norman Andrews says
I must agree I just love The Long Riders , for some reason when the subject comes up ,I seem to always find that a lot of people don’t like it, but for me it’s one of the greats.
Norm.
RLT says
“…they didn’t like the idea of ‘glorifying outlaws.'”
Glad to see THAT lesson stuck!
JimC says
Right?
Thom Eley says
Nice one, Jim. Great movie. My mother, like yours, was not enthralled with my interests in the rough side of life. She envisioned me in a business suit and going to the country club. However, my dad understood, and my mother was tolerant although not pleased.
John M Roberts says
“History is capricious.” For several years I’ve been working on a book about a gunfight that took place in 1886 near my ancestral town of Kenedy, TX. Five men were killed, one crippled for life, several others wounded. Among the killed were the sheriff of Karnes County and two of his deputies. It was estimated that about 100 shots were fired in under a minute. The name of the sheriff was Fate Elder. The man who killed him was Sykes Butler. With names like that how can it be more Wild West? My grandmother knew Sykes Butler when she was a young girl and he was an old man. An epic gun battle (actually more of an ambush) but all but forgotten now.
JimC says
Well, you can count on readers here, that’s for sure.
JimC says
This thing is as Frontier Partisans as it gets.
John M Roberts says
To get an idea, Google “The Fracas at Daileyville.” There are several articles on this all but forgotten gun battle. The fact is, I only learned of it a few years ago. People in Kenedy didn’t talk about it when I was a boy there in the ’50s.. There was just an impression that something bad had happened “back then.” If you enquired, it was always “Oh, why bring up that old business?” One of the Butler women was in my grandmother’s canasta club. The Elders were extinct but there were lots of Butlers still around. You also didn’t talk about the Sutton-Taylor feud, which was in DeWitt county next door. Members of those clans would come to Kenedy to rest up and take cover from revenge killings. There was a reason why Kenedy was informally called “Six-shooter Junction.”
JimC says
I bet there was a long hangover from that nasty piece of business. John Wesley Hardin was a partisan in that deal.
Aaron says
For me it Comanche Moon, Lonesome Dove and Return to Lonesome Dove. But Longriders is a good one also. Hell it has a Colt Walker in it.
Dave Allen says
Was just going through all my old VHS westerns the other night to see which ones I haven’t gotten on DVD yet. The Long Riders is on my list along with The Wild Bunch, Jeremiah Johnson, Monte Walsh, Tom Horn, Little Big Man, several John Wayne movies, and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid to name a few. Better get online and spend some $ upgrading. Till then, still have the VHS player connected so I think The Long Riders will be playing right after breakfast and the wife heads off to work tomorrow. One of the perks of being retired, coffee and a good cowboy flick on a stormy spring morning. Hard to beat!
JimC says
Hard to beat indeed.
Jim says
Jim,
Sorry if this is not the place to fire this off but as I am a Luddite at heart I’m not sure how else to get a PM through. I am headed to Bend for work next week and plan to spend a few days extra in an effort to see the area and scout for future trips as my retirement job may bring me to the area – I have traveled all through ID/MT but never OR. Any suggestions on short day trips/hikes or places I should check out – ie gun/outdoor equipment stores, used bookstores etc. I will have a vehicle and not bound to Bend if you recommend checking out other areas. Thanks in advance and no worries if you aren’t able to reply. I love the site and your book and look forward to the next.
JimC says
Hey Jim!
Got nothing particularly special in the way of gun shops. Lost Creek Armory and Double Tap Firearms are good independent outfits — nothing fancy. The Open Book was my go-to used book store, but it’s been sold and they’re turning it into a cafe — fewer books. Big Story is pretty decent. Pegasus Books is a pop culture store — comics, lots of fantasy and mystery books. Fun spot.
As for hikes — if you can make it out to the Metolius River in Camp Sherman west of Sisters, that’s pretty much the classic hike for our neck of the woods. Whychus Creek Trail is good. The climbs are still snowed in. Not really familiar with Bend area hikes. Smith Rock State Park north of Redmond is a great spot — can be crowded.
If you do come out to Sisters, feel free to stop by The Nugget office at 442 E. Main Avenue. Coffee’s on.
Saddle Tramp says
Jim,
Dave Allen lays out a good list above and when you mention Cowboy & Iliad as a pair I’m gonna draw on that for sure. Of course what is being romanticized at it’s heart is freedom and living like the wind. That’s what I always yearned for and still do in whatever form it takes. That’s the eternal message. Speaking of outlaws and “So you wanna be an outlaw” here’s something I just checked out in a Fretboard Journal podcast with Steve Earle that I believe is a “Paper Route” worthy ride along companion. As a long line rider myself I highly recommend it.
https://www.fretboardjournal.com/podcasts/podcast-250-steve-earle/
JimC says
On it!
wayne says
Dave Allen’s on the right track; I have all the movies he mentioned on DVD, assuming the Wayne movies are Red River, Stagecoach, and Ford’s Cavalry Trilogy.
The Long Riders is one of my all time favorites. You don’t often see such an earnest effort to recreate the past on film. The whores weren’t beautiful, outlaws got shot in the face, post Civil War townspeople stood up for themselves, and the music and dancing were the real thing.
Fletcher A. Vredenburgh says
Hell, my mom and my aunt took me to see The Long Riders back when it came out. Both of them were all for a good, violent movie. I remember all of us loving it at the time. I was happy to see how well it held up rewatching it a few years back.
As a sidenote, I saw an interview with Louis L’Amour and in it he talked about the Northfield, Minnesota Raid. He pointed out part of the reason it failed was that many of the town’s civilians were veterans with significant battlefield experience – unlike the banditry of the gang members. I’m not sure how accurate that is, but it’s something that’s always stuck in my mind.
JimC says
I believe that Louis had it right.
Jim says
Thanks Jim,
I appreciate the guidance and the hospitality
Jim
Brian H. says
I love the Long Riders and all things Ry Cooder. My Mom also had similar concerns. She was a little girl in Holland during WW2 and abhorred guns. She also disliked it when I took to calling her “Ma” and utilizing the ever so useful “reckon”.
JimC says
Perhaps it is the duty of a man to be a trial to his loving mother.
No one could steer me right but mama tried
Mama tried
Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better
But her pleading I denied
That leaves only me to blame
Cuz mama tried
deuce says
Just heard that again last night at work. It might end up being the song played at my funeral.
Brian H. says
exactly
deuce says
“It was glorious. Bloody glorious.”
I thought the same thing when I saw it for the first time on HBO. For a couple of years there, HBO provided some very formative films for me. THE LONG RIDERS, EXCALIBUR, The WARRIORS, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING… I watched them all multiple times. The twig was bent (a little more).
“I generally like everything Walter Hill does, which is not too surprising, since he cops to the fact that everything he does is a Western, whether it is a genre flick or not. By the time Geronimo: An American Legend came out in 1993, I knew damn well who Walter Hill was.”
GERONIMO is what solidified my status as a born-again hard Hill fan. A criminall t underappreciated director.I think he would’ve made a great Conan movie director. As for *everything* he made being a Western, he has said more than once that THE WARRIORS was based on THE ANABASIS. Doesn’t mean that there isn’t Western DNA in it as well…
“The Newton General Massacre of August 19-20, 1871, was a bloody affair that left five men dead and three wounded in a cowtown saloon. It started over a political argument. See what happens? For some strange reason, though it attracted plenty of press in the day, the episode has slid into obscurity…”
No major gunfighters involved. Plus, Kansas. McCluskie was no angel, but Bailey had already killed two men. McCluskie had punched the Texan clear out into the street, so it wasn’t like he was getting his ass kicked and shot from desperation. He reckoned Bailey would do a follow-up back-shootin’ and took preemptive measures. A native-born Kansas boy had to do the honorable thing and clean up the mess.
“See what happens?”
Yeah. When you let in Texans, you get Texas.
JimC says
Yep.
deuce says
Actually, as I recall, John Hocking pointed out that there’s a scene in BULLET TO THE HEAD where a desktop screen has REH’s name (and numerous other cool authors) on it. A tip of the hat. Yeah, Hill would’ve had no problem helming a Conan (or other REH-based) flick.
deuce says
This quote from Hill nails it:
“I very purposely — more and more so every time I do a script — give characters no back story. The way you find out about these characters is by watching what they do, the way they react to stress, the way they react to situations and confrontations. In that way, character is revealed through drama rather than being explained through dialogue.”
THAT is the kinda guy who I want writing/directing a Conan flick. The thing is, Lionsgate/Lerner probably could’ve got Hill for the same or less money than Ratner. What coulda been.
Dave Allen says
There is an interview with Walter Hill on the last page of the June issue of True West magazine. Some interesting nuggets in a short article. I had forgotten that he directed Wild Bill with Jeff Bridges, one of my favorites.
JimC says
Another good un!
The business about touching another man’s hat is on the money.
deuce says
A lot of people don’t realize how many of their favorite movies are actually Walter Hill movies. I didn’t realize CROSSROADS was a Hill film until a few years ago. He’s definitely one of the unsung greats. He has several average/subpar movies, but almost all of the great directors do.