The Ballad of Cable Hogue

Summary

Introduction by scholar Garner Simmons, author of Peckinpah: A Portrait in Montage – The Definitive Edition: 50 Years After “The Wild Bunch” from the Writer Who Knew Him Best:

After the intense violence portrayed in The Wild Bunch, Sam Peckinpah shifted focus as he attempted to show the breadth of his talents.  To achieve this, he selected a remarkable screenplay – a parable of the American Dream titled The Ballad of Cable Hogue.  It opens with Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) as he is betrayed by his partners Taggert and Bowen (character actors LQ Jones and Strother Martin) who bushwhack him and leave him without water to die in the desert.  Refusing to give up, Hogue makes his way across the arid landscape while talking to a seemingly silent God until he drops from thirst and exhaustion. The next morning, he wakes to find that he has, in fact, stumbled upon the only water in any direction.  Having “found it where it wasn’t” he stakes his claim and builds a way station on stagecoach route halfway between Dead Dog and Gila City.  Into his life comes an independent prostitute named Hildy (Stella Stevens) and a preacher (David Warner). As Cable’s business thrives, his old nemeses Taggert and Bowen return setting up a final confrontation.  In truth, like The Wild Bunch, it is a tale about the passing of the West but from a totally original point of view.  Unfortunately, many of those who had loved The Wild Bunch went expecting more of the same. As a result, Cable Hogue bombed at the box office. In the time since, however, audiences have come to recognize the brilliance of yet  another facet of Peckinpah’s remarkable vision.

Review:

Sam Peckinpah was an American original. All of Peckinpah’s films share a manic energy that was uniquely his own. They brim with the energy of an artist creating and using every one of his talents to force a film into being. You can see it in every frame. His filmmaking style can take a little while to get used to, but holds up to repeat viewings marvelously. My two personal favorites out of his films are Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia, and The Wild Bunch, but he made a good amount of great films for having such a small time frame to make them. When I saw that Warner Archive had finally released The Ballad of Cable Hogue on Blu-ray, that was an easy blind buy for me. The Ballad of Cable Hogue found “the master of violence” working in a much softer mood.

Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) gets left for dead in the middle of the dessert when two unsavory characters (Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones) steal his water canteens and rifle. As he wanders in the dust, he prays for help and accidentally stumbles upon an undiscovered watering hole in between Jackson Hole and other territories. He sees the opportunity to make himself a business and digs out a watering hole. His first customer refuses to pay the ten cents he charges and Cable ends up killing him with his own rifle. After a swift burial, his second customer is a preacher (David Warner.) He hails from the “Church of the Wayfaring Stranger” and his Church is wherever he goes. The preacher points out that Cable should get the rights to the land and set up markers, so Cable goes into town. In town he sees a beautiful prostitute named Hildy (Stella Stevens.) He is immediately drawn to her feminine assets. Cable secures two acres for all the money he has in the world – $2.50. When he secures the land, he asks a man in town if he would like to become a partner in his business and is thrown onto his back in the street. Rejected, he goes to a bank and the banker decides to lend him $35 to get his business started. With a portion of the money he gets some booze and Hildy. After infuriating Hildy, Cable heads back to grab the preacher from the watering hole. He brings the preacher back into town and mends things with Hildy. The preacher passes time by seducing a recent widow. Hildy and Cable become lovers and she moves in with Cable, but she dreams of San Francisco. Cable dreams of revenge on the two men who left him for dead.

This is Sam Peckinpah at his most relaxed, essentially a comedic Western with less violence, more sexuality, and more humor than his better known output. It sets its satirical sights on religion throughout the film and sexual desire. It can be a little bit racy at times. Featuring a strong performance by the lovable Jason Robards, and strong supporting performances from David Warner and Stella Stevens, the film is a fun way to spend a couple hours. The film also benefits from cinematography by frequent collaborator Lucien Ballard and a fantastic score by Jerry Goldsmith.

This film didn’t bowl me over in the same way as some of Sam’s other films, but like other Peckinpah films it only gets better on repeat viewings. Peckinpah had great skill at developing very memorable characters with minimalist dialogue. This film is solid proof of that. The film benefits from being made by Peckinpah with a true affection for its characters. At the time he claimed it was the best thing he had ever done. It’s a shame that the film didn’t do better at the box office, considering it was one of the few films where Sam was left essentially to his own devices and had full control of relaying his vision. Fans of Peckinpah will surely want to check it out.

Video

Warner Archive continue to impress with a brand new 1080p HD transfer that was remastered specifically for this release using an MPEG-4 AVC encode. The film was shot in 1.85:1 and is presented in an 1.85:1 aspect ratio. This film has a softer focus look that is reminiscent of other films of that time. The film was capably shot in Panavision by Lucien Ballard who had teamed up with Peckinpah on the classic The Wild Bunch. The films have a similar look, but a very different feel. Fine detail is good for the most part, but the soft focus techniques occasionally will make the film look a little muddy. Colors in the film are sometimes fairly muted, so expect the film to sometimes look pretty washed out. Though the film is not particularly colorful, it still has plenty to look at on-screen. I did not notice any big discrepancies in the color correction or any large compression artifacts. Overall this is another good transfer from Warner Archive.

Audio

The Ballad of Cable Hogue has been given an incredibly well-done DTS-HD MA 2.0 track that breathes new life into the old sound design. The main reason to jump for joy is how incredibly clear the dialogue comes across. Jason Robards has one of those voices that can easily be mistaken for mumbling if the sound mix is not absolutely perfect. Luckily, here is essentially a perfect representation of what was originally intended. The score by Jerry Goldsmith fits the film well along with the folk songs by Richard Gillis that make the film more of its time and place.

Supplements:

The Ladiest Damn’d Lady – an afternoon with Stella Steven’s – An interview with the actress that was featured on the DVD for the Peckinpah Westerns Collection. This is a well-done interview with some good information on the actress and the film.

Commentary by Nick Redman, Garner Simmons, David Weddle, and Paul Seydor – this is the same commentary that was featured on the DVD release for the Peckinpah Westerns Collection. Like the other commentary tracks in that box set (which thankfully have made their way onto the Peckinpah Blu-rays) this is an excellent and informative track. I can listen to these gentlemen discuss Peckinpah’s work all day. Garner Simmons also wrote the introduction to this review!

Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 4/5

The Ballad of Cable Hogue is not Peckinpah’s best film in my estimation, but it is certainly fun to see him in such a lighthearted and romantic mood. There is a genuine sweetness to the film that could only come from the director’s affection for the characters. For myself, and many others out there, I will take as much Peckinpah as I can get. Jason Robards shines in the film alongside a great supporting cast featuring Stella Stevens, David Warner, Strother Martin, and L.Q. Jones. I was thrilled that Warner Archive decided to bring this film to Blu-ray. With solid technical specs and some engaging special features from the previous DVD, this is well worth picking up if you have not seen the film.

Portions of this review originally appeared on Blu-ray Authority. Thanks to Garner Simmons for the excellent introduction at the beginning of the review!