The Ballad of Cable Hogue
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- "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" is also the title of a song by Calexico.
| The Ballad of Cable Hogue | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for the film |
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| Directed by | Sam Peckinpah |
| Written by | John Crawford Edmund Penney |
| Starring | Jason Robards Stella Stevens David Warner |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith, Richard Gillis |
| Cinematography | Lucien Ballard |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | 1970 (USA) |
| Running time | 121 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a 1970 motion picture directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens and David Warner.
Set in the desert of Arizona during the transitional period when the frontier was closing, the movie follows three years in the life of Cable Hogue, a failed prospector. While unmistakably a western, the movie is quite unconventional for the genre and for the director. It contains only a few brief scenes of violence and gunplay, relying more on a subtly crafted story that could better be characterized as comedic in nature.
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[edit] Plot summary
The film opens with Cable Hogue (Robards) out in the desert awaiting his two partners, Taggart (L.Q. Jones) and Bowen (Strother Martin), who are scouting for water. The two plot to seize what little water remains to save themselves and Hogue, who hesitates to defend himself, is disarmed and abandoned to almost certain death. Peckinpah, known for virtuosic title sequences, uses his trademark multi-panel technique to show Hogue wandering through sandstorms and the blazing desert. Hogue bargains with God and four days later, when it seems he is about to perish, he stumbles upon a muddy pit. He digs down to find an abundant supply of water.
After finding out that his well is the only source of water between two major towns on a stagecoach route, he decides to take up residence there and build a business. His first “customer” is a nameless drifting gunman who refuses to pay the ten cent fee and draws on Hogue, who shoots him dead. Hogue’s first paying customer is the Rev. Joshua Douglas Stone (Warner), a wandering minister of a church of his own invention. Joshua doubts the legitimacy of Hogue’s claim to the spring, prompting Hogue to race into town to file at the land office.
Hogue faces the mockery of everyone he tells about his discovery, but that does not deter him from buying the meager two acres surrounding his spring. He immediately goes to the stage office to drum up business and $35 in seed money for himself, but is thrown out by the sceptical owner. He wanders over to the bank where he pitches his business plan to the president. He is as dubious about the claim as everyone else, but the now impassioned Hogue impresses him with his bombastic attitude and he decides to stake Hogue to an even $100.
Hogue, who hasn’t even bathed since his wanderings in the desert, decides to treat himself to a night of pampering and sex with Hildy (Stevens), a prostitute in the town saloon. They quickly develop a jovial understanding, but before they can consummate the transaction, Hogue remembers that he has still not set up his boundary markers and rushes out, much to Hildy’s chagrin. Whether she is mad because Hogue decides not to have sex with her or because he refuses to pay her (“For what?” he asks) is not entirely clear. She chases him out of the saloon in a sequence that wreaks havoc on the entire town.
Back at the spring, Hogue and Joshua get to work, dubbing the claim Cable Springs. The two decide to go into town for the night and are drunk by the time they arrive. Hogue makes up with Hildy and spends the night with her, leaving Joshua to pursue his passion: the seduction of emotionally vulnerable women. Noticing a comely young woman clearly bereaved after receiving a telegram, he follows her home and introduces himself as a man of God who is there to ease her pain. He finds out that “John” died two days ago. She is taken in by his charisma and before long, he has her nearly disrobed with his hands caressing her breasts. Suddenly there is a knock at the door and Joshua, who assumed that “John” was the woman’s husband is stunned to find out that he is her husband’s brother. The husband comes storming in and Joshua uses his charmingly pious demeanor to talk his way out.
Back at Cable Springs, Hogue and Joshua continue to run the robust business, delighting in shocking the often genteel and modern passers-through with the realities of old west living. In moments of solitude, Hogue and Joshua philosophize on the nature of love and the passing of their era. One day, Joshua decides that he must return to town and make love with the married woman he met earlier, regardless of the risks. While he is gone, Hildy arrives at Cable Springs having been “asked” to leave by the modernizing townfolk, who can no longer abide open prostitution in their midst. She tells Hogue that she will leave for San Francisco in the morning, but winds up staying with him for three weeks. This time elapses in one of the most tender romantic montages ever filmed.
Three weeks after leaving for town, Joshua returns in a panic with the cuckolded husband of his lover hot on his trail. Hogue manages to protect Joshua, but once the husband leaves, Hogue tells Joshua that he can not stay there any longer. In his anger, he also makes a disparaging remark about Hildy’s former life as a prostitute. Hildy decides to leave the next morning. She asks Hogue to come with her, something Hogue clearly wishes to do, but he refuses to leave until he has had his revenge on the men who left him to die.
Eventually, Hogue gets what he wants. One day, Taggart and Bowen arrive on the stagecoach and Hogue lets them believe that he bears them no ill will. He tells them that if it were not for them, he wouldn’t have found Cable Springs and become wealthy. Hogue alludes to the huge stash of cash that he has hoarded somewhere on the property, knowing that the two men will return to steal it. When they do, Hogue is ready, captures them and orders them to strip to their underwear to wander into the desert, just as he was forced to three years earlier. Taggart, thinking Hogue will hesitate as he did the last time, reaches for his gun, but Hogue shoots him dead. The scene is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a motorcar, which drives past on the wagon road. Until this moment, there is no indication of what year the film is meant to represent. It becomes clear that the film is about people caught between the old west and the 20th century. The motorcar drives right past Cable Springs with no need or interest in stopping for water. The riders even laugh at the archaic scene of western violence as they race past. “Drove right by,” says Hogue in amazement. “Well, that’s the next guy’s problem.”
Hogue takes mercy on the grovelling Bowen and even gives him Cable Springs, having decided to go to San Francisco to find Hildy. The stagecoach arrives and Hogue gets ready to pack up when suddenly another motorcar appears. It stops and from it emerges Hildy opulently dressed. She has become very prosperous and now on her way to New Orleans, she has come to see if Hogue is ready to join her. He agrees to leave with her. But while he loads the motorcar, he accidentally trips the brake and the car runs over him.
The movie closes with Joshua, who arrives by motorcycle, giving a eulogy over the still living and acid tongued Hogue. This segues into an actual funeral with the entire cast standing mournfully over Hogue’s grave. They are grieving not only the death of the man, but the era he represents. The final shot is of the stagecoach and motorcar driving off in opposite directions and a coyote wandering into the abandoned Cable Springs. Joshua's speech, while critical of Hogue's capitalistic greed, is not a bold and blatant "good riddance" message, perhaps because such a message was and still is seen as socially uncivil.
[edit] Trivia
- Sam Peckinpah said that The Ballad of Cable Hogue was his favorite of the films he made.
- The production was plagued with inclement weather. When they could not shoot the entire cast and crew would go to a local bar. When they finally wrapped they had a bar tab of $70,000.
- The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a “Death of the West” film, depicting the transition from Old West to modern west. Other films of this type include The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Unforgiven, and Peckinpah's own The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. But then, nearly every Western is about the "Death of the West"
- John Cale recorded a song "Cable Hogue" on his 1975 album 'Helen of Troy'
[edit] Soundtrack
The Ballad of Cable Hogue has a unique score by Jerry Goldsmith and songs by Richard Gillis. Each of the main characters has a theme: "Tomorrow is the Song I Sing" is Hogue's, "Butterfly Morning" is Hildy's, and "Wait for Me, Sunrise" is Joshua's.
[edit] External links
| Films directed by Sam Peckinpah |
|---|
| The Deadly Companions • Ride the High Country • Major Dundee • The Wild Bunch • The Ballad of Cable Hogue • Straw Dogs • Junior Bonner • The Getaway • Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid • Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia • The Killer Elite • Cross of Iron • Convoy • The Osterman Weekend |
