Will Penny (1968)

Director:

Tom Gries

Writer:

Tom Gries (writer)

Release Date:

10 April 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Western

Tagline:

The Brute in Everyman Was Also in Him - And the Love and the Violence

Plot:

Aging cowboy Will Penny gets a line camp job on a large cattle spread and finds his isolated cabin is already occupied by a husbandless woman and her young son.

Plot Keywords:

Mountain | Winter | Ranch | Squatter | Son

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Will Penny
Joan Hackett	...	Catherine Allen
Donald Pleasence	...	Preacher Quint
Lee Majors	...	Blue
Bruce Dern	...	Rafe Quint
Ben Johnson	...	Alex (Flat Iron Ranch foreman)
Slim Pickens	...	Ike Walterstein
Clifton James	...	Catron
Anthony Zerbe	...	Dutchy
Roy Jenson	...	Boetius Sullivan
G.D. Spradlin	...	Anse Howard
Quentin Dean	...	Jennie
William Schallert	...	Dr. Fraker
Lydia Clarke	...	Mrs. Fraker
Robert Luster	...	Shem Bodine

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) (1968) | UK:12 (2003) | UK:A (1967) (cut) | USA:Approved (Certificate #21512) | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bishop, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Charlton Heston has often said of all the films he's made, this is his favorite.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the fight between Will Penny and the Quint family, one of the brothers throws a knife into Penny's chest. A wire attached to the knife a very obvious.

Quotes:

Will Penny: I'm sure glad no one seen me do that. I'd be laughed off the place.
Catherine Allen: What? Milking?
Will Penny: No self-respectin' cowhand'd be caught dead milkin' a cow!
Catherine Allen: I won't tell anyone.
Will Penny: I sure won't go braggin' on it none.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Ben Johnson: Third Cowboy on the Right (1996)

Soundtrack:

Lonely Rider, The

Existential epic...

Charlton Heston's saddle-sore cowpuncher is one of the most understated-and underrated- performances in an outstanding career: he's a man nearing the end of the proverbial ride, and he's all too aware of it. He questions his choices, he makes mistakes... but he plugs stubbornly on. Makes more mistakes. Moves on. There are only a handful of unglamorous but wistful westerns that ring true due to character: WILL PENNY is one of the best of them. It's amazing that this low-key classic was done around the time of PLANET OF THE APES (which boasts a tour de force performance by Heston): the difference in the characters (both of whom are rendered believably, with the craft of a consummate professional) only points up the amazing range of this superstar. ALWAYS interesting, even in bit parts, Charlton Heston never failed to rise to the occasion... or to come back down to earth when the situation warranted it.