The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Gene Kelly

Writer:

James Lee Barrett (writer)

Release Date:

12 June 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

Where the West Was Really Made

Plot:

An aging cowboy finds to his embarrassment that the successful business he has inherited from his brother is actually a house of prostitution.

Plot Keywords:

Prostitution | Cowboy | Brothel | Inheritance | Barroom Brawl

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Stewart	...	John O'Hanlan
Henry Fonda	...	Harley Sullivan
Shirley Jones	...	Jenny
Sue Ane Langdon	...	Opal Ann
Elaine Devry	...	Pauline
Robert Middleton	...	Barkeep (Great Plains Saloon)
Arch Johnson	...	Marshal J. L. Barrett
Dabbs Greer	...	Jedediah W. Willowby
Jackie Russell	...	Carrie Virginia
Jackie Joseph	...	Annie Jo
Sharon DeBord	...	Sara Jean
Richard Collier	...	Nathan Potter
Charles Tyner	...	Charlie Bannister
Jean Willes	...	Alice
Robert J. Wilke	...	Corey Bannister

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bonanza Creek Ranch - 15 Bonanza Creek Lane, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

National General Pictures

Trivia:

This is the only film Henry Fonda made in which he sings under the main title.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When John and Harley are crossing the railroad tracks to see the Cheyenne Social Club for the first time, it is apparent from the camera angle that the last structure on the right is only a facade with no building behind it.

Quotes:

Harley Sullivan: I've eaten mighty good food in my life, but this weren't part of it.
Cook: Yeah, well, I ain't heard no complaints from none of the others.
Harley Sullivan: Yeah, well, they ain't as well-bred as I am.

Movie Connections:

Edited into La classe américaine (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Rolling Stone

Inheriting A Bordello

Cowboy James Stewart gets a letter that's followed him through many jobs for almost two years. It seems as though his prosperous brother from Cheyenne died and left him a going business, something called The Cheyenne Social Club. So Stewart quits his job in Texas and rides to Cheyenne to claim his inheritance and saddle pal Henry Fonda goes along for the ride.

The Cheyenne Social Club rises and falls on the chemistry between its two stars and this one rises like the lightest of angel food cake. The two movie icons and best friends from Princeton days are so perfectly cast it's a shame they didn't make a sequel and have some further adventures.

No doubt also these two helped director Gene Kelly over the rough patches in a movie genre he really wasn't familiar with. Kelly was wise enough to cast the film with a whole lot of players familiar with the western genre. And he was wise enough to give all these people their head and they don't let him down.

It turns out that The Cheyenne Social Club is a bordello under the temporary management of Shirley Jones. It's quite an institution in Cheyenne, but it doesn't quite seem right for Stewart, something a working cowboy can enjoy, but not live off. Of course his friend Fonda seems to have settled down quite nicely there.

Fonda's part could have been the great grandfather of the character he played in The Rounders. Apparently whatever suits Stewart just tickles Fonda plumb to death.

Best moment in the film is when Jimmy Stewart gets the best of bad guy Robert J. Wilke in a gunfight after he beats up Shirley Jones. Of course it's with the help of Fonda and a noisy pecan. Has to be seen to be appreciated.

This was James Stewart's last starring western and a great one to go out on as well.