At last a fresh and demystifying western "The Culpepper Cattle Co" suprise me with so many characters can easily develop and fit in a real movie,each single small role has your value to discovery through the picture,a real portrait of old west,no fake romance,no beauty girls,no heroes,just a true and cruel all along the journey,violent as shown in many scenes,a true piece of art came to light better late than never,actually this one was a unknown gem by the mostly who loves this specific and unique genre!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.75

"The Culpepper Cattle Co." is a good, solid coming-of-age story set in the Old West, done in the gritty post-Peckinpah style that lets us know that the characters in this tale are leading hard lives. It also becomes a tale of redemption as men neither "good" nor "bad" finally decide to take a stand and do something honourable. Director Dick Richards ("Farewell, My Lovely"), who also gets story credit, gets excellent performances out of a cast that includes many top character actors. Some viewers may not be able to stomach how violent things eventually get, but there are many fine moments along the way. There's no filler here, just simple and effective story telling, enhanced by the work of two credited cinematographers (Ralph Woolsey and Lawrence Edward Williams) and two credited composers (Tom Scott and the legendary Jerry Goldsmith).Gary Grimes of "Summer of '42" fame stars as Ben Mockridge, who more than anything yearns to be a cowboy and gets the chance to work on a cattle drive supervised by tough, business-oriented Frank Culpepper (Billy Green Bush, "Five Easy Pieces"). As Culpepper and his company press on, they must deal with a cattle rustler (Royal Dano), a horse thief (Gregory Sierra), a trapper (Paul Harper), and personality conflicts, with hot tempered Russ Caldwell (an effectively wired Geoffrey Lewis) making trouble on more than one occasion. The biggest obstacle will turn out to be miserly land owner Thorton Pierce (a memorably hateful John McLiam), who's not inclined to be very understanding.Ben's journey to becoming a man is a reasonably compelling one, and Grimes is fine in the role, but the show is stolen by his older co-stars. Also among them are Luke Askew ("Cool Hand Luke"), Bo Hopkins ("The Wild Bunch"), Wayne Sutherlin ("The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid"), and Matt Clark and Anthony James from "In the Heat of the Night". Also look for appearances by Charles Martin Smith, Hal Needham, Arthur Malet, and Dennis Fimple.Well done overall, with some very sobering sequences and the occasional comedic touch; the action is intense and the violence, admittedly, is fairly shocking. It's enjoyable stuff deserving of a rediscovery.Seven out of 10.

Surely one of the best westerns of all-time, & has to be THE most authentic western ever made, I cannot think of another to match it. Carefully crafted screenplay, told it how it really was, the characters brilliantly played by everyone involved. But it's authenticity is what makes it so fascinating a film to watch, it literally transports you back in time, a real history lesson. Some great iconic one liners, 'Don't stand behind me, boy!' & 'Why put a name to something you might have to eat!?' Geoffrey Lewis, Billy Green Bush & Gary Grimes were riveting in their portrayals. Lewis's hard-man character, so sinister, you really did think, 'This guy is a psycho!!' Bush played the trail weary boss with such attitude it made you acutely aware the hardships & dangers these men faced for so little reward. Grime's naive young character was played to perfection. A great piece of American history, & I have to say, the violence is not overdone, nor is there too much of it, compared to many other western films. If this film is not stored somewhere in a State Library, well, it should be!

Having been brought up on a diet of westerns I count this as a little gem. Certainly part of the 70's revisionist set, with great lines like, "cowboyin's what you do when you can't do nuthin' else". Basically a rite of passage movie for Gary Grimes young wannabee cowboy, but with great characters from the 70's like Luke Askew, Geoffrey Lewis and Bo Hopkins.Grimes joins a cattle drive as the cook's helper, tries too hard to be a cowboy and ends up on the wrong side of the boss, Billy Green Bush, and when they come up against a ruthless landowner and some religious settlers it is the young cook's helper that takes a moral stand.Violent and beautifully shot, I recommend it to all lovers of film. Its not often seen on TV and is not available in the UK on DVD.