One of my all time favorites.

Admirable film.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

One of the Best Unsung Westerns to Ever Fade from Consciousness so Quickly and Decisively. The Reasons for this are Elusive. It's got True Grit and a Cast of Character Actors to Kill for. Directed by Dick Richards, who also made another Forgotten Gem, the Retro-Neo-Noir "Farewell My Lovely" (1974) Starring Robert Mitchum, that is an Equally Forgotten Gem of its Genre.This One is a Beautifully Fulfilled Film with a Smart Minimalist Script of Short Profound Sentences, a Sun-Burnt Landscape shot with a Poetic Lense, and more than enough Stylized Violence to make Sam Peckinpah Proud.Should be on Every Buff's Best Westerns List. It doesn't get much better than this when taking on the Old West with the New Eyes of the 1970's (revisionist). It can Side with Ford, Hawks, Leone, and Peckinpah, and that's Saying Something. Sharply Rendered, Violently Presented, Character Driven Story with Timeless Appeal. It's a Film that Looks and Feels like it could have been made Today. A Must See for Everyone, not the Least is Western Fans and Anyone Interested in the "New Hollywood" of the Post-Code Era.

This is an unduly neglected work that sank quickly into audience oblivion - the Vietnam seventies were not a good time for Westerns. True to the iconoclasm of the period, the producers set out to debunk the mystique of the cattle drive, and in the process take a big swipe at that arch-romancer of the Old West, John Ford. They only half-succeed. Put simply, their stab at realism is undone by too much gunplay, too much blood, and way too much conventional violence. Staples of the ordinary Western, their presence here only serves to reinforce the usual clichés. Much better when the story-telling cowboy refuses Geoffrey Lewis's challenge by quitting the drive, saying a gunfight over trifling matters makes no sense. That's certainly no cliché. The role reversal at movie's end is stunning, given what Hollywood has led us to expect. Nevertheless, it works by bringing out a latent code of honor that at times can guide even the most brutal among us. Here Ford is trumped by Kurosawa. There are many fine touches in the movie. Billy "Green" Bush is totally convincing as the ruthless trail boss; Gary Grimes, appropriately callow; and the four gunsels, alternately abusive and sullen, while Geoffrey Lewis's cold-eyed stare bespeaks a lifetime of casual cruelty. Not the best of anti-Westerns, but deserves consideration.

Since a family friend gave the DVD a few years ago,I have always planned to take a look at the film,but somehow always ended up putting it at the back of the line.With my dad having recently sold the DVD on Ebay,I decided that it was time to at last meet Culpepper.The plot:Dreaming about being a cowboy, Ben Mockridge nervously goes up to legendary cowboy Frank Culpepper,and ask if he can join him and his gangs latest cattle drive.Despite having his doubts,Culpepper decides to give Mockridge a job working with the cook.Being nicknamed "little Mary.",Mockridge is pushed around by Culpepper and his gang,who see Mockridge as nothing but a play thing.Getting their cattle back from some rustlers,Mockridge is given the task of guarding the heard for the night. Patrolling the heard,Mockridge runs into a man.Frozen to death,the outlaw knocks out Mockridge and takes the cattle.Finding his cattle stolen,Culpepper and his gang set off to find the outlaw who took them,as Mockridge sets his sights on finally showing to Culpepper that he is one of the gang.View on the film:Making his directing debut,co-writer/ (along with Eric Bercovici & Gregory Prentiss)director Dick Richards delivers a strikingly earthy,poetic Western.Placing the viewer in the middle of Culpepper's gang,Richards uses short,sudden tracking shots to brilliantly express the sense of unease that Mockridge is caught up in. Subtly angling the camera so that Mockridge is having to "look up" at Culpepper,Richards counters the elegantly stylised,stark wide shots with a down to earth grit,which covers Mockridge cowboy dreams in mud,dust and deep red blood.Keeping Mockridge away from ever fulfilling his cowboy fantasy,the screenplay by Richards/Eric Bercovici & Gregory Prentiss gives Culpepper and his gang a harsh outlook on the west,with the dialogue having a sharp brittleness which hit Mockridge with a real wake up call to reality.Smartly making each of the shoot-outs short and blunt with violence,the writers avoid giving Mockridge's rites of passage any moment of solo heroism,which leads to the title ending on a wonderfully dark,bitter noteNever being able to truly fit in with "the boys", Gary Grimes gives an excellent performance as Mockridge,thanks to Grimes making Mockridge's innocent awe towards the cowboy life crash hard against the shoving & pushing of Culpepper's gang.Wrapped in a demonic beard straight from a Gothic Horror movie, Billy Green Bush gives a superb performance as Culpepper,whose flying bullets are joined by the hard bite that Culpepers displays in giving orders to his gang,as Culpepper peppers the wounds of Mockridge's dreams.

My son and I just watched Culpepper Cattle Co.and I was wondering if you or anyone might know who sings Amazing Grace on the movie? They sing it towards the end when they are putting their dead in the ground. Whom ever sings it has a wonderful singing voice. I would love to know who is singing the song in the movie. I have heard this song a lot but never as good as i heard it on the movie. Im hoping you can tell me or maybe someone who knows can tell me. My son and myself thought the movie was good and would love to see it again sometime. My son loves western movies and thats about all he will watch. He really enjoyed this movie.I think if your into westerns then you would enjoy this one. it's a 1972 movie and a very good movie to watch. thank you for your time, Im hoping someone can answer my question.