People are voting emotionally.

Just perfect...

Good movie but grossly overrated

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of my favorite westerns; also tops is another based on a Jack Schaefer novel: "Shane".The acting in MW and Shane is top-notch, and I can't think of better casting. Palance and Marvin are perfect. Everyone else, too. I'm not crazy about "The Good Days are Over," but it doesn't really get in the way.I'm finally reading the book. Wowee! What a gem. As I always do, I picture the actors in the movie as I read. Jack as Chet, Lee as Monte, Jim Davis as Cal -- perfect again. Really makes a book come alive to picture those guys as you read, much like Gregory Peck as Atticus.No, the book and movie are different. But there are two scenes in the movie, two of my favorites, that are in the book: cookie's EX-LAX revenge and the bunkhouse brawl.It says something about a book and a movie that you really care about the characters. Slash Y forever.Plus Chet was from Illinois, he was proud of that. He was more specific in the book: 40 miles west of Chicago. Me, too. I like the connection. P.S. Did you know that Hickok and Earp were Illinoisans?

Jeanne Moreau more beautiful than ever! Beautiful, talented and glamorous. But it will make you sad because... you'll see why... Lee Marvin and Jack Palance, two super-sacred monsters! Even doing nothing, by their mere presence in any movie, they filled the screen, in the best sense of the word, enlivening any production. They were unique! Jim Davis, Jock Ewing from "Dallas" is their boss. Nice melancholic music by John Barry. Great cinematography by David M. Walsh. There are not too many guns, rifles and shots, it's another kind of western, a realistic one, a slice of life.

Gray-haired cowboy Lee Marvin (as Monte Walsh) and sidekick Jack Palance (as Chet Rollins) arrive in the western town of "Harmony", looking for honest work. After "a long winter," Mr. Marvin spends some quality time under the sheets with mistress Jeanne Moreau (as Martine Bernard). Marvin has a hard time getting his cigarette rolled, but manages to fire up Ms. Moreau. He and Mr. Palance meet ill-tempered Mitchell Ryan (as Shorty Austin), a younger rancher pal; "introduced" to feature films herein, Mr. Ryan was familiar to daytime TV viewers as the missing "Burke Devlin" from "Dark Shadows"."Nobody gets to be a cowboy forever," Palance observes. First-time director, and capable cinematographer, William A. Fraker takes "Monte Walsh" on a sometimes too leisurely pace; the film takes its sweet time, but pleases if you've got the patience. The theme is the disappearance of the old west (and, of course, the Western genre). That it's a post peak period western is ironically obvious as "Mama" Cass Elliott sings John Barry's theme "The Good Times Are Coming" (a minor "Easy Listening" hit). Mr. Fraker, Marvin, Ryan, and Palance are at career peaks. If this is any indication, westerns didn't need to fade away as much as they needed to grow old gracefully.********* Monte Walsh (10/2/70) William A. Fraker ~ Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, Jeanne Moreau, Mitchell Ryan

Beautiful to look at and serene in its pacing, this gem from 1970 deserves a chance to find an audience today.Those who have seen the very fine remake with Tom Selleck may be surprised to find that the two scripts are word for word identical about 80% of the time. Lee Marvin is more melancholy in his approach to Monte Walsh, and as a result this version plays a bit more on the wistful side. It is quite moving at times.Both films enjoy a sly sense of humor although this version is more subtle.John Barry's score supplies just a hint of the style he would later utilize for his epic Dances With Wolves. Mama Cass sings her heart out on The Good Times are Coming Soon.Jack Palance plays wonderfully against type as the somewhat bashful Chet.Monte Walsh needs to be re-released as a proper DVD so we don't have to rely on inferior bootleg copies from eBay.