Tom Horn (1980)

“Keep your nerve Sam, ’cause I’m gonna keep mine.” – Tom Horn

Number of Times Seen – 1 (18 Feb 2018)

Brief Synopsis – Famed lawman Tom Horn is hired to stop cattle rustlers but when he gets too good at his job, the men who hired him need to find a way to get rid of him.

My Take on it – This was Steve McQueen’s final film and apparently during filming he was extremely sick with cancer but didn’t know it.

It’s actually quite fitting that this would be his final film due to some comparisons between his life and the life of the character he plays.

The problem here is that the story itself moves along really slowly and the way it is told leaves so many more questions than are actually answered by the end of it.

This is pretty much an average Western biopic about a famous lawman which is quite unfortunate since it has so much more potential than it is able to realize.

The part of the story with Linda Evans as a woman who Horn falls in love with is pretty ineffective in trying to show us another side of the lead hero.

Loved once again seeing Slim Pickens in a supporting role here especially after seeing him in McQueen’s The Getaway (1972).

Richard Farnsworth is also great as the cattle rancher who hires and befriends Horn.

Bottom Line – Quite ironic that this film was McQueen’s final one. The story itself moves along pretty slowly and the plot asks more questions than it really can answer.  Part of the film is told in flashback in order to show another side of the lead character yet it comes across as being quite ineffective. Overall, it is just an average Western despite their being the potential for something so much better.  Nice supporting cast with Farnsworth and Pickens standing out here.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – When the film was released some critics suggested that Steve McQueen had lost his charismatic screen presence after being away for too long. He had retired from acting after The Towering Inferno (1974), returning three years later to make An Enemy of the People (1978) which was never properly released. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)

_______________________________________

Check out my *updated* movie stats here

To see my reviews of Oscar Winning Performances check out this link

To see my reviews of all Oscar Best Picture Winners click here (now complete)

Here is a link to my movie index A-Z