In 1968, the novel “Conagher” was published from the pen of the recognized writer of westerns Louis Lamour, and in 1991 Reynaldo Villalobos made a film of the same name for American television based on it – an original unhurried western about the harsh everyday life of the West far from civilization. Not only about the unshakable concepts of honor and nobility, about the importance of family and home, about a difficult fate and a difficult choice, but also about bright feelings and fulfilled hopes.
Avice Teal lives alone with two children in a house with an earthen floor among the endless wild lands. Her husband went to the city on business, and no one saw him anymore, so every day she and the children have to work hard and struggle with the surrounding reality. Only infrequent visitors from cattle ranchers and stagecoaches serve her as an outlet and connection with the outside world. A steadfast and brave woman.
Kind and charming Conagher with a gorgeous mustache. I could easily advertise chips in a tube.
And a lonely middle-aged cowboy Conagher spends his whole life in the saddle, moving from place to place in search of work. A stern and taciturn man of business, he enjoys the respect of honest and hardworking people, causing at the same time open hostility and misunderstanding on the part of faint-hearted and unclean characters with whom conflicts constantly occur.
Johnny McGivern: Why didn’t you catch up with Kiowa?
Conn Conagher: Do you think I’m scared? Kiowa Staples doesn’t deserve to die. He just needs to be taught a lesson.
Johnny McGivern: But he would have killed you if he had the chance.
Conn Conagher: Yes, he could. But I’ll tell you what, man. Anyone who decides to kill when he can not kill is a madman. Completely crazy. Some people choose to kill, Johnny. Just be sure that when the time comes to kill, you will choose the right side.
It is often said that each author writes primarily about himself, implying that any work of art reflects the inner world of his creator – his character, judgments, experiences and value system. Probably, the author of the novel “Conagher”, an animal drover in Texas, a farrier, a merchant seaman, a professional boxer, a longshoreman, a lumberjack, an elephant trainer, a fruit collector, a gold digger, a participant in the Second World War and, finally, a recognized writer of westerns, Louis Lamour, was no exception to this rule. The writer spent his childhood in Jamestown, which at the beginning of the 20th century was a typical Western town: with cowboys, saloons, Indians and other archetypes, which then manifested themselves in all his works.
“Louis Lamour looked like he stepped out of the pages of his own books. He was over 185 cm tall, weighing 90 kilograms, broad-shouldered, with a square, weathered face, deep-set hazel eyes. When he gesticulated, it was hard not to notice that his hands were sinewy and strong, like the hands of a miner or a cattle rancher. This is not surprising, because Lamour managed to work with both. It was obvious that he identified himself with his fictional characters, who were also tough guys.”,
– that’s what one of his contemporaries wrote about him. Lamour clearly invested a part of himself in the image of Conagher.
Avice Teal: "You don't know anything about music until you hear the wind rustling in the cedars."
Louis Lamour is a very prolific author, since the 1950s he has published a good hundred novels and several dozen collections of short stories. Many films have been shot based on his works, where such old-school stars as John Wayne, Lee Van Cliff, Anthony Quinn, Yul Brynner, Sean Connery played,
Henry Fonda, David Carradine and many others. The performer of the main role, Sam Elliott, and before Conagher starred in westerns based on Lamour’s books: The Sacketts (1979), The Shadow Riders (1982), Quick & The Dead (1987). Sam Elliott was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, unfortunately, the award went to another. Since 1984, Elliott has been married to actress Catherine Ross, who appears here in the main female role, so their feelings for each other are definitely sincere.
If the film had followed the book entirely, its timing would have stretched to 4-5 hours, so many scenes were not filmed. And yet “Conagher” was shot very close to the plot of the novel and reflects the character and life attitudes of the author. According to the canons of the western in the film there is an indomitable lone hero, and a woman of no timid ten with a heart of gold, and confrontations with Indians and bandits, and a fight in a saloon. But chases and shootouts do not occupy a central place in the plot, so fans of dynamic westerns may not like the picture.
The characters’ characters, behavior and actions, decisions made in difficult situations, reasoning about life and human values are brought to the fore. The narrative develops quite smoothly and unhurriedly, it may even seem boring, but the story is catchy. So the film will definitely not disappoint real fans of the genre. This is a 90s western revival about a hero who doesn’t try to seem like a hero.
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Young Cowboy: You’re a hard man, Conagher.
Conagher: It’s a hard country, kid.
