Tom Horn (film)
Encyclopedia
Tom Horn is a 1980
western film about the legendary lawman, outlaw, and gunfighter
. It starred Steve McQueen
as the title character and was based on Horn's own writings.
, drifts around the quickly disappearing western frontier. The story begins as he rides into a small town and provokes prizefighter Jim Corbett
into a saloon fight, ending up unconscious in a livery stable, badly bruised.
When local rancher John Coble hears that one of the West's most remarkable men is in town, he offers Horn his ranch to recuperate. He also offers him work, finding out who has been rustling the cattle of the grazing association to which Coble belongs. He implies that they will support Horn in implementing vigilante justice. Horn accepts. He has the approval of U.S. marshal Joe Belle and catches the eye of a young schoolteacher, Glendolene.
Calling himself a "stock detective," Horn confronts cowboys at an auction whose cattle bear Coble's brand. Giving them fair warning, Horn is ignored by a number of men who live to regret it. He goes on a one man crusade to kill or otherwise drive off anyone who rustles the cattle of his benefactors.
Horn's methods are brutal but effective. Townspeople become alarmed at the way Horn goes about his business. The owners of the large cattle companies realize that, while he is doing exactly what they hired him to do, his tactics will ultimately tarnish their image and decide to have him dealt with. Joe Belle, who has political ambitions, wants Horn out of the way. A young boy tending sheep is shot by a .45-60; the same caliber rifle Tom Horn is known to use. Tom Horn is implicated but the suggestion is that Belle or another assassin is the one behind the murder and Belle intends to frame Horn.
Horn is slow to realize that he is being set up. Prideful and convinced of his own innocence he refuses to leave the country or avoid the town. Glendolene and Coble try to warn him to be careful, but Horn ignores the warning. Joe Belle coaxes Horn out of a saloon and back to his office where a man transcribing their conversation is hidden in the next room. Horn does not admit to the murders but states that "If I did shoot that boy, it was the best shot I ever made." Based on this conversation Horn is taken prisoner by Sheriff Sam Creedmore, whom likes and respects Horn.
Unaccustomed to being unable to come and go as he pleases into his beloved hills, Horn seems lost. He breaks out of jail and attempts to flee. He is recaptured and tried, implicated by the newspaperman who skewed the conversation between Belle and Horn. He is convicted of killing the child.
Horn accepts his fate and remains stoic in the moments before he is hanged.
1980 in film
- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
western film about the legendary lawman, outlaw, and gunfighter
Tom Horn
Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. was an American Old West lawman, scout, soldier, hired gunman, detective, outlaw and assassin. On the day before his 43rd birthday, he was hanged in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the murder of Willie Nickell.-Early life:Born to Thomas S. Horn, Sr...
. It starred Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
as the title character and was based on Horn's own writings.
Plot
Tom Horn, a legendary frontier scout and tracker who helped to capture GeronimoGeronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
, drifts around the quickly disappearing western frontier. The story begins as he rides into a small town and provokes prizefighter Jim Corbett
James J. Corbett
James John "Gentleman Jim" Corbett was an Irish-American heavyweight boxing champion, best known as the man who defeated the great John L. Sullivan. He also coached boxing at the Olympic Club in San Francisco...
into a saloon fight, ending up unconscious in a livery stable, badly bruised.
When local rancher John Coble hears that one of the West's most remarkable men is in town, he offers Horn his ranch to recuperate. He also offers him work, finding out who has been rustling the cattle of the grazing association to which Coble belongs. He implies that they will support Horn in implementing vigilante justice. Horn accepts. He has the approval of U.S. marshal Joe Belle and catches the eye of a young schoolteacher, Glendolene.
Calling himself a "stock detective," Horn confronts cowboys at an auction whose cattle bear Coble's brand. Giving them fair warning, Horn is ignored by a number of men who live to regret it. He goes on a one man crusade to kill or otherwise drive off anyone who rustles the cattle of his benefactors.
Horn's methods are brutal but effective. Townspeople become alarmed at the way Horn goes about his business. The owners of the large cattle companies realize that, while he is doing exactly what they hired him to do, his tactics will ultimately tarnish their image and decide to have him dealt with. Joe Belle, who has political ambitions, wants Horn out of the way. A young boy tending sheep is shot by a .45-60; the same caliber rifle Tom Horn is known to use. Tom Horn is implicated but the suggestion is that Belle or another assassin is the one behind the murder and Belle intends to frame Horn.
Horn is slow to realize that he is being set up. Prideful and convinced of his own innocence he refuses to leave the country or avoid the town. Glendolene and Coble try to warn him to be careful, but Horn ignores the warning. Joe Belle coaxes Horn out of a saloon and back to his office where a man transcribing their conversation is hidden in the next room. Horn does not admit to the murders but states that "If I did shoot that boy, it was the best shot I ever made." Based on this conversation Horn is taken prisoner by Sheriff Sam Creedmore, whom likes and respects Horn.
Unaccustomed to being unable to come and go as he pleases into his beloved hills, Horn seems lost. He breaks out of jail and attempts to flee. He is recaptured and tried, implicated by the newspaperman who skewed the conversation between Belle and Horn. He is convicted of killing the child.
Horn accepts his fate and remains stoic in the moments before he is hanged.
Cast
- Steve McQueenSteve McQueenTerrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
as Tom Horn - Linda EvansLinda EvansLinda Evans is an American actress. She is known primarily for her roles on television, and rose to fame playing Audra Barkley in the 1960s Western TV series, The Big Valley...
as Glendolene Kimmel - Richard FarnsworthRichard FarnsworthRichard W. Farnsworth was an American actor and stuntman. His film career began in 1937; however, he achieved his greatest success for his performances in The Grey Fox and The Straight Story , for which he received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor.- Early life :Farnsworth was born...
as John C. Coble - Billy Green BushBilly Green BushWilliam Warren Bush is an American actor, sometimes credited as “Billy Greenbush”.Notable movie appearances include Five Easy Pieces , The Culpepper Cattle Company , Electra Glide in Blue , Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , The River , The Hitcher , Critters , and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final...
as U.S. Marshal Joe Belle - Slim PickensSlim PickensLouis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
as Sheriff Sam Creedmore - Peter Canon as Assistant Prosecutor
- Elisha Cook, Jr. as Stablehand
- Harry NorthupHarry Northup-Life and career:Northup was born in Amarillo, Texas. He lived in seventeen places by the time he was seventeen, but mostly lived in Sidney, Nebraska, where he graduated from high-school in 1958. From 1958 to 1961, he served in the United States Navy, where he attained the rank of Second Class...
as Thomas Burke - Drummond Barclay as Charlie Ohnhouse