Partial to pretty women, gambling, and practical jokes, monte doesnt have to look far to find trouble. It shows how a man sets certain standards and tries to live by. The movie has little to do with the plot of schaefers book. He was the kind of man who preferred coffee to whiskey and horseback to an easy chair. Jack schaefer truly captured the cowboy life and culture. Monte walsh and chet rollins are longtime cowhands, working whatever ranch work comes their way, but nothing they cant do from a horse.
Monte walsh is a 2003 canadian madefortelevision western film directed by simon wincer and starring tom selleck, isabella rossellini, and keith carradine. Monte walsh monte walsh audiobook, by jack schaefer. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading monte walsh. Mar 27, 2014 despite the early chapters of life on the trail and the larks of montes youth, monte walsh is essentially a sad book about the end of the west. Monte walsh has never met a horse he couldnt ride, and chet rollins ha. But it is in monte walsh, first published in 1963, that schaefer finds room to express the breadth of his understanding of and affection for the west of cowboys, cattle drives, cow towns, and wideopen spaces. Monte walsh, a remake of the earlier movie, starring tom selleck, isabella rossellini and keith carradine index of articles associated with the same name this article includes a list of related items that share the same name or similar names. Monte walsh by jack schaefer 2017, paperback for sale. The name monte walsh is taken from the title of a 1963 western novel by jack schaefer, but the film has little to do with the plot of schaefers book. Monte has a longterm relationship with prostitute martine bernard, while. Id call molly gloss the hearts of horses almost a sequel to monte walsh by jack schaefer, and i consider monte walsh one of the perfect novels.
Theres way more discussion of and about horses in monte walsh than is usually encountered in a western. Hes the quintessential, hardliving, hardloving cowboy decked out with chaps and spurs and, in the end, fighting for all that is right and decent. Monte walsh has never met a horse he couldnt ride, and chet rollins has never met one he couldnt rope. It is as good or in some respects better than shane, those respects being a lot of stories woven into the big one of the book. Loosely based on the 1963 western novel monte walsh by jack schaefer, the film is about two longtime cowboys whose solitary and predictable lives on the range are inexorably changed when a. Dec 30, 2015 william devane explains the cowboy life. The publication of shane in 1949, also available in a bisons books edition, brought jack schaefer 1907. Luckily for him, montes best friend, chet, is always there to post bail or quickly get monte out of. Book and film influenced a lot of people, among them western aficionados such as actor tom selleck and writer robert b.
Fraker his directorial debut starring lee marvin, jeanne moreau and jack palance. Monte walsh has a lot of western cliches, but schaefers portrayal of the protagonist monte walsh, his best friend chet rollins, and many other characters plus his depictions of the landscape completely rescue the book from those cliches. Inspire a love of reading with prime book box for kids discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1. For a decade they are unbeatable and inseparable, working as trail hands throughout the west. Apparently, im not alone in my admiration for this book. Monte walsh by jack schaefer book cover, description, publication history. As the west changes and their cowboy antics are challenged. Monte walsh is the kind of man who preferred coffee to whiskey and horseback to an easy chair, a cowboy who could turn a stampede, string barbedwire barehanded and do anything else that needed to be done. Men have named their sons monte and chet after reading it. Monte walsh kindle edition by schaefer, jack, simmons, marc. Shane is an excellent book but monte walsh surpasses the classic.
It has a great story, wonderful characters and is one of those books you hate to see end. New work opportunities are available to them, but the freedom of the open prairie is what they long for. Monte walsh has never met a horse he couldnt ride, and chet rollins has never met one he couldnt. Monte walsh is the kind of man who preferred coffee to whiskey and horseback to an easy chair, a cowboy who could turn a stampede, string barbedwire barehanded and. A classic about the american west and the life and times of one tough cowboy, monte walsh. Monte walsh could bust a bronco, turn a stampede, survive on mashed beans, take on two in a brawl, string barbedwire barehanded, and do anything else that needed to be done.
The author had written a number of short stories around monte and chet beginning in the mid 50s and decided to add other chapters to their story. Unlike most people in the novel, monte walsh shows no growth at all. Monte walsh is a 1970 american western film directed by cinematographer william a. In some families, christmas eve at the slash y, a superb middle chapter of the book, is read aloud to children during the holidays.
Buy a cheap copy of monte walsh book by jack schaefer. Monte walsh book by jack schaefer 2 available editions. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Jul 18, 2017 western with lee marvin and jack parlance. Monte walsh is a classic western, maybe the best ever written, and deserves to be read even by those who are not normally taken by the genre.
Alas, the advance of civilization has all but rendered monte and his comrades obsolete and with the increasing corporate buyups of wyoming land, these relics of the old west have practically nowhere else to go. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Chet manages to adapt and survive in the new world. Despite the early chapters of life on the trail and the larks of montes youth, monte walsh is essentially a sad book about the end of the west. Based on a novel by jack schaefer writer of shane, and previously filmed theatrically in 1970, the madeforcable monte walsh is the stilltimely saga of a dying way of life. And so monte walsh, 50ish, thinks in a rather disorganized way of getting into some other. The first time i read monte walsh was in high school, and i believe many of the lessons taught in this book about character and camaraderie prepared me better for the real world than college ever could. Like a lot of recent westerns, its about the end of the old west. Monte walsh by simon wincer simon wincer, tom selleck, keith. Monte walsh and his friends are cowboys and bronco busters, plying their trade in the wyoming territory of 1892. Monte walsh is an aging cowboy facing the ending days of the wild west era. But with the corporate buyups of wyoming land, monte and his friends may be forced to move on. But with the corporate buyups of wyoming land, monte and.
Schaefer never fails to bring characters to life and his stories never fail to interest. In any case, the argument is irrelevant, because the book works. Monte walsh is as lovely a western as ive seen in a long time. Monte walsh jack schaefer 1970 for archie contents a beginning monte two of a kind slash y in harmony xyz antelope junction christmas eve at the slash y trail herd payment in full dobe chavez hattie harmonizing powder kent hellfire all in one place drifters a middleaged man an ending a beginning 1872 a boy and a horse. But schaefer takes the horse discussion to extremes. Monte walsh the louis lamour trading post, books, short. The 1963 book monte walsh by jack schaefer is one of the great western novels, and the 1970 film that was made of it, starring lee marvin and jack palance, was really very good. Monte walsh is a criminally underrated western which i think every one should read. With tom selleck, isabella rossellini, keith carradine, george eads. Recently, i bought the handsome trade paperback, published in a bison books edition by the university of nebraska press.
I have waited for years for this movie to be available on dvd, and finally it is available. The author had written a number of short stories around monte and chet beginning in the mid 50s and decided to add other chapters to their story, and voila. It is a beautifully crafted period piece, describing the west and its cowboys during a time when it was in transition to modernity. Framed by the first and last chapter titled, respectively, a beginning and an ending, the novel introduces us to monte walsh at age sixteen in 1872 and takes us through his life as a cowboy to the time of his death in 19. As barbed wire and railways steadily eliminate the need for the cowboy, monte and his friends are left with fewer and fewer options. Monte, a friend says to lee marvin, do you realize how many cowpunchers there were out here 10 years ago. I had hoped for something more in my main character than an overgrown teenager whos able to endure significant hardships. The way in which the chapters are formatted, with every chapter almost being a self contained story, gives the reader a sense of scope and allows the book to easily skip around the life of monte walsh. Monte walsh by jack schaefer, 9780826358578, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. For me, this got a little tiresome especially as the author gives short shrift in describing the beauty of the american southwest. The advancement of civilization has all but rendered monte obsolete, but monte doesnt want to change his ways.
Monte walsh and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The publication of shane in 1949, also available in a bisons books edition, brought jack schaefer 19071991 instant recognition as a major interpreter of the. Monte walsh is taken from the title of a 1963 western novel by jack schaefer. Along the way we are introduced to many characters and exploits some funny and some sad, to montes love for his horses and his best friend chet rawlins.
The writing is superb, in that runon raconteur style that feels like the easy canter of a horse. The book then follows monte walsh though the following years of his life right to the bitter end still brings a tear to my eye. Monte walsh lee marvin and his pal chet rollins jack palance are two over the hill cowboys seeking work in the town of harmony, arizona in the final days of the old west. Jan 01, 1970 monte walsh has a lot of western cliches, but schaefers portrayal of the protagonist monte walsh, his best friend chet rollins, and many other characters plus his depictions of the landscape completely rescue the book from those cliches. Monte walsh is one of the greatest american cowboy stories ever written, and the original movie with lee marvin and jack palance is superb. Monte walsh by jack schaefer and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
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