Review of Tom Horn (1980) by Mike C — 08 Oct 2011

The best thing about this movie? I learned the word "penultimate" which means second to last. It was McQueen's second to last movie, and evidently his return to the silver screen after a decade away. The result: not bad, but certainly not a western worth rewatching.

Once Upon a Time in the West is pretty much the gold standard of westerns. This movie does not play into that movie like so many others do. There is little, if any, music. No closeups. No dramatic gunfights. And the character is kinda dirty. He shoots someone in the back. He shoots a couple of men who are already down. That was kinda refreshing and not something you see much in movies, where characters have these odd moral codes that make them more macho. I like a character who will shoot a dying man in the back if he deserves it.

In the end, I'm not sure how much of the movie is true. Tom Horn certainly was a real man, and it seems may have been unfairly executed. The Oxbow Incident is a far more effective movie on that subject (hey hey Henry Fonda is in Oxbow and Once Upon a Time). This movie ends with Horn's execution and then a short note from a friend maintaining Horn's innocence. It was hardly emotional and almost more-documentary style than dramatic. The lack of emotion in the end really turned me off and any thoughts I had of giving this movie a 7/10 were dashed and it gets an average 6/10.