The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)

hyped garbage

Brilliant and touching

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

(63%) A light hearted comedy western made toward the latter stages of both James Stewart, Henry Fonda's career, and actually westerns in general. The premise is strong and this does a decent job at telling it through good performances along better than average writing. Despite this being very much centred around prostitution it's as squeaky clean as any Disney movie, with very little in terms of sleaze. In fact even the brothel itself is spotless, I've seen dirtier real life hospitals. With its charm, nicely drawn characters, and good entertainment value I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to all fans of the western genre or just those looking for something decent to pass the time.

I disagree with the overall high praise of this film by most of the critics. Gene Kelly should have stuck to dancing, or retirement for that matter. This is a bad film, an insult to the viewers' intelligence. I am surprised that Stewart and Fonda where part of this, they certainly didn't need it at this point in their careers...I could probably write a book about the flaws in this film, but it simply isn't worth waisting any more time on... Even though it was supposed to be a "classical" western, you can see straight away that it was filmed in recent times. Alas, the times of good westerns ended in the 1960's, ...and they are probably never coming back!

My lasting memory from seeing this film in a large screen theater in 1970 is the opening scene: Fonda and Stewart at work on a snowy range with other cowboys before Stewart gets notified of his inheritance. I don't think the film made much money upon initial release, but when it was shown on US network television in the late seventies, it was the number one telecast for the week. Back in those pre multi cable days, I'm sure some grasping producer (Glenn Larson type) was contemplating a pilot for a few weeks.

After many years in the military, seeing few movies, I am still catching up on old flicks thanks to videos. Discovering Cheyenne SC is worth all my efforts. Cliches and all, it is a pleasure to watch the interaction of these two old "pros," Stewart and Fonda, and the superb supporting cast. I view this film often and laugh each time. I live close to the Eaves Ranch set, which I understand was built or expanded primarily for Cheyenne SC and where most of the movie was filmed. The set has changed some and the water tower was demolished a couple years ago. There is a piece of RR track and a couple livestock cars there, and the town buildings still exist, having been used for dozens of other movies since "Cheyenne SC" including "Silverado" and "Wyatt Earp." Unfortunately the owner/builder of the set Mr. J.W. Eaves just passed away on August 8 this year.(2001) A memorial service was held at his movie town.