Customer Reviews

The Cheyenne Social Club [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda provide more than a few laughs in the Gene Kelly-directed film "The Cheyenne Social Club." John O'Hanlan (Stewart) and Harley Sullivan (Fonda) are longtime friends and dungy cowboys who set off across the West to O'Hanlan's newly inherited business: a bordello in Wyoming. There they encounter a brood full of women lead by Shirley Jones (of Partridge Family fame). Thus begins a comic romp through the lighter side of the Old West.

Stewart and Fonda spend a great deal of this movie injecting flawless comic timing and delightful wit into a script that might otherwise be nothing but a disreputable spoof of greater films. Every encounter with the bordello women leaves Stewart's character in slack-jawed befuddlement while Fonda wiles and charms his way into their hearts and bedrooms.

This film will never be picked as the greatest Western of all time and is not the finest showpiece from Stewart's and Fonda's careers. It is, however, a wonderfully crafted story that brings together two of the greatest actors the silver screen has ever known. Stewart is his old reliable, sensible self with just enough grit and keenness to make him the perfect straight man. Fonda's non-stop ramblings and rugged charm make him the consummate counterpart. All in all, this is a movie well worth owning and laughing over again and again.

For the longest I was trying to think of who Duvall and Jones reminded me of in "Lonesome Dove" then it hit me that it was Fonda and Stewart in this movie. If you love the banter and bickering of Gus and Capt. Call then you will love this comedy. For one of the last good comedic westerns before the mid-seventies this one is a beauty with a risqué edge that's a reflection of the time it was released (1970).
The role of sex was not prevalent especially in westerns before then and as times changed it eventually leaked into the westerns. (It's heavily implied but none is shown) I guess it was truly the last frontier in movies. And to top it all off this is directed by Mr. Gene "Singing in the Rain" Kelly no less.

When one of two cowboys (Stewart) who have been on the trails way too long inherits a Social Club from his deceased brother, he feels like things are changing for the better. Little does he realize just how sociable the occupants of the club really are. Let the famous "Jimmy Stewart stammering begin!"'
Especially when he realizes that his moral stand is not the way to win friends, influence people and get an enormous steak in this new town. Fonda who acts like a kid at Disneyworld who wants to ride every ride there is, (excuse the pun please) is priceless when he just can't understand why the park has to close after the fireworks.

Both Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda's facial expressions are a sight to behold as the many stipulations that are bound to the social club unfold one by one along with the excess baggage. Shirley Jones during her Elmer Gantry era plays a favorite of the former owner who tries to persuade Stewart to help them out when things get out of hand. (She's no Shirley Partridge in this movie!) You'll love the unexpected and expected twists and turns of this movie. I highly recommend this one.

Stewart and Fonda take over a cathouse and ham it up. A bunch of cowhand yucks, and lots of great corset shots. There's worse ways to spend a couple hours.

Why this comedy/drama western..directed by the great song & dance man himself..Mr.Gene Kelly..was not on DVD..blows my mind.It was release by National General Cinema which is no longer around..some studio should pick up on it..like Paramount did for Warner Bros..John Wayne's Classics..HONDO..ISLAND IN THE SKY..ETC.Fonda & Stewart right from the GO..were GREAT..going from state to state while Fonda kept on talking away at poor Stewart.Their SUPER with each..they play off of each other just as they are..LEGENDS!!Yes..they were just like Robert Duvall & Tommy Lee Jones..from..'LONESOME DOVE..for sure.And also in WIDESCREEN.Somebody please pick up the ball on this LOVEABLE WESTERN.Thankyou---Jack

It is truly a shame that Henry Fonda and James Stewart didn't make a dozen films together. It is pure pleasure to see them together, and they have the chemistry of a great comedy team. The movie only deserves four stars as the story is not the best, but Fonda and Stewart could read the back of a cereal box and make it enjoyable.

No matter how many movies teamed Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda, it was not enough. Gene Kelly directs the pair here in a simple story of long-time friendship in the Old West, familiar ground, sure, but a story that always brings a smile to my face.

When John O'Hanlan (Stewart) discovers that his long lost brother has died, he's surprised to find that he has inherited a business. Enthusiastically he crosses the country from Texas to Cheyenne to become `a man of property', just what he's always wanted.

But the Cheyenne Social Club, his business, is a brothel. The premiere brothel in this boom town, sure, but that's not exactly what O'Hanlan had in mind. Thankfully his riding partner Harley Sullivan (Fonda) has tagged along, Harley may have his own point of view on most things, but he does smooth out many of the rough spots they encounter along the way.

Story is predictable, the climax is anti-climatic, but, who cares when you get to see these on-screen buddies in a buddy movie defined.

If you want to sit down and enjoy a movie and LAUGH this movie is for you. Stewart and Fonda are great foils for each other, (I think you could have had a series of picture with these two as these characters and it would have worked.) All the performances are played well, the plot is a great one and frankly the Fonda character (who just can't shut up at times.) just kills me. (In fact the two long speeches at the begining and end were added to the script to give Fonda more lines. It made the character.) Stewart frankly plays his honest honerable stock character, but it is a good stock character and with the right foil (Fonda) the character remains earnist but fun. Not a classic in the true sense of the word (It's no BROKEN ARROW or THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE) but it doesn't try to be. It is what it is and that's an entertaing movie.

I am not one for western movies, but this is one of my all time favorites-great movie for all to see!

This is one of the timeless classics with Jimmy Stuart and Henry Fonda. Both are my favorites and they really play on each other in this great picture. You've got to get it!!
Ray Phillips

The "Cheyenne Social Club" features two legendary actors who define Hollywood's portrayal of the American West. Texas cowboy O'Hanlon (Stewart) receives a letter from a lawyer in Cheyenne notifying him that his brother D.J. has passed away and that he has become the heir to his late brother's estate. He and his saddle-pal Harley Sullivan (Fonda) leave the Texas range and begin the 1000 mile ride to Wyoming.

The trip to Cheyenne provides the backdrop for a 1000 mile conversation by Sullivan, much to the bemused annoyance of the stoic O'Hanlon. Upon their arrival, O'Hanlon finds he has become "a man of property", and is now the proud owner of the legendary "Cheyenne Social Club." He is soon shocked to find his "property" is a notorious frontier bordello known and revered throughout the west. It is stocked with a bevy of frontier beauties and is being run by Shirley Jones who plays "Jenny", the cheery and lovely madam.

The townspeople rejoice upon meeting D.J's brother and shower O'Hanlon and Sullivan with unlimited hospitality and a wealth of perks-until the stuffy, prosaic O'Hanlon proposes closing the belove landmark and pokes a proverbial stick into Cheyenne's beehive-and from there the comedy of errors ensues.

The movie has everything a western could want: bawdy romance, bar-room brawls, gunfights, and the hilarious premise of a man like O'Hanlon who has almost nothing and needs to be careful of what he wishes for-he just might get it! And more than he bargained for in the process. The actors play their characters with a comfortable authenticity that makes "Cheyenne Social Club" an endearing tale of western humor and irony.

It also shows why Stewart and Fonda are Hollywood legends. They made a terrific "buddy" film 20 years before Hollywood invented it.