Tom Horn (1980)

The saga of Tom Horn - a real-life "enforcer" of Old West days - held a particular fascination for another legend. Hollywood icon Steve McQueen starred in and executive-produced what would be his next-to-last movie, a gritty, exciting recreation of Horn's latter-day career in a turn-of-the-century West where gentler ways supplanted the law of the gun - and Horn would be an unwitting victim of that change. Linda Evans, Richard Farnsworth, Billy Green Bush and Slim Pickens head a strong cast in a film capturing the essence of a time when a man's word was only as good as his guns or fists. Shot on serenely beautiful Arizona locations, Tom Horn indelibly brings to life one of the West's truly unsung heroes.

Could Have Been Better

This picture was released in theaters on March 28 1980 starring Steve McQueen as Tom Horn Linda Evans as Glendolene Kimmel, and Richard Farnsworth as John C Coble. He grew up in the violence of the Old West. He became a cowboy, rode shotgun for the stage line, was an agent with the Pinkertons and fought with Rough Riders under Teddy Roosevelt. He made his reputation as a cavalry scout by bringing in Geronimo in the bloody Apache wars. In 1901, he made his to Wyoming Territory and this man name was Tom Horn. Tom is open country of Wyoming drinking coffee, and watching animals move on Wyoming Territory. Later in the day, Tom drifts into and drops his horse of at the stables. He tells the keeper to take care of his horse and if things go wrong, he'll sleep in the same stall as his horse. After getting into a fight, Tom wakes up in the same stall with his horse just like he said he would. Along comes John C Coble who's interested in hiring Tom for a special job. John Coble owns one of the biggest ranch in the Wyoming territory. Therefore, John offers Tom a good job and a place to put his head every night along with good meals to feel his stomach. Therefore, John and Tom start riding out of town when the stop at a local watering hole to give there horses a chance to drink some water. John lets Tom know that some of the cattle that are in the corral pen are his. After John gets of his horse some outlaws sitting on the porch start to play music and they want John to dance. However, John isn't interested in dancing so the outlaws start shooting at his feet. Tom starts shooting back and they booth ride off towards Cobles Ranch. The next day Tom starts his new job and later in the day, John introduces Tom to the Cattlemen Association. It turns out that John is a member of the Association and they want to hire John. After dinner Tom is introduce to Glendolene Kimmel who's the local school teacher. Tom is told that he's to do anything he has to get rid of the cattle rustlers that are plaguing the cattlemen's association. That brings me to some questions that need to be answered. Is Tom able to get the job done that the cattlemen's association wants him to do? Is the schoolteacher interested in Tom as Much as Tom is interested in the schoolteacher? Here are some personal thoughts of my own on the movie. I thought Steve McQueen was great in his role as Tom Horn. Some actors when they play a hero like Tom Horn let it go to their head and Steve McQueen was nowhere close to that. I do think that the movie could've used some more action in it but it wasn't bad they way it was. The reason I bought the movie was for Linda Evans. I was disappointed for time she received and I thought she deserved better. Based on that and the fact that there was no real leading woman I give this picture 3 weasel stars. August 26, 2008

Great movie

A low-key Steve McQueen movie, but one of my favorites. A really great western. Kind of an old-timer adjusting to the new world, and not doing so well. August 2, 2008

CUT AND EDITED DVD W/MISSING SCENES? ? WHAT GIVES?

Remembering what a great flick this was,I was about to buy this DVD,
then saw the review that noted that several key scenes have been taken out
to make it more family-oriented? This stinks!
I recently also purchased a DVD of BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
from AMAZON and returned it after finding a key scene had been cut
from the first 1/2 hour. What is the point of selling these DVDs if we
can't get the original unedited uncut version???
As a minimum, AMAZON should note in BIG LETTERS in each ad if
this is a CUT AND EDITED VERSION. That way, mnay of us will know not to
buy it. June 1, 2008

Tom Horn

Based on the book 'I, Tom Horn', this movie is one of the best westerns I have ever seen. It is about the last of the frontier days, and the last true of the western scouts. Steve McQueen is perfect in this performance.
April 29, 2008

Great Story

Steve McQueen, Richard Farnsworth, and Slim Pickens, who can you go wrong with a cast like this. There a several long reviews if you detail. I'll just say this is a very realistic movie about the west toward the end of the wild portion of the wild west.
Beautifully filmed, well written story based on a real person.
Even if you don't like westerns (and I don't know why that would be) this is good film. It's just that simple. December 30, 2007

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