Hearts of the West (1975 film)
6.6 /10 1 Votes
Director Howard Zieff Music director Ken Lauber Duration Country United States | 6.4/10 IMDb Genre Western, Comedy Screenplay Rob Thompson Writer Rob Thompson Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date October 8, 1975 (1975-10-08) Cast Jeff Bridges (Lewis Tater), Alan Arkin (Bert Kessler), Blythe Danner (Miss Trout), Andy Griffith (Howard Pike), Alex Rocco (Earl), Richard B. Shull (Stout Crook)Similar movies The Hunger Games: Catching Fire , Lily in Love , The Shining , Limitless , The Fault in Our Stars , Wonder Boys Tagline Jeff Brides is Lewis Tater, the Iowa farmboy who blazed a trail across the barren wastes of Hollywood and Vine in MGM\'s comedy surprise "Hearts of the West." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hearts of the west original theatrical trailer
Hearts of the West, released in Europe as Hollywood Cowboy, is a 1975 comedy film directed by Howard Zieff, and starring Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Blythe Danner, and Alan Arkin. Set in the 1930s, the story revolves around a wannabe Western writer who finds himself cast as a leading man in several B-movie westerns.
Contents
- Hearts of the west original theatrical trailer
- Hearts of the west trailer 1975
- Plot
- Cast
- Reception
- Awards
- References
Despite good reviews, the film was not a hit upon release in 1975 but in years since, it has developed a significant cult following among midnight showings and college campuses.
Screenwriter Rob Thompson launched his career with this film. He went on to be a major creative talent on the television series Northern Exposure (for which he won an Emmy) and Monk.
Hearts of the west trailer 1975
Plot
In 1933, Lewis Tater (Jeff Bridges), an aspiring novelist who harbors dreams of becoming the next Zane Grey, decides to leave his family home in Iowa to go to the University of Titan in Nevada so he can soak up the western atmosphere. He arrives to find that there is no university, only a mail order correspondence course scam run by two crooks out of the local hotel. He tries to spend the night at the hotel, and is attacked by one of the men. He escapes his attacker and steals their car, pulling over when it runs out of gas.
He wanders through the desert and happens upon a threadbare film-unit grinding out "B" westerns called Tumbleweed Productions. He catches a lift with the cowboy actors to Los Angeles. After applying at Tumbleweed, he is referred by crusty old extra Howard Pike (Andy Griffith) to the Rio, a western-themed restaurant. While washing dishes at the Rio, he is called by Tumbleweed, where Howard mentors him to be an actor. After proving himself as a stuntman, unit manager Kessler (Alan Arkin) offers him a speaking role. Tater then falls in love with spunky script girl Miss Trout (Blythe Danner). Meanwhile, the crooks trace him to Los Angeles to retrieve the safe-box containing their money that was in the car stolen by Lewis.
Cast
Reception
Roger Ebert called it "a lovely little comedy, a movie to feel fond of" and that Bridges "brings a nice complexity to the role".
Awards
It was named one of the National Board of Review's Top Ten Films for 1975. Arkin won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor.