''Mackintosh and T.J.'' is a 1975 American modern day

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film starring

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

in his last

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

appearance in a film that was specifically written for him. Prior to this film his most recent feature film appearances were in the

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

films ''

Son of Paleface ''Son of Paleface'' is a 1952 American Comedy Western film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Bob Hope, Jane Russell, and Roy Rogers. The film is a sequel to '' The Paleface'' (1948). Written by Tashlin, Joseph Quillan, and Robert L. Welch ...

'' (1952) and 1959's ''

Alias Jesse James ''Alias Jesse James'' is a 1959 American Western comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bob Hope and Rhonda Fleming.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; March 21, 1959, page 46. Based on a story by Robert St. Aubrey and Bert Lawre ...

'' (a cameo).

Plot

MacKintosh is an aging migrant cowboy drifting from ranch to ranch, taking whatever work is available. When stopping at a town for gas, plus water for his old truck's leaking radiator, he sees T.J., a 14-year-old recently released from doing clean up work for

vagrancy Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

. Shopping for supplies, MacKintosh sights T.J. preparing to steal an apple while being watched by the store owner. MacKintosh pretends the boy is with him and pays for their supplies. Giving T.J. a ride the two realize they have much in common. Having left his single mother and not having been in school since

Dick and Jane ''Dick and Jane'' are the two main characters created by Zerna Sharp for a series of basal readers written by William S. Gray to teach children to read. The characters first appeared in the ''Elson-Gray Readers'' in 1930 and continued in a sub ...

books were used (early

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

), T.J. is off to work his way to the Pacific Ocean that he has never seen. When MacKintosh's vehicle breaks down T.J. catches a lift with a well dressed stranger on his way to

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

as MacKintosh makes his repairs. Stopping for dinner in a bar that night, MacKintosh sights T.J. working as a

busboy In North America, a busser, more commonly known as a busboy or busgirl, is a person who works in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables, refilling and otherwise assisting the ...

in the bar. T.J. explains that the man who picked him up was "funny" (homosexual), and that made T.J. leave him as quickly as possible. A drunken loud cowboy named Cal misplaces his money and accuses T.J. of stealing. When Cal strikes T.J., MacKintosh knocks him down. Cal comes after MacKintosh with a knife, but MacKintosh knocks him down again by breaking a catsup bottle on his head. After the fight, it was discovered that Cal's money had fallen to the floor. T.J. and MacKintosh team up again. The pair find work at the 6666 Ranch run by Jim Webster, and MacKintosh impresses everyone when he breaks horses. T.J. is put to work cleaning up abandoned buildings. The work was to end after the horses were broken, but the man hired to trap coyotes was found with rabies, and Webster offers MacKintosh the sick man's job. He would live in a remote cabin, earn the wage of a ranch hand, plus get cash bounties for all coyotes he shoots. MacKintosh and T.J. settle in until accusations are made against the older man for his being too friendly to the battered wife of a ranch hand named Luke. At a birthday party for Webster Luke punches MacKintosh for standing next to his wife. MacKintosh says that he'll assume the alcohol Luke had been drinking caused his anger, so he'll forgive him. Then he warns that if Luke ever hits him again he'll beat him within an inch of his life. Late that evening a ranch hand, who is a

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly re ...

, is caught by Luke looking into a window at his wife. The two have a knock-down fight and the ranch hand grabs hold of a rock and bashes it against Luke's head, killing the man. When Luke's wife telephones for help several ranch hands show up, assume MacKintosh is responsible, and go after him. They are prevented from killing him by Webster arriving on the scene and saying that the man is innocent. The Peeping Tom ranch hand had been wracked with guilt, wrote down what happened, and hung himself from the top of a windmill. MacKintosh and T.J. leave the ranch, and head for the Pacific Ocean, planning to look for work along the way.

Cast

as Mackintosh *Clay O'Brien as T J *

Billy Green Bush William Warren Bush (born November 7, 1935) is an American actor, usually credited as Billy Green Bush and sometimes as Billy Greenbush. Typecast Bush is a character actor, typically projecting in his screen appearances the good-ol'-boy image. ...

as Luke * Andrew Robinson as Coley Phipps *

Joan Hackett Joan Ann Hackett (March 1, 1934 – October 8, 1983) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. She starred in the 1967 western ''Will Penny''. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won the Golde ...

as Maggie * James Hampton as Cotton *

Dennis Fimple Dennis Clarke Fimple (November 11, 1940 – August 23, 2002) was an American actor. Biography Fimple was born in Ventura, California, the son of Dolly and Elmer Fimple. He graduated from Taft Union High School in 1958 and received a teaching c ...

as Schuster *

Luke Askew Francis Luke Askew (March 26, 1932 – March 29, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in many Western (genre), westerns, and had a lead role in the spaghetti Western ''Night of the Serpent'' (''La notte dei serpenti''; 1969). He also had a s ...

as Cal * Walter Barnes as Jim Webster *

Edith Atwater Edith Atwater (April 22, 1911 – March 14, 1986) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Career Born in Chicago, Atwater made her Broadway debut in 1933. In 1939, she starred in ''The Man Who Came to Dinner''. Her film career i ...

as Mrs Webster *

Larry Mahan Larry Mahan (born November 21, 1943) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He won six all-around world championships and two bull riding world championships in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit at the National ...

as Dan

Production

The film was shot on Texas locations at the

6666 Ranch The 6666 Ranch (also known as the Four Sixes Ranch or Quad Sixes) is a ranch in King County, Texas as well as Carson County and Hutchinson County. Location The main section of the ranch is located near the town of Guthrie in King County, Texa ...

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

provided several songs for the film and released a soundtrack album. The film was produced by Roy Tim Penland, and former child star

Claude Jarman Jr. Claude Jarman Jr. (born September 27, 1934) is an American former child actor, entrepreneur, former executive director of the San Francisco International Film Festival and former director of Cultural Affairs for the City of San Francisco. ...

acted as a

production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non- ...

on the film.

Quotes

''There's no leading lady, no shooting, some fights, but no blood spurting, and that's the way I wanted it'' - Roy Rogersp. 243 Roy Rogers, Roy & Evans, Dale ''Happy Trails: Our Life Story'' Simon & Schuster, 1994

Notes

External links