It s 1908. The West has changed. Grizzled frontiersman Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) hasn t. Despite the fortune he s made selling water to thirsty desert travelers, he lies in wait. Someday two no-account desert rats – who long ago robbed Hogue and left him to die in the baking Arizona sand – will drop by for a drink.

After the violence of The Wild Bunch, director Sam Peckinpah shifted moods with this memorable fable, less a tale of revenge that it is a lyrical, touching tribute to the last days of the West s pioneering spirit. Stella Stevens and David Warner lead an excellent supporting cast that also includes L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin as Hogue s old enemies.