After James Stewart and Henry Fonda appeared together in a Western called "Firecreek" (1968), it was wisely decided that the two old friends should be paired together in another Western, only this time they would actually play off of their real-life friendship. Written by James Lee Barrett and directed by - of all people - Gene Kelly, this project would be titled "The Cheyenne Social Club." John O'Hanlan (Stewart) and Harley Sullivan (Fonda) are two Texas wranglers, the former soon learning that he has inherited a place from his deceased brother known as the Cheyenne Social Club. Not knowing what kind of establishment it is, the two old cowpokes decide to make the thousand-mile trek northbound. Soon enough, they find out exactly what kind of place this "social club" is.
Two highlights: Probably the funniest scene in the whole piece occurs near the beginning when Harley chatters endlessly during the opening credits as he and John ride to Cheyenne; John finally gets a word in edgewise after they've travelled their thousand miles. And when John learns that Pauline (Elaine Devry) supposedly has a bad liver, he walks into her room and gives her some money so that she may see a doctor; Pauline, however, thinks that this money is meant for a little something else.
The making of "The Cheyenne Social Club" was not a most pleasant experience. Henry Fonda reportedly didn't want to do the picture at all, trying to get Jack Elam to replace him; certainly, Jack Elam is a wonderful actor (one of my favorite Western bad guys, in fact), but no doubt this film would have been quite different had Elam stepped into the role of Harley Sullivan. As for James Stewart, he was suffering two major losses. First, he could scarcely be expected to recover from the recent death of his stepson Ronald McLean, who was active in the Vietnam War. Second, the horse that Stewart rode in every one of his Westerns for twenty-some years, named Pie, was too ill for Stewart to ride in this Western; Pie died shortly after filming wrapped. Fonda, Gene Kelly, and some of the other crew were well aware of Stewart's sadness on the set and apparently tried to help him out as best they could; Fonda even pleasantly surprised Stewart by presenting him with a watercolor painting that he did of Pie.
Two highlights: Probably the funniest scene in the whole piece occurs near the beginning when Harley chatters endlessly during the opening credits as he and John ride to Cheyenne; John finally gets a word in edgewise after they've travelled their thousand miles. And when John learns that Pauline (Elaine Devry) supposedly has a bad liver, he walks into her room and gives her some money so that she may see a doctor; Pauline, however, thinks that this money is meant for a little something else.
The making of "The Cheyenne Social Club" was not a most pleasant experience. Henry Fonda reportedly didn't want to do the picture at all, trying to get Jack Elam to replace him; certainly, Jack Elam is a wonderful actor (one of my favorite Western bad guys, in fact), but no doubt this film would have been quite different had Elam stepped into the role of Harley Sullivan. As for James Stewart, he was suffering two major losses. First, he could scarcely be expected to recover from the recent death of his stepson Ronald McLean, who was active in the Vietnam War. Second, the horse that Stewart rode in every one of his Westerns for twenty-some years, named Pie, was too ill for Stewart to ride in this Western; Pie died shortly after filming wrapped. Fonda, Gene Kelly, and some of the other crew were well aware of Stewart's sadness on the set and apparently tried to help him out as best they could; Fonda even pleasantly surprised Stewart by presenting him with a watercolor painting that he did of Pie.