classicsoncall Review of The Cheyenne Social Club

The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)

"This place is busier than a Kansas City stockyard."

[7/10 · 30 August 2023]

This was a lot tamer Western than I thought it would be. Yes, you have the showdown between John O'Hanlan (James Stewart) and Corey Bannister (Robert J. Wilke), and the follow up with the rest of the Bannister clan, but the rest of the film seemed very laid back. Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda portray laconic saddle pals undertaking a journey of a thousand miles on horseback in order for Johnny to take possession of the titled enterprise, willed to him upon his brother's death. Treated like a hero upon arrival, O'Hanlan soon becomes persona non grata when he decides to shut down the house of ill repute as it doesn't conform to his sense of propriety. Quite honestly, if the film were made today, you would have seen a lot more in the way of lewd and bawdy behavior. Most of the sexual references were done by innuendo, and when 'guests' arrived to ring the bell, the ensuing scenes were more in line with the title of the picture, i.e., as if all were engaged in a social function. What was a little puzzling was how Johnny was treated like a hero once again after he, Harley Sullivan (Fonda), and Madam Jenny (Shirley Jones) gunned down the Bannister bunch, even though he hadn't mentioned his change of plans yet. I guess everyone in Cheyenne just assumed he would, just like his brother DJ would have.