Hearts of the West (1975) User Reviews

cute and different

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 1 April 2021]

"Hearts of the West" is not a great film...but it is interesting and fun. And it looks nothing like any other film I've seen!

The story begins in the Midwest in the early 1930s. Lewis Tater (Jeff Bridges) is an incredibly naive and dim young man who wants to write western novels. So he does what any naive person would do in this situation...he enrolls in a correspondence school for western fiction writers! It is hard to imagine such a specific program could exist...and it's not surprising that it's all a scam. But as I said, he is naive and dim and decides to travel to Nevada to see the school in person...and it turns out to be just a mailbox. But he does end up meeting with the two scumbags behind the scam...and they turn out to be very violent jerks who chase him into the desert. In the process, Tater wanders onto a movie shoot...with cowboys! Where does it go from there? See the film and find out for yourself.

The film is light and enjoyable...and not especially believable. But as I said, it's enjoyable and a nice homage to the B-westerns of the era.

Hollywood's Cheap Westerns.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 18 July 2012]

The plot is a little loose-limbed and meandering but it's an affectionate and amusing look at Povery Row studios, also known as Gower Gulch, that ground out cheap Western movies to be shown as second features. If you've seen a John Wayne Western from the 1930s you'll know what they look like. Wayne, on a white horse, racing after a pick up truck, dashing past the telephone poles, in the Old West.

Jeff Bridges is Lewis Tater, an aspiring writer of Western stories who comes to Hollywood from Iowa armed with a diploma from a phony writing correspondence school. Throughout the movie he is pursued by two villains connected with the scam who want money from him.

Meanwhile, nearly broke, he manages to stumble into a role as an extra in these cheap Westerns made by a studio -- Shoot 'Em Up Productions, or something -- that is run by the penny-pinching Alan Arkin, who gives a splendid performance. Bridges is adequate as the kid consumed by his fantasies. Blythe Danner, with her hoarse voice sometimes ending in a squeak, is skinny, sexy, and grounded. Andy Griffith is fine as the extra who acts as Bridges' mentor and who is later revealed as a fraud who tries to steal the manuscript of Bridges' Western novel.

Except for the two stereotypical villains -- Richard Schull and Anthony James -- who are mostly comic figures, it's hard to dislike any character in this fey atmosphere. It's 1933 and the location shooting and set dressing make Los Angeles far more attractive than it is today, now that it is a tangled snare of freeways with colorless settlements in between them. The musical score uses a lot of source music -- cheerfully and not in-your-face obvious. The sun seems to be shining all the way through, even when it's raining. It's charming when the disingenuous Bridges stands on the beach of a rich producer's house, gazes Westward, and remarks in awe to himself -- "The vast Pacific."

Well worth seeing!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 21 October 2012]

First the bad news: The pace is a little slow and there's a little too much talk, simply for the sake of talking. Trimming would help. The film's 102 minutes could easily be brought down to 92 without sacrificing any of the storyline.

Now the good news: For those of us who are into old movie nostalgia, this charming evocation is written, directed and played with just the necessary light touch -- and that's s quality that's very difficult to bring off without going overboard on either slapstick or melodrama. This film has genuine charm, as well as attractive photography and music. Locations are especially well utilized.

All the players from Jeff Brides down to Marie Windsor are a real credit to the acting profession. Andy Griffith is superb. In fact, it's difficult to recognize him as the movie's unscrupulous extra.

A movie that can be enjoyed over and over, "Hearts of the West" has genuine charm, as well as superlative photography and a great music score. The production team has managed to bring off what "Nickelodeon" attempted on a much higher budget -- and yet failed!

A Bridges Gem

[dougdoepke · 12 July 2010]

What a likable farm galoot Jeff Bridges makes. His Lewis Tater wants to be a Western writer and by golly neither pursuing crooks, nor double-crossing buddies, nor phony correspondence schools are going to stop him. Like his literary alter-ego The Kid, he's just too eager to get discouraged. Across burning deserts and thundering hoofs, he soldiers on toward fame and fortune and Hollywood and Vine.

And what a hoot his purple prose is. Like an amiable Walter Mitty, minor events get spun into major events for "The Kid" in such deathless passages as, "Twirling, The Kid fired with all he had into the phantom riders", or " A Colt in either hand, he scattered lead at the retreating dust."

What a great sleeper movie this is, thanks to the comical Bridges and some unerring light touches. Take for example the cheap Western they're filming. Catch how a groaning Lewis steps on the big romantic clinch, or how his curtain-chewing death throes put the director (Arkin) into a murderous tizzy. But I especially like that awkward little turn on the sidewalk where he brushes against the potted palm and wins the affection of Miss Trout (Danner).

The movie's also a telling look at the making of matinée Westerns, a staple of kids' viewing in the 1930's and 40's. As a former Front Row kid, I viewed those parts with mixed emotions. I guess I still want those guys to be real cowboys and not the shrewd businessmen-actors they likely were.

Anyhow, in my little book, this is a little gem from beginning to end, with scarcely a misstep along the way. It never ceases to amaze me that the Hollywood-bred Bridges (his dad was veteran actor Lloyd Bridges) can play such a convincing hayseed, but he can. Speaking of hayseeds, watch for a very unMayberry Andy Griffith, again showing what a fine, versatile actor he is. I'm just sorry this style of clever low-key comedy has given way to today's frantic bathroom kind. Maybe Hollywood needs to hire more Lewis Tater's, after all.

How they made B westerns

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 27 December 2018]

Hearts Of The West is a 30s period piece starring Jeff Bridges fresh off the farm in Iowa and he wants to be a western writer and has sent money to a correspondence school in Nevada for a degree. This would be Zane Grey even heads out to this place which turns out to be a PO Box in Scrub Brush, Nevada just over the California line.

That's the start of the story where Bridges shows a naivete beyond belief at times. Until at a certain point he decides he's had enough of being made a fool of and turns some tables. The big screen hadn't seen anything like it since John Mills in Hobson's Choice.

Bridges is perfectly cast in the role as our country boy protagonist/hero. He does get into films when a company shooting on location finds him wandering in the desert fleeing from those correspondence school con artists, but fleeing unbeknownst with their loot. That loot is what helps Bridges out.

Some really nice casting goes into Hearts Of The West as Bridges learns how B westerns were made back in the day. Blythe Danner is a studio executive in a male dominated business and she has to make compromises to survive. Andy Griffith is a former B picture cowboy who is somewhat less than is cowboy hero image. A;an Arkin is an obnoxious director and Donald Pleasence is the studio head.

Big westerns with big budgets were in a temporary eclipse in the early 30s when this film was made. Westerns at the time were made either at the poverty row independent studios or in the B picture unit of major studios. No one thought they were making great art. Just grind them out and get them out to the theaters in mostly what are now the red states.

Hearts Of The West captures the period very well. If nothing else it's a guide as to how they made B westerns.

innocent but not stupid

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 19 January 2020]

Iowa farm boy Lewis Tater (Jeff Bridges) is an aspiring western writer. Despite being laughed at by his brothers, he travels to Nevada to join a mail correspondence school. He is strictly a naive farmer who discovers that buffalo don't run anymore and the university is simply post office boxes. While staying at a local hotel, he gets attacked by one of the con man. He escapes by stealing the head con man's car. After running out of gas, he finds a tool box with a gun and runs into the desert night. With the two con men following, he stumbles upon a real western film crew. He joins them as they head back to Hollywood. He befriends old hand Howard Pike (Andy Griffith) and script girl Miss Trout (Blythe Danner). Bert Kessler (Alan Arkin) hires him first as a stunt man and then gives him lines. All the while, he is paid as little as possible.

This has a bit of fun at times although Lewis' cluelessness really bothered me. He is smart enough to write stories but so stupid in so many ways. There is a difference between being naive and being a moron. He keeps crossing the line. He cannot be too stupid to write well. One way to solve it would be to make him an aspiring actor rather than an aspiring writer. Bridges is an appealing lead and he can definitely play clueless. He is The Dude. Overall, I like the characters and I generally like the screwball comedy nature of the film.

Not as good as you'd like it to be

[paulccarroll3 · 6/10 · 19 July 2012]

I saw this film for the first time last night on TCM,who were showing Andy Griffith films after his recent death, and was mildly amused. But reading the other reviews here you would have thought that it was much funnier and had more to say about old Hollywood,and B westerns, than it actually did. Although young Jeff Bridges is mildly amusing I don't think I actually laughed out loud once,and his character as written is so obtusely naive it's hard to believe He would ever survive his first experience lost in the desert,much less excel in the film business. The other point of the film seems to be pulling back the curtains on the fact that B western cowboys weren't really cowboys and they couldn't act either. But is this really something that was a hidden conspiracy? It really doesn't have much to say,and it doesn't go anywhere, I kept waiting for it to be better and more interesting,but it never got there.

I do think it was worth watching once,but it's not one that I want to watch repeatedly. You can,however,see the glint of Gwyneth Paltrow in Blythe Danners' eye!

Good natured comedy but the premise is better than the product.

[jamesrupert2014 · 6/10 · 30 April 2024]

Through a series of unlikely events, Lewis Tater (Jeff Bridges), an aspiring western-writer ends up in depression-era Hollywood working for a poverty-row studio making B-oaters while trying to avoid a couple of shysters whose cash he inadvertently made off with. An uneven blend of slapstick, romance and a satire (at the expense early Tinseltown), the film has the look of a lightweight 1970s comedy and hasn't aged well. Movie fans (especially those familiar with John Wayne's prolific pre-celeb output with Lonestar Picitures) will likely enjoy the self-referential Hollywood shtick, but the sub-plot about the two gangsters gets tired fast and the ending is flat and predictable. Bridges makes for an affable 'innocent abroad' and the rest of the cast is fine.

One of my favorite movies

[bigrafx-1 · 9/10 · 7 April 2007]

I really love this movie. I saw it in the theaters when it first came out and recommended it to everybody I knew. Somewhere in my house is a bad VHS copy of it but I haven't seen it in a million years and it's not available on Netflix. If it gets released again on DVD I would recommend it - I'll bet it hasn't dated or aged one bit. Wonderful wonderful movie.

How do you campaign to get a movie re-released on DVD? This film has everything, a beautiful young Jeff Bridges, a typical excellent Alan Arkin performance, Blythe Danner! who should have been a much bigger movie star, hilarious script.

Amiable, lackadaisical, unimportant...

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 27 June 2010]

Jeff Bridges plays a smiling farm boy in 1929 Iowa, harboring dreams of writing Western prose, who journeys to Nevada and inadvertently becomes involved with a movie troupe making talking pictures. Howard Zieff, a TV commercial director with one film (1973's wacky "Slither") behind him, was poised for great things, yet this second feature of his barely gets off the ground. Working from a wordy screenplay by new writer Rob Thompson, Zieff is able to add little bits and pieces of his eccentric style and personality, but the 'plot' (such as it is) fails to deliver on its promises. Opening with the 1930s-styled M-G-M lion, Zieff begins the picture with Bridges' screen test...and then jumps awkwardly back in time without explanation. It takes another 20 minutes for the film to get a big, juicy scene (Bridges volunteering to do a dangerous stunt--jumping onto a horse from a second story balcony); in the interim, the picture idles about dealing with two unsavory characters who are chasing after stolen money. The on-screen movie folk (featuring Alan Arkin as director, Blythe Danner as the script girl, and Andy Griffith as an aging cowboy actor) are a fun bunch, though Zieff allows this part of the film--which should have been the picture's meat and potatoes--to dribble away. Bridges gambles on his salary and gets himself fired, but we don't know if he was duped or simply given bad advice. Worse, the early-1930s atmosphere isn't well-captured, and Bridges at this point had little range. *1/2 from ****

Pure style by Howard Zieff

[shepardjessica · 8/10 · 23 June 2004]

This is one of the best of 1975 without a lot of heavy issues. It's about innocence and the American Dream with the perfect guy in the lead - a young Jeff Bridges. Alan Arkin is the perfect uptight East Coast director in Hollywood and the lovely Blythe Danner shows qualities that her daughter became famous for. Zieff's film Slither with James Caan is also very much underrated. Andy Griffith is well-cast for only the second time (A Face in the Crowd being the other) and Donald Pleasance is an added treasure, all too briefly.

If you're in a normal mood this is the movie for you. A definite 8 out of 10 and nobody's seen it.

Gave Me a Heart "Burn" Of the West *1/2

[edwagreen · 2/10 · 24 July 2012]

They say that your best writing comes from experience. This is not the case by the ending of this dreadful 1975 film. The N.Y.C. film critics gave its best supporting actor award to Alan Arkin, who portrayed Bert Kessler, the director. With his high-pitched tone when he was angry, Arkin, as Kessler, utters the Yiddish phrase-"Ver Gerharget," meaning getting killed as he throws someone out of his office.

With his boyish good looks, Jeff Bridges was a natural to play Lewis Tater, the young lad who sets out west as he feels that he is a western writer. Instead, he gets side tracked to making movies as he flees the guys who tried to fleece him into going to a writer's college in Nevada that really never existed.

The film takes place in 1933, at the heart of the depression. Yet, we see little to no proof of this occurring. In fact, we're subjected to a party where smoked salmon and sturgeon are being served.

With its dull color to reflect the period, the film is really a first-class stinker. Andy Griffith co-stars as Howard, a movie man who puts one over on Lewis, but saves him at picture's end. Sorry, but he couldn't save this film.

A neglected, but not-to-be missed film from the mid-seventies.

[Stellarondo · 5 December 2004]

This film is pure and timeless gold, as out of character with its time as it is with present times. Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, Blythe Danner and Andy Griffith are perfectly cast in a comedy that spoofs both American innocence and American cynicism about that innocence. If "The Great Gatsby" is a classic story of the American Dream gone wrong, "Hearts of the West" is a classic rendering of the American Dream gone right in spite of itself.

This film is deceptively artful (e.g., the coherence provided by the leitmotif of the bad guys' increasingly dusty and dented automobile). Its "simplicity" is the "simplicity" of all great comedy, which deals with the essences as well as the particular manifestations of situations. (Moliere would have liked this one!) It's a film that makes you want to rewind it immediately and watch it again.

Five minutes into "Hearts of the West," I decided I had to own a copy. Funny, redemptive, and to be watched again and again. The laughs will not stale.

What I wonder is this: did Howard Zieff also intend it as a critique of the mindset and films of the mid-seventies? Because it is that.

Don't miss this one. It will brighten even the dreariest day!

Almost Unseen

[jbacks3 · 8/10 · 7 November 2010]

The mid-70's saw a misguided false nostalgia for early Hollywood. I'd like to think it was on account of the last few octogenarian (and up) moguls dying off (Samuel Goldwyn died at 94 in '74, Jack L. Warner passed in the fall of '78 at 86, Darryl F. Zanuck, ill with Alzheimer's, dying in '79) and that the younger turks sensed something. Unfortunately what spewed forth was mostly crap: Gable and Lombard, W.C. Fields and Me, the dull interpretations of The Great Gatsby, The Last Tycoon, and the cinematic nadir: Won Ton Ton the Dog that Saved Hollywood... a film so utterly awful that they must've thought Rin Tin Tin would sue. Nickelodeon belongs in there somewhere too. But along the way there were a few minor gems, namely, underrated The Day of the Locust (particularly for Burgess Meredith's performance) and Hearts of the West, which I saw in a theater in Portland it's brief release. I don't think it rated a week's screen time. Inarguably, the plot's thin stuff, but Jeff Bridges' Lewis Tater ranks as his best pre-Starman turn as an actor. He took naiveté to an entirely new plateau. Andy Griffith delivers a nice performance as an amiable, if duplicitous character actor who's descended into a life in poverty row oaters. The then-50-year old Griffith had just recovered from a serious medical condition and hadn't been seen in a feature film since a 1969 flop, Angel in My Pocket. Griffith here is far, far removed from anyone's image of Sheriff Andy Taylor. The supporting cast is superb, especially Alan Arkin who captures the essential cheapness of a Gower Gulch producer/director... he seems to be based on Mascot's Nat Levine. Don't look for the picture to go much of anywhere, just enjoy the ride. I liken the experience very similar to 1982's Cannery Row; you know you've seen better pictures, but you never somehow enjoyed one more and you don't exactly know why.

The Bridges of Western Comedy

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 6 November 2011]

"Hearts of the West" opens by suggesting Iowan "farm boy" Jeff Bridges (as Lewis Tater) wants to be a Hollywood western star, then he tells his family he's going to a Nevada writers' correspondence school. He wants to be another Zane Grey. The "University of Titan" turns out to be a scam, and Mr. Bridges quickly lands in Los Angeles. He gets extra work and a shot at movie stardom after washing dishes. Helping out and sometimes not, is "B western" player Andy Griffith (as Howard Pike). Providing feminine companionship is script girl Blythe Danner (as Miss Trout). Others characters come and go...

Bridges is convincing as an early talking pictures western actor; however he combs his hair, it looks terrific. The film benefits from familiar character actors. Winning the "New York Film Critics" supporting actor award for the year is "director" Alan Arkin (as Bert Kessler). A wall advertisement next to the "Rio Cafe" heralds Garbo Talks! in "Anna Christie" (1930), though MGM would have more likely painted it for a 1960s reissue. The setting can be taken right up to the "present" 1970s black-and-red typewriter ribbon Bridges uses. He smartly switches to an all-black ribbon for a letter dated "August 4, 1933".

***** Hearts of the West (10/4/75) Howard Zieff ~ Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Blythe Danner, Alan Arkin

I really enjoyed this movie.

[maverick3855 · 8/10 · 22 February 2007]

I saw this movie years ago but didn't catch the title at the time. It took several years to locate the title and to see it again. I thought this was a very funny and well done movie. Lewis Tater has has an innocent enthusiasm that makes him instantly likable. His Overacting in the gunfighter scenes and cracking the invisible whip in the lobby of the boarding house were hilarious. It reminded me of Myself in my younger years. This movie is loaded with fun and there is a certain nostalgic atmosphere about it that just leaves you smiling. Very underrated movie. For a just plain feel good fun movie I highly recommend it.

Meh

[TeenVamp · 5/10 · 22 March 2021]

One of those 70's movies that just stumbles along. You watch it liking it well enough hoping it will get better but it doesn't. Then it ends open ended no real resolution like a lot of 70s movies do. Meh. I didn't hate it but I'd never watch it again.

Hollywood Cowboy

[ptb-8 · 12 April 2005]

At some stage in 1976 there was a misguided attempt to release this charming feature under the name "Hollywood Cowboy". Post THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT 1974 most studios seemed to flood the market with 30s movie biographies since moviegoers apparently were fascinated with Hollywood's history courtesy of the MGM doco successes.. HEARTS OF THE WEST fits into the release pattern of GABLE AND LOMBARD, W C FIELDS AND ME, DAY OF THE LOCUST, NICKELODEON, and ultimately the horribly unfunny WON TON TON THE DOG THAT SAVED Hollywood and UNDER THE RAINBOW...each and every one about Hollywood in the 1930s. I think they all lost money. However except the last two, all are very good and HEARTS is possibly the most endearing but sadly unseen. The always affable Jeff Bridges proves he was hilarious and watchable even at 25. The Bruce Willis film of the 80s called SUNSET owes a lot to HEARTS. Young guy Jeff in this one, gets to Hollywood attempting to write westerns and ends up in stunt roles in what look like Republic or Monogram oaters. Beautifully made at MGM and well worth finding and delighting friends and family.

well-crafted Valentine to 30's Westerns

[aromatic-2 · 9/10 · 27 May 2000]

The interplay between Jeff Bridges and Andy Griffith alone is well worth the price of admission, but the entire supporting cast gets into the spirit of this film about writing western movies in the early 30's. Fun for the entire family. Richard B. Schull and Anthony James are marvelous as the Mutt & Jeff antecedents of the wet bandits.

Underrated gem

[missy_baxter · 10/10 · 6 July 2001]

What fun this movie is! Naive tenderfoot writer Jeff Bridges goes off to Hollywood to write B Westerns. And, every note is enjoyable. Andy Griffith is magnificent as bigger-than-life Howard Pike. Alan Arkin has all-kinds-of-fun as the egomaniacal director and Blythe Danner lights up the screen in her role. This is a great piece of Americana.

a fine tribute to the B western

[Kingtoon · 24 April 1999]

Jeff Bridges portrayal of the innocent Lewis Tater combined with the slick performances of Alan Arkin and Andy Griffith make Hearts of the West a true Homage to the Republic pictures style of westerns Also keep an eye out for the sultry performance of Blythe Danner as Tater's love interest.

Underrated is an Understatement

[birdonthehorizon · 10/10 · 26 March 2021]

A delightful film with young Jeff Bridges and Blythe Danner. Plenty of good turns by Andy Griffith, Alan Arkin, Not a money-maker when released, but well-liked by critics and those who saw it. Since then it has grown in esteem and taken its rightful place as one of the most enduring gems of its time.

Overlooked

[angelsunchained · 10/10 · 2 October 2023]

This was one of Jeff Bridges best film roles. Definitely an off beat movie which generated little interest at its time of release. Any fan of film or movie making would love this. Strong supporting cast adds to things with veteran actor Andy Griffith almost stealing the show, so to speak. Griffith has a really different role then people are use to seeing. Basically, he is a cad, user, back stabber, crook and con artist, but aside from all that, deep down he is a nice guy. Alan Arkin overplays his part and the usually outstanding actor comes across almost cartoonist. Not really too sure why the movie never made it, but like I said, it was really off beat.

Enjoyable.

[ItalianGerry · 5 June 2004]

In "Hearts of the West" Jeff Bridges is an aspiring western pulp-novel writer. He worships Zane Grey and lands what is for him a fantasy-come-true job as a stunt man in Hollywood B-westerns in the 1930s. There he works with a crew of losers under Alan Arkin.

Bridges has some good comic stunts and spends much of the time eluding con-men pursuers. Andy Griffith all but steals the show as a wily former star who first befriends him and then cheats him. Blythe Danner is good as the female production manager who takes a liking to Bridges. Howard Zieff, recalled for his "Slither," directed this very likable piece.