Mackintosh and T.J.

Plot synopsis:
MacKintosh (no first name is ever given) is an aging migrant cowboy drifting from ranch to ranch doing odd jobs along the way with the exception of his World War II service in the Pacific. When passing through a town he sees T.J. (no other name is ever given) a 14-year-old recently released from doing clean up work for vagrancy. Shopping for supplies, MacKintosh sights T.J. preparing to steal an apple 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 realise they have much in common. Having left his single mother and not having been in school since Dick and Jane books were used (early primary school), 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 as MacKintosh makes his repairs.
Stopping for dinner in a bar that night, MacKintosh sights T.J. working as a busboy in the bar. T.J. explains that the man who picked him up was "funny" 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 with MacKintosh knocking him down again by breaking a catsup bottle on his head. Losing his job, T.J. and MacKintosh team up again.
The pair find work at the 6666 Ranch run by Jim Webster where MacKintosh impresses everyone when he breaks horses, works as a ranch hand and gains more money by obtaining cash bounties for coyotes he shoots. T.J. is put to work cleaning up abandoned buildings. The two settle in until accusations are made against MacKintosh for his being too friendly to the wife of his foreman.

Tags: cult, murder, violence

Review:
Just Plain Roy. It takes a bit of getting used to Roy Rogers not being Roy Rogers cowboy hero in MacIntosh & TJ. Still for his final big screen appearance Roy decided to do a character part and if he'd wanted to probably could have done more roles like this.The title roles are played by Roy and young Clay O'Brien respectively. Roy's an old time working cowboy who's not settled down and O'Brien is a young kid of 14 on the road. He's run away because his father has died and he's not liked his mother's choice in companions. The two hit it off and eventually find work at a ranch where Walter Barnes is the foreman and Edith Atwater his wife.O'Brien did roles in two John Wayne films before this one, The Cowboys and Cahill, US Marshal and the same easy chemistry he had with the Duke he also has with Roy Rogers. Most of the screen time is spent with these two.It looks very much like they're going to stay on Barnes's ranch, but a jealous husband, a battered wife, and a cowboy with some issues all get involved in their business. It ends in tragedy. The three parts are played respectively by Billy Green Bush, Joan Hackett, and Andrew Robinson.Of the three Hackett is the one to watch. Charlton Heston who worked with Joan Hackett in Will Penny in his memoirs paid tribute to her grace and talent. Without much in the way of dialog she does a marvelous job in portraying a battered spouse. For those who remember Roy Rogers in those fancy western shirts and fancy designed boots seeing him dressed as just a regular cowboy takes a bit of getting used to. It was over 20 years since he made his last big screen appearance and a little less for when his television western series ended its run. I wonder what made him decide to do this film, it might have been to see if he could play a character. He sure didn't need the money. Oh, and Roy is wearing reading glasses at times so you know he's conceding his age.When I heard he was doing this film back in the Seventies I wanted to see it, but it never played in New York. Mackintosh & TJ apparently only played in the red state market like so many films that never make it to the east. So when I finally did get to see it, it was a double pleasure in it was good. Roy only did two more acting roles, on the television series Wonder Woman and The Fall Guy. Mackintosh & TJ is a very nice farewell big screen performance to the most famous of cowboy heroes.. Roy Rogers as Mackintosh--Excellent. Finally got to see Roy Rogers last Movie of his long career.Got the DVD this week & was not at all disappointed at all in the movie. Very well done and the movie felt believable.For Roy Rogers last movie it was well done, wish he had done a few more movies by not playing Roy Rogers and taking on a character he made his own.Well done Roy, had the pleasure of meeting you at 1991 at your Roy Rogers and Dale Evens museum in Victorville California. Finally got to meet my childhood hero from The Roy Rogers Show from the 1950s. Bar Scene fight. I had the pleasure to be one of the extras in the bar scene fight that was filmed in my mother- in- laws club The Palamino Club in Lubbock,Tx. My husband Charles was the bartender in the scene. I thought it was one of the best movies Roy done, same as all his movies. Too bad we don't have more of our cowboy movies like Roy whom I thought was a great friendly man and thankful to have met him.. Great adult western. This is a very good,modern, adult western.Roy Rogers and Clay O'Brien give excellent understated performances.The film exudes conservative beliefs but they arise from the characterizations,it's never preachy. Slowly paced,well acted,sad, tragic and finally life and family affirming ,the film left me wishing Roy Rogers had done more adult westerns late in his life.We would have all benefited. Still this "1" is as good as Will Penny,The Cowboy's and better than Buck Taylor's recent similarly plotted Truce.The film features fine back -up performances by James Hampton,Dennis Fimple,and Joan Hackett.(Remember this really ,really is not for kids as it contains cursing, a peeping Tom, and a murder and a suicide. Whew!)