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The Reivers (1969)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
12/15
12/15:
Let me ask you this question...who is supposed to be the star: Steve McQueen or some nobody kid?
The Reivers is a weird selection for the Cooler King because it's not his M.O. At any rate, he's just okay,
but it has no classic moments that will define him like The Great Escape,
Bullitt, and Papillon.
Amazingly, along with The French Connection,
Dirty Harry, First Blood,
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Apocalypse Now, Steve McQueen
declined Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to do this
movie. Is it because of the Yellow Winton Flyer? He would end up keeping the car, but the drugs had definitely
turned his brain into mush.
Rupert Crosse was Oscar-nominated, being the first black ever for the Best Supporting Actor category which is worthy
for a trivia question that almost nobody will be able to answer correctly. He's fair and has his moments but does
nothing extraordinary. Rupert Crosse worked for another two years before dying of lung cancer in 1973 at age 45.
The star of the show is Mitch Vogel as the young boy Lucius. However, it's a shame he didn't get enough screen time,
probably because of Steve McQueen's giant ego which explains why he turned down
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for not wanting to be
billed second behind Paul Newman or see his name slightly below his. If Mitch had more time, he would've been
nominated for an Oscar. By the way, he broke his shoulder during horse riding when a water sprinkler went off,
spooking the horse.
The story is simple: borrow the grandfather's car to visit a whorehouse in the city and get into all kinds of trouble
along the way. Not wanting to lose the audience, the filmmakers decided to put on a big horse race in the style
of National Velvet. Unfortunately, it proves to be costly by failing to
tie up loose ends and thus renders the movie a sheer waste of time.
All in all, The Reivers is indeed a strange choice for Steve McQueen who spent most of his time raising
hell on director Mark Rydell.