The Cowboys
“All they wanted was their chance to be men... and he gave it to them.”
When his cattlemen abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his cowboys in order to get his herd to market in time to avoid financial disaster. The boys learn to do a man's job under Andersen's tutelage, however, neither he nor the boys know that a gang of cattle thieves is stalking them.
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Cast
45 people
John Wayne
Wil Andersen
Known for
The Searchers
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Roscoe Lee Browne
Jebediah Nightlinger
Known for
Spider-Man
Treasure Planet
Bruce Dern
Long Hair
Known for
Nebraska
The Hateful Eight
Colleen Dewhurst
Kate
Known for
Annie Hall
The Dead Zone
Alfred Barker Jr.
Cowboy Fats
No other roles listed
Nicolas Beauvy
Cowboy Dan
Known for
The Toolbox Murders
Shoot Out
Steve Benedict
Cowboy Steve
Also in
Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic
Robert Carradine
Cowboy Slim Honeycutt
Known for
Revenge of the Nerds
Lizzie McGuire
Norman Howell
Cowboy Weedy
Known for
Desperate Measures
Feel The Noise
Stephen R. Hudis
Cowboy Charlie Schwartz
Also in
Route 666
Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?
Sean Kelly
Cowboy Stuttering Bob
Known for
633 Squadron
Bitter Victory
A Martinez
Cowboy Cimarron
Known for
Longmire
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Mark Rydell Director · Irving Ravetch Screenplay Harriet Frank Jr. Screenplay
Worldwide gross $7.5M · Budget $6M · United States release January 13, 1972
Box office
Budget
$6,000,000
Worldwide gross
$7,500,000
Gross vs. budget
1.3×
Production
Sanford Productions (III)
Production
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production · Studio
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English · Spanish
Release dates
United States · January 13, 1972
Theatrical
Denmark
March 26, 1972 · Theatrical
France
March 22, 1972 · Theatrical
December 29, 2025 · TV · Arte
Germany
January 27, 1972 · Theatrical
Ireland
April 14, 1972 · Theatrical
Italy
February 26, 1972 · Theatrical
Japan
April 29, 1972 · Theatrical
Netherlands
July 26, 2000 · Physical · DVD
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Some details come from TheTVDB.