Will Penny is a 1968 western film directed by Tom Gries starring Charlton Heston and Donald Pleasence. It was based upon an episode of the 1960 Sam Peckinpah television series The Westerner called “Line Camp,” which was also written and directed by Tom Gries. Heston mentioned that this was his favorite film which he appeared in.
Production
The film features a David Raksin and Robert Wells song “The Lonely Rider” with vocals by Don Cherry. The exteriors were filmed in Inyo County, California, USA.
Reviews
“The admirable thing about the movie is its devotion to real life. These are the kind of people, we feel, who must really have inhabited the West: common, direct, painfully shy in social situations and very honest.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“…Will Penny ranks as a superior Western for a multitude of reasons. Heston, so often required to play larger-than-life characters throughout his career, here delivers a sublime performance in a role that is the exact opposite.” — Reel.com DVD review
Cast
- Charlton Heston as Will Penny
- Joan Hackett as Catherine Allen
- Donald Pleasence as Preacher Quint
- Ben Johnson as Alex (Flat Iron Ranch foreman)
- Lee Majors as Blue
- Bruce Dern as Rafe Quint
- Slim Pickens as Ike Walterstein
- Anthony Zerbe as Dutchy
- Matt Clark as Romulus
- Jon Gries as the Boy Horace (button) G. Allen
