THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB

US, 1970, 103 minutes, Colour.
James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Shirley Jones, Sue Ane Langdon, Robert Middleton.
Directed by Gene Kelly.

The Cheyenne Social Club is a euphemism for a western brothel. This was 1970, the beginning of a more permissive era in stories and the way that they were treated. This is symbolised by the fact that such a stalwart as James Stewart plays a cowboy who inherits the Cheyenne Social Club, travels with his partner, Henry Fonda, a thousand miles and discovers what it really is. The film then is a tongue-in-cheek, bawdy blend of western and comedy with the two veteran stars relaxing. They are supported by Shirley Jones, who had made her mark in musicals like Oklahoma and Carousel and won an Oscar for her role in Elmer Gantry.

After his dancing career finished, Gene Kelly began directing films. At the same time, he directed Barbra Streisand in Hello Dolly.

1. How successful was this film as a Western? Was it an enjoyable western? What Western conventions did it use?

2. Was this film successful as a comment on Westerns and Western behaviour? How?

3. How successful was the film as a presentation of human beings and human behaviour? Did it have strong human interest or not? Where?

4. How successful was the film as a comedy? Was it funny? How humorous was it? Which situations constituted of the best comedy?

5. How did the opening sequences set the tone of the film? the Panavision beauty of the West, the cowboys and their work, the values of the cowboy life? Was the cowboy life idealised in any way? (Later to be contrasted with the life of the town of Cheyenne?)

6. Did you like John? Did you like Harley? The impact of their journey - its length, the seasons, the landscapes? Harley’s incessant talk? how humorous? Its significance? The friendship and companionship between the two? What was the relationship between the two - how genuinely friendly?


7. How did the film prepare the audience for the nature or the social club? Did it give the audience an anticipation and eagerness to find out what was happening? The background of D.J. as a person?

8. How did the film show a confrontation of morals and reality? How well did the audience identify with John? In his discovery of what the Social Club was? How did the film then test moral attitudes? How did it test moral attitudes compared with the realities of human behaviour?

9. How was the audience meant to identify with John? Was it meant to identify with Harley? Or Jenny? Could audiences identify with each of them? Could this alter their attitude to the response to the film?

10. The film had overtones of bawdiness. Was it rude or not? Was the film made in good taste? Having James Stewart and Henry Fonda in a film with these themes?

11. Did the film present John’s dilemma convincingly? What was his dilemma? What solutions were possible?

12. How did the film present the girls at the social club? As human beings? as caricatures? As comic personalities? Their response to John? Their qualities? The presentation of their work? The place of the club in the town - any social comment?

13. The picture of the welcome in Cheyenne at the hotel? The impact of Cheyenne on John and Harley – compared with their cowboy life in Texas? What comment was made on American behaviour here?

14. Comment on the impact of John's decision for the girls? How did his attitude contrast with that of Harleys?
What was the reaction to John’s decision? Did you agree with his decision?

15. How well were the fights and the feuds in the town presented? Was this conventional western material or did it add to the significance of this film?

16. How is John presented as the typical American hero? The James Stewart character? The comic presentation of evils? (And the fact that Harley came back?)

17. How convincing was the picture of John doing the right thing in leaving the club to Jenny? Was this the right thing to do?

18. The significance of the ending with the cowboys returning to their work? What effect had the whole experience on John? The effect of Jenny's letter? What effect did the experience have upon Harley? And he and John having a tiff at the end?

19. Was this an enjoyable film? Why?