Hearts of the West

Hearts of the West
Directed by	Howard Zieff
Produced by	Tony Bill
Written by	Rob Thompson
Starring	Jeff Bridges Andy Griffith Donald Pleasence Blythe Danner Alan Arkin
Music by	Ken Lauber
Cinematography	Mario Tosi
Editing by	Edward Warschilka
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	October 8, 1975
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Hearts of the West is a 1975 comedy film directed by Howard Zieff, and starring Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Blythe Danner, and Alan Arkin. The story revolves around a wannabe 1930s writer who finds himself cast as a leading man in several B-movie westerns.

It also includes an early supporting role by Fred Ward.

Screenwriter Rob Thompson launched his career with this film. He went on to be a major creative talent on two wonderfully quirky television series: Northern Exposure (for which he won an Emmy) and Monk.

Plot summary

Lewis Tater (Jeff Bridges), a 1930s-era aspiring novelist who harbors dreams of becoming the next Zane Grey, happens upon a threadbare film-unit grinding out "B" westerns. He is given a job by unit manager Kessler (Alan Arkin), then falls in love with spunky script girl Miss Trout (Blythe Danner).

Cast

• Jeff Bridges as Lewis Tater aka Neddy Wales
• Andy Griffith as Howard Pike aka Billy Pueblo
• Donald Pleasence as A.J. Neitz
• Blythe Danner as Miss Trout
• Alan Arkin as Bert Kessler
• Richard B. Shull as Stout Crook
• Herb Edelman as Polo (as Herbert Edelman)
• Alex Rocco as Earl
• Frank Cady as Pa Tater
• Anthony James as Lean Crook
• Burton Gilliam as Lester
• Matt Clark as Jackson
• Candice Azzara as Waitress (as Candy Azzara)
• Thayer David as Bank Manager
• Wayne Storm as Lyle

External links

• Hearts of the West at the Internet Movie Database
• Hearts of the West at AllRovi
• Hearts of the West at the TCM Movie Database