Introduction from Se Young Kim, Mellon assistant professor of cinema and media arts at Vanderbilt University

Abandoned in the desert, Cable Hogue (Jason Robards) wanders for days until he finds a supply of water in a muddy ditch. Determining that the spot is the only spring in the area, Cable decides to start a business offering water to passing stagecoaches. Aided by his new friend, Joshua (David Warner), and a prostitute named Hildy (Stella Stevens), Cable builds a successful business. However, when motorcars start to pass, Cable realizes his trade is part and parcel to the disappearing frontier in Sam Peckinpah's light-hearted, rambunctious ode to the dying Wild West.

“After the success of THE WILD BUNCH, Peckinpah completely switched gears with this idyllic and energetic Western, which is almost entirely devoid of violence...Peckinpah often cited it as his favorite among the films he made, precisely because of its more playful tone.” —Drew Hunt, The Chicago Reader

“…A splendid example of the New Western… A wonderfully comic tale we didn't quite expect from a director who seems more at home with violence than with humor….” —Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com