Verdict
Summary
A youth-centric, but hard-edged western that bears a “PG” rating when that rating actually held some weight, Jory has a good performance by new star Benson (who was 14 at the time this was filmed), and solid supporting performances as well. Shot in Mexico, the film has a sad, desolate feeling that affects the emotions, and while it was based on a novel, the film works well on its own and still resonates. Directed by Jorge Fons.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray for Jory comes in a nice, high definition transfer, and there’s a new on-camera interview (about 23 minutes long) with star Benson, who reflects back on the making of the film.
Plot:
An orphaned teen becomes a cattle driver to escape punishment for killing the man who killed his father.
Review:
15 year-old Jory (Robbie Benson in his first film) and his humble lawyer father show up in a dead-end town, hoping to make a fresh start, but after only a night in town, Jory’s dad is stabbed to death in a saloon by a thug who was insulated by his intelligence. Left an orphan with nowhere to go, Jory impulsively kills his father’s killer and will be in big trouble if he doesn’t find a way to leave town, and fast. As fate would have it, a horse drive is making its way through the town, and one of the cattle drivers – a showoff named Jocko (folk singer B.J. Thomas) – takes a shine to him and offers to take him under his wing on the cattle drive, much to the drive master’s, an old-timer named Roy (John Marley), frustration. Along the trail, Jory learns to handle a six-shooter really well, thanks to Jocko’s instruction, but fate intervenes again in Jory’s life, when Jocko is shockingly killed while trying to show off at another saloon. Jory, retaliating again, kills Jocko’s killer, proving that he’s not just “some kid,” but a kid to be reckoned with. Back on the trail, Roy becomes like a father to him, instructing him to not use guns but instead his wits, and when they deliver the horses to Texas, Jory finds a possible home in the ranch where Roy has a wife, and Jory meets a young beauty named Amy (Linda Purl), who crushes on him real hard, but fate intervenes again in Jory’s life when he must decide on how to proceed with his future after he realizes that law school is the path he wants to go, rather than ranching.
A youth-centric, but hard-edged western that bears a “PG” rating when that rating actually held some weight, Jory has a good performance by new star Benson (who was 14 at the time this was filmed), and solid supporting performances as well. Shot in Mexico, the film has a sad, desolate feeling that affects the emotions, and while it was based on a novel, the film works well on its own and still resonates. Directed by Jorge Fons.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray for Jory comes in a nice, high definition transfer, and there’s a new on-camera interview (about 23 minutes long) with star Benson, who reflects back on the making of the film.
