'Rancho Deluxe' film recalled: 40 year anniversary arrives for Livingston western

A "Rancho Deluxe" party poster hangs by the registration desk at the Murray Hotel. At left is actor Sam Waterston, at right Jeff Bridges.

STARS SHINE BRIGHTLY FOUR DECADES LATER; LIVINGSTON PLANS A PARTY TO CELEBRATE 

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

LONG AGO, when I was a young reporter, a movie parody of a western made a name for itself.

Although 'Rancho Deluxe' film was not greeted by critics as a great film, its made-in-Montana stamp, Jimmy Buffet score, engaging story and talented cast created a lasting appeal. Today, "Rancho Deluxe" is beloved by many.

A roster of Montana-loving folks created the 1975 film:

Thomas McGuane crafted the screenplay.  The gifted novelist and short-story writer lives on a ranch near McLeod and writes for The New Yorker.  His evocative characters and landscapes are drawn from the Montana he has known for decades.

ACTOR JEFF BRIDGES, who lives a good portion of the year on his Paradise Valley place, donates time and money to worthy Montana causes, including a fight against child hunger.

Jeff Bridges skips around with kids, whose health and well being he champions when he is in Montana, enjoying his home in Paradise Valley.

Bridges and Sam Waterston portray the two drifters who rustle cattle and try to outrun the law in then contemporary Montana. Both of these versatile actors have gone on to success and accolades.   Bridges, known as both a devoted family man and talented actor, had been nominated for a best-supporting Oscar in 1972 for "The Last Picture Show."  Five years ago, he won the coveted best actor trophy for "Crazy Heart."

WATERSTON HAS enjoyed success in film, TV and on Broadway, winning a Tony for "Abe Lincoln in Illinois." His career includes a lauded Lincoln mini-series, Golden Globe nominations and fame for his "Law and Order" role.

The Murray Hotel will be full of movie lovers later this week, when an outdoor screening is held across the street for "Rancho Deluxe." 

LEGENDARY singer-composer Jimmy Buffett has maintained long ties to Montana, dating back to the 1970s when he wrote the music for "Rancho Deluxe."  He performed "Livingston Saturday Night" with alternate lyrics within the film in a scene set at a country/western bar reminiscent of those in downtown Livingston.

Local Livingston residents remember the movie premier and the filming, which took place largely in Montana, supplying me with some of my first "star" interviews as a young reporter.

Waterston is known on TV for his "Law and Order" and Abe Lincoln mini-series.  But I enjoy him more in Shakespeare in the Parks, where this summer his wisdom and wit as the marooned sorcerer Prospero in "The Tempest" won raves.  Like many of today's fine actors, he came up through the stage and is returning to it in his older years. (He is 74; Bridges is a younger 65.)

AS THE THIEVES steal cattle from wealthy rancher John Brown, Harry Beigh is called in (Slim Pickens.) Clifton James is a hoot as the rancher -- the actor is alive and well at 94.  Watching him and Pickens go after the two young rustlers is chief among the movie's pleasures.  The bombastic Brown and Beigh (a former rustler) provide a merry kick in the pants. Enter hapless ranch hands with rhyming names of Burt and Curt: Harry Dean Stanton and Richard Bright furnish giggles as they fail to capture the thieves.

 Pickens died in 1983, famous for riding the bomb in "Dr. Strangelove." A rodeo cowboy for 20 years, he's the "real deal" and his is is the most authentic character in the picture, aging detective Harry Beige hired to find the rustlers. Pickens garnered the best reviews of anyone in the film.. All four supporting players garnered fine reviews for "Rancho Deluxe."

 One critic said McGuane wrote the script "purely out of a desire to keep from fallin’ asleep” (mimicking rustler Jack’s definition of capitalism) but our group of movie aficionados found the writing engaging and the characters and their shenanigans entertaining. Best of all, we loved seeing Montana on screen.

The 'Rancho Deluxe' film footage of Paradise Valley includes a scene at Chico Hot Springs, and another when the helicopter spots the rustlers. We marveled at the film's lovely lighting by William Fraker and we tapped our toes to the Jimmy Buffet score -- written before he gained Margaritaville fame and a following of Parrotheads.

 Downtown Livingston is there, too, and it's fun to see the familiar Depot, restaurants and Murray Hotel, which have aged as well as the actors.

Elizabeth Ashley has appeared on Broadway and is known for her portrayal of sultry Tennessee Williams women.

AN ELDERLY MAID at the Murray Hotel a couple days ago recalled cast and crew staying at the Murray, partying in the fourth-floor outdoor jacuzzi (long since gone) and drinking and trading movie stories while soaking.

Elizabeth Ashley, known for her moving interpretations of Tennessee Williams' southern belles, played the part of Cora Brown, married to a wealthy ranch owner. Actor Clifton James, who played the wealthy rancher married to Ashley, is still alive at 94 and living in Spokane.

Here is Elizabeth Ashley during the filming of  "Rancho Deluxe" in 1975.

The film's director Frank Perry, who died 20 years ago, was also known for "Mommie Dearest," "Diary of a Mad Housewife" and "David and Lisa." When he found he was dying of prostate cancer, he filmed his own story,  which was an international success. He, too, loved Montana and returned to vacation several times.