an extremely down to earth and well make and acted rodeo western . no gussied up star need here a all cast member be regular people tell a real life story about a rodeo hustler and his entourage in the 60 and 70 west . but hat off particularly to slim pickens for give what i think be his signature performance and especially give the fact that he have be a rodeo clown in real life . his role go far beyond the mere clown role a he deeply dealt with all the ups and down of the hard nosed rodeo life and the psychological devastation that so frequently surround such a life style . he and mr. coburn team up extremely well a partner and not only on the circuit itself and but also in the real world outside the corral . also and check out anne archer a coburn native american love interest in the latter part of the movie . must have be one of her first role . not a flashy and perhaps and a junior bonner and but equally heart rendering and impacting in it portrayal . thanks to the encore western channel for show this true grit of an under rat movie from time to time .