Cockfighter (Monte Hellman)

• 14 Sep 18:14
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Cockfighter (also known as Born to Kill) is a 1974 film by director Monte Hellman, starring Warren Oates, Harry Dean Stanton and featuring Laurie Bird and Ed Begley, Jr. The screenplay is based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford. The film has been banned in the United Kingdom because of animal cruelty issues, as the fights shown were actually staged for the filming.

The plot begins in medias res with a mute Frank Mansfield (played by Warren Oates) locked inside a trailer preparing his best cock for an upcoming fight. He slices the chicken's beak slightly so that it looks cracked in order to increase the betting against him in the upcoming fight. He bets his trailer, girlfriend, and the remainder of his money with fellow cocker Jack (played by Harry Dean Stanton). Mansfield loses the fight (ironically because of the cracked beak), almost all of his belongings, and is set on a rambling path to win the Cockfighter of the Year award.

Frank visits his home town, his family farm, and his long-time fiancée Mary Elizabeth (played by Patricia Pearcy). Mary Elizabeth has long grown tired of Mansfield's cockfighter ways and asks him to settle down with her. Frank decides in...

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