If Will Rogers have lived, it is assured that he probably would have appeared in a Disney live-action film at some point because he has that Everyman quality that Disney loved. However, instead of Sr., we get Junior, and it's almost like watching the same person even though he doesn't get much of the witticisms that his father was well-known for. Two families deal with the issues of cattle rustling as they settle out west, and the wrestlers are certainly a dirty breed of vermin. The two-family matriarchs are as different as night and day, the gentle speaking Maureen O'Sullivan and the cackling Jeanette Nolan who seems to be doing a Marjorie Main impression. Every time she gets a line, you have to look around to see if a which is present even though she's quite a lovely mature woman, and you wonder why she had to tell her lines so oh, something she did in most of her TV and film appearances.
As for the younger actors, there's Rod McKuen, Judi Meredith and Troy Donahue oh, and they play their roles subtly, even if the film is more about the action and less about timely character development. Still, any film that deals with the settling of the west that is done in color will show off some gorgeous scenery, and this film has plenty of it. But for some reason in spite of its positive aspects, the film is very cliched and doesn't fully ring true. There is however a nice Hospitality shown by one of the families to the other when they are found camping on their land, rather than rushing them off as if they were bandits. It's unfortunate though with that very moment, the wrestlers are arranging to steal the cattle. Maybe not one of the great westerns of the 1950's, but a nice diversion that shows a gorgeous growing America.
As for the younger actors, there's Rod McKuen, Judi Meredith and Troy Donahue oh, and they play their roles subtly, even if the film is more about the action and less about timely character development. Still, any film that deals with the settling of the west that is done in color will show off some gorgeous scenery, and this film has plenty of it. But for some reason in spite of its positive aspects, the film is very cliched and doesn't fully ring true. There is however a nice Hospitality shown by one of the families to the other when they are found camping on their land, rather than rushing them off as if they were bandits. It's unfortunate though with that very moment, the wrestlers are arranging to steal the cattle. Maybe not one of the great westerns of the 1950's, but a nice diversion that shows a gorgeous growing America.