The Sheepman (1958)

A brash stranger and his sheep arrive in a small town, but not soon after, the townspeople decide they've seen enough of him.

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

William Bowers (screenplay), James Edward Grant (screenplay)

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Shirley MacLaine, Leslie Nielsen

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Glenn Ford	...	Jason Sweet
Shirley MacLaine	...	Dell Payton
Leslie Nielsen	...	Col. Stephen Bedford
Mickey Shaughnessy	...	Jumbo McCall
Edgar Buchanan	...	Milt Masters
Willis Bouchey	...	Frank Payton
Pernell Roberts	...	Chocktaw Neal
Slim Pickens	...	Marshal
Robert 'Buzz' Henry	...	Red (as Buzz Henry)
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez	...	Angelo

Storyline

A stranger in a Western cattle-town behaves with remarkable self-assurance, establishing himself as a man to be reckoned with. The reason appears with his stock: a herd of sheep, which he intends to graze on the range. The horrified inhabitants decide to run him out at all costs.

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Plot Keywords:

alias | dog | sheep | firecracker | hired killer | 

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Taglines:

They called him the STRANGER WITH A GUN...

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 May 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stranger with a Gun

Filming Locations:

Montrose, Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,283,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,535,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,735,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Australia "THE SHEEPMAN" was named as one of "THE ten films of 1958" by "The Australian Women's Weekly" published on Wednesday 31st December 1958 on Page 52.

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Goofs

When Chocktaw confronts Jason he fires seven shots from his six-shooter before stopping to reload.

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Quotes

Milt Masters: [after he has been run out of town and put in a train box car] How they should do this to one of their own home town boys. I was practically a pioneer in that town. Wasn't three hundred people there when I first came there.
Angelo: How many now?
Milt Masters: I don't see what that's got to do with it stranger. Figures don't mean nothing when you're talking about pioneers. It's the spirit that counts.

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Connections

Referenced in Come Fly with Me (1963)

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Soundtracks

Some Folks
(uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
Sung at the party when Sweet is taken to visit the colonel

User Reviews

Glenn Ford is on the lamb with Shir

This is one of the 1950's best westerns in the Destry Rides Again mode of tongue-in-cheek westerns and foreshadows Support Your Local Sheriff by a decade. It's ideally cast and is certainly one of Glenn Ford's finest roles. He and Shirley MacLaine have marvelous chemistry. Familiar faces Edgar Buchanan, Mickey Shaughnessy,Willis Bouchey,Percy Helton,and Slim Pickins are around to give it the proper old western flavor and Leslie Nielsen is slickly handsome as Ford's rival for Shirley's affections. Pernell Roberts is an effectively slimy villain. Director George Marshall was an old hand at combining comedy with action and The Sheepman is one of his best efforts. The screenplay by James Edward Grant and William Bowers was nominated for an Academy Award.

The Sheepman still holds up well today and will appeal to anyone who is a fan of western's,comedies,or just plain entertaining movies. It's good, clean, old fashioned fun and a prime example of one of those kind of films"that they just don't make anymore!" More's the pity