Set shortly after the Civil War two former Confederate soldiers, brothers Ben and Clint Allison ride into a town in Montana Territory hoping to make some money... they do this by kidnapping and robbing businessman Nathan Stark. While they are robbing him Stark makes a proposition... they can take the money and live the rest of their lives as hunted men or they can join him in a potentially very profitable venture; to drive 5000 head of cattle from Texas where they are cheap to Montana where hungry prospectors will pay top dollar for prime beef; they except his proposal and set off south. Along the way Ben rescues settler Nella Turner from a band of Sioux; it looks as if they will get close to each other but when he talks of his plans to live on a ranch in Texas she considers his dreams too small and they have a rapid falling out... she quickly appears to fall for Stark's charms, and wealth, though. Having got to San Antonio they purchase the herd and hire a group of Mexicans who have worked with Ben before to help on the drive. On the drive north they have to deal with people trying to force them to pay a 'tax' to enter Kansas, tensions between Ben and Nella and finally they must get through Sioux territory after the army warn them that the trail is closed.
The first thing I noticed was the spectacular scenery; it may have been filmed in Mexico rather than between Montana and Texas but it looked great; especially on the way south when they were riding through deep snow. The story was told at a fairly slow pace but that isn't a bad thing as it reflects the fact that the action takes place over a period of months; it also gives us time to get to know the characters before the action starts. Clark Gable is clearly the star of the film and he does a fine job as Sam Allison, Robert Ryan also puts in a solid performance as Stark and Jane Russell was good enough as Nella although at times it felt as though she was in a different, more light-hearted film! The action, when it came was impressive; especially when they ran the cattle through a canyon during the attack by the Sioux... at one point a wagon broke and it was crushed to nothing by the stampeding cattle in seconds! They were obviously pleased with some of the shots as I'm sure I saw the same Sioux and his horse come crashing down three times! There is a little twist at the end when they get to Montana but I won't spoil that here. Overall I'd say this is a pretty good western; definitely worth watching if you are a fan of the genre.
The first thing I noticed was the spectacular scenery; it may have been filmed in Mexico rather than between Montana and Texas but it looked great; especially on the way south when they were riding through deep snow. The story was told at a fairly slow pace but that isn't a bad thing as it reflects the fact that the action takes place over a period of months; it also gives us time to get to know the characters before the action starts. Clark Gable is clearly the star of the film and he does a fine job as Sam Allison, Robert Ryan also puts in a solid performance as Stark and Jane Russell was good enough as Nella although at times it felt as though she was in a different, more light-hearted film! The action, when it came was impressive; especially when they ran the cattle through a canyon during the attack by the Sioux... at one point a wagon broke and it was crushed to nothing by the stampeding cattle in seconds! They were obviously pleased with some of the shots as I'm sure I saw the same Sioux and his horse come crashing down three times! There is a little twist at the end when they get to Montana but I won't spoil that here. Overall I'd say this is a pretty good western; definitely worth watching if you are a fan of the genre.