To be fair, as a TV movie, this is barely passable entertainment. Beyond that, everything is a stretch. There is no discounting that this is a (kinda) remake of the 1948 classic, starring John Wayne. Unfortunately, while the original was over 2 hours long, this had to be cut down to fit in a two hour TV movie time slot, and to get commercials in. As such, over 30 minutes of the movie was just cut out. Further, unrelated subplots involving an ex-slave and a teen-aged boy take about 10 more minutes away from the story. Imagine if one of your favorite movies, say Casablanca or The Matrix, was remade missing 45 minutes of the story. Gives me shivers.
The original was directed by Howard Hawks, who also gave us Sergeant York, The Big Sleep, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, among others. This film is directed by Richard Michaels, whose biggest claim to fame seems to be directing a batch of Bewitched and Brady Bunch episodes. Further, as a TV movie, this was very tightly budgeted, and it shows in horrible ways. For instance, the herd of cattle they are driving is supposed to be 10,000 strong, but they apparently could only afford a couple dozen cows. How did they deal with this? By inserting stock footage from other westerns, including some grainy shots, apparently from the 1950's, that stand out like a fat lip.
Add to this that it stars James Arness, who at this point was only making Gunsmoke TV movies. John Wayne was 41 when he made his version. James Arness was 65, which is WAY too old for the character.
I could go on, but you get the point. If you haven't seen the original, you might be able to enjoy this. If you have seen the original, then no, you won't like it any better than I did.
The original was directed by Howard Hawks, who also gave us Sergeant York, The Big Sleep, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, among others. This film is directed by Richard Michaels, whose biggest claim to fame seems to be directing a batch of Bewitched and Brady Bunch episodes. Further, as a TV movie, this was very tightly budgeted, and it shows in horrible ways. For instance, the herd of cattle they are driving is supposed to be 10,000 strong, but they apparently could only afford a couple dozen cows. How did they deal with this? By inserting stock footage from other westerns, including some grainy shots, apparently from the 1950's, that stand out like a fat lip.
Add to this that it stars James Arness, who at this point was only making Gunsmoke TV movies. John Wayne was 41 when he made his version. James Arness was 65, which is WAY too old for the character.
I could go on, but you get the point. If you haven't seen the original, you might be able to enjoy this. If you have seen the original, then no, you won't like it any better than I did.