Susan Bracken takes a camping trip to the Canadian Rockies with her father, George Barrows. There, she and handsome rancher Tab Hunter capture a mustang called Hacksaw. Hacksaw in unridable, but otherwise pretty calm, so he is trained as a packhorse and, eventually for the Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon Race.
Director and co-writer Larry Lansbugh demonstrates his usual mix of strengths and weaknesses. He's got a great eye for scenery and animals in motion, but his dialogue direction is weak. While the more skilled actors -- including narrator Ray Teal -- do well with their lines, some of the minor players sound very stilted.
The print that I viewed on TCM last night showed some artifacts from its origins, including some distortion from its original TV showing -- the 550-line scan is evident in several shots. On the other hand, the color is brilliantly saturated, showing what wonders Technicolor could provide, even as other producers abandoned it for the cheaper and less stable chemical processes.
