Cattle Drive

Although the CONNECTIONS link on IMDb does not say it, this is clearly a remake of "Captains Courageous"--the famous Spencer Tracy/Freddie Bartholomew film of the late 1930s. Now, Dean Stockwell plays the bratty rich kid and Joel McCrea takes Tracy's role as a friend and nursemaid (of sorts) to this kid. But, instead of being set at sea, this film is in the Old West--on the prairie. Instead of a fishing boat, the boy is taken on a cattle drive. When the brat is lost on a cross-country railroad trip, he is picked up by a group of cowboys. One takes the boy under his wing and shows him responsibility and kindness--things the boy truly needed to learn for himself. Because the basic story was so nice, this new film couldn't help but work as well--which it did, thanks to some excellent performances by Stockwell, McCrea and Chill Wills. Well worth watching--and nearly as entertaining as the original. This film's one advantage over the earlier film is McCrea's simple performance. Although Spencer Tracy won the Oscar for his performance, to me it was a bit broad in style.

By the way, the ending of "Cattle Drive" is very, very, very different from "Captains Courageous"--very!

I was about 11 years old when my parents took me to the Fox Theater in Inglewood, California to see this film. It just so happened that Dean Stockwell was appearing in person before the film and was answering questions from the audience. He was very shy and an adult male did most of the answering. I remember loving this film - perhaps because the star was present - as a western adventure involving a big locomotive. I remember the relationship between the father, looking for the boy, and the son as being more realistic than I had seen in films. By this age I was a veteran film-goer, seeing my first film, a Walt Disney film, at age of six. I gotta get a copy of this film to re-live it.

Attractive Western with only a couple of shots , emotion and no blood-letting .Entertaining Western that seems to be a peculiar version to classic Captains Courageous by Víctor Fleming with Spencer Tracy . Concerns a lost boy : Dean Stockwell who missed himself at desert from the train of his father : Leon Ames . Then, a cowboy : Joel McCrea , meets the spoiled kid and he teaches him about cattle driving and to track down wild horses . Both of whom attempt to chase and tame a brave Mustang .The Story of the Grat Santa Fé Stampede¡

Nice and film with thrills , cattle drive and stimulating outdoors. Plenty of esplendor and animal fury , but no shootouts , only cattle drive and usual stampedes .This is a kind of alfresco charming tale , a refreshingly different movie , paying tribute to Joel McCrea and Víctor Fleming's Captains courageous .Here shows up a lot of wildlife with impressive Mustangs running across countries and mountains . These scenes about horses were later reused for other movies as Black Horse Canyon 1954 , this Cattle Drive and Fury series .

The picture was well starred by Joel McCrea as the expert cowboy , a world-wise person and wanna-be rancher . McCrea was a B actor , though he ocassionally played A films as Sullivan's Travels , The Most Dangerous Game , and Sam Peckinpah's Ride in High Sierra . Joel performed a lot of Westerns , as his interpretations are ideally suited for this genre , such as : Union Pacific , Buffalo Bill , The Virginian , Ramrod , South of Saint Louis , Four faces of the West , The Oklahoman . He is well accompanied by the always sympathetic and incombustible Chill Wills , Leon Ames as the wealthy railroad owner , Howard Petrie , Bob Steele , Harry Carey Jr , and the usually baddie Henry Brandon . And , of course , the prodigy child Dean Stockwell to follow a very long career as cinema as TV . The flick packs a luxurious , brilliant cinematography by Maury Gertsman and was well directed by Kurt Newman . Rating :6.5/10 . Worthwhile Watching .

Solid script, good plot, strong performances - especially from the young Dean Stockwell - and superb scenery make for a very entertaining film. Nothing gimmicky in technique but solid and professional with a decent pace. Story has an excellent moral being the taming of a spoilt Eastern kid by a gang of experienced cowboys on a cattle drive. It is, however, not a typical kid's picture - it has a wide appeal and works for adults as well as children. Reviewed January 2001 on a very rare appearance on British television.

This pleasant ,juvenile Western is a retread of the theme of the classic movie -and Kipling novel upon which it is based-Captains Courageous in that it deals with the education in life of a spoiled rich kid who is taken out of his comfort zone and forced to adjust to new situations and people Chester Graham Junior (a winning performance from Dean Stockwell)is the boy in question .He is left alone in the desert by mischance and can only get back to civilisation by joining a cattle drive bossed by the tough but fair Dan Matthews (the always excellent Joel Macrea).Chester is a fish out of water and struggles to adjust, making his dislike of the situation and his new colleagues all too plain until he sees the error of his ways learning lessons of the trail and life itself from his new boss and grizzled veterans played by genre luminaries Chill Wills and Bob Steele.There is one delightful touch when Macrea pulls out a picture of the woman waiting for him at end of trail -it shows his wife in real life ,Francis Dee, with whom he made a number of Westerns

Kurt Neumann,not a name usually linked with the genre, directs admirably and the colour photography by Maury Gertsman ,of Death Valley where the movie was shot is superb .Indeed the choice of ;ocation adds immeasurably to the impact of the movie as it is relatively little used in Westerns

This is not the only trail drive Western to draw its inspiration from a movie in another style -Red River being essentially a variation on Mutiny on the Bounty .This is not in the class of that magnificent movie but it is enjoyable and worth watching