Black Horse Canyon

Black Horse Canyon is directed by Jesse Hibbs and adapted to screenplay by Geoffrey Homes and David Lang from the novel The Wild Horse written by Les Savage Junior. It stars Joel McCrea, Mari Blanchard, Race Gentry and Murvyn Vye. Music is by Joseph Gershenson and cinematography by George Robinson.

Although the print of the film I saw was sadly old and scratchy, this is a lovely photographed Western out of Bloomquist Ranch, Douglas, Arizona. A place, it seems, that bizarrely wasn't used in any other Oaters. This along with the magnificent horse at the centre of the plot, makes this a comfortable recommendation for the B Western fan. Story is pretty mundane stuff, a group of people with different motives attempt to capture the wild black stallion for stud purposes. This ensures that we are exclusively out in the open landscapes and privy to much chasing, lassoing, bucking and snorting. There's a bubbling under the surface love triangle, which we know how it's going to end up, and a good fist-fight crowns the proceedings. Gentry and Blanchard are weak, while Vye's villain is barely realised, but McCrea turns in yet another solid and knowing performance. All the cast, you sense, understand that Outlaw the horse is the star of the show. And rightly so. 6.5/10

A mundane and simple Western with gorgeous outdoors and paying tribute to Joel McCrea . The story of a wild black stallion and various people attempting to capture the excellent horse . As two cowboys and a wonderful woman set out to capture him . Concerning a veteran cowboy "Rock" Rockwell : the always laconic and top-notch Joel McCrea, aided of his adopted-son , the 20-year-old Til , Race Gentry, who help hot-headed neighboring ranch girl , the fiery Mari Blanchard . Dealing with their relationships and the hunt for a valuable horse and ending up in a triangular romance . Along the way they confront a pair of gunfighters bringing some conflict to the proceedings and causing wreak havoc.

Enjoyable , agreeable minor Western with only a couple of shots , emotion , thrills and no blood-letting . Nice film regarding a family story with Joel McCrea as a world-wise drifter and wannabe rancher comes out of drifting and teams up with a rancher , and then both of whom attemping to tame a brave mustang. Here is shown Wilderness with a magnificent stallion that runs and runs along the gleaming landscapes . Plenty of splendor and animal fury , but not so much Western , this is a kind of alfresco attractive tale , a refreshingly different movie . Here appears a lot of wildlife , as Universal later reused footage of the horse Highland Dale in Black Horse Canyon 1954 , Cattle Drive 1951 and Fury series . A few years before Sam Peckinpah's Ride in High Sierra, aging Joel McCrea stars one of his later roles , as he came out of a partial retirement to play a likeable and upright starring as a two-fisted West hero . Pleasant to watch the old cowboy up and about , here he is a man wise to the nature of women and horses , attempting to establish a homestead. MacCrea was a B-actor , though ocassionally he played A films as Sullivan's travels and The Dangerous game . Joel perfomed a lot of Westerns, as his interpretations are ideally suited for the take-it-easy and laid-back nature attitude , such as : Union Pacific , Buffalo Bill, The Virginian , Ramrod , South of Saint Luis , Four Faces West , The Oklahoman . MacCrea is well accompanied by a sympathetic and young pal , Race Gentry . And of course , the laughing and likeable Mari Blanchard who was never better . And other secondaries as Irving Bacon , John Pickard ; furthermore , Murvyn Vye and Bill Williams scowl effectively the nasty gunslingers .

It contains colorful and briliant cinematography by George Robinson. Showing spectacular and breathtaking landscapes shot on location in Bloomquist Ranch, Douglas, Guadalupe Canyon,Pirtleville, McNeal, Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge, Baker Canyon,Arizona . As well as evocative amd moving musical score by Universal's regular : William Lava , Henry Mancini , Hans J. Salter , Frank Skinner , Herman Stein , though all of them uncredited . This B-title motion picture was well produced by Universal Pictures and professionally directed by Jesse Hibbs who carries out a more of a character study of three people than it is a routine western and some pedestrian scenes . It was a limited box-office for Universal Pictures , but nowadays , being considered a very decent movie . Hibbs was an American director of second features , primarily westerns , at Universal in the 1950's . Being especially known for TV series as ¨Perry Mason¨ (1957) , ¨Gunsmoke¨ , ¨Laramie¨ and ¨F.B.I.¨ (1965) as well as Westerns and Thrillers . He directed various Audie Murphy vehicles such as : this ¨To hell and Back¨ (1955) , ¨World in My Corner¨ (1956) , ¨Ride a Crooked Trail¨ (1958) and ¨Medal of Honor¨ . Rating 7/10. Entertaining adventure western in familar style that will appeal both, children and adults.

This screenplay was designed, performed, filmed, and sold for all those theaters standing in the sunny June afternoon on shady town squares.

Little groups of junior high kids out on summer vacation, meet at the swimming pool to leap off the high dive after lunch then stroll to the movies all together, hair still dripping, shouting and teasing and throwing rocks and barely touching hands and blushing furiously amid the great gusts of summertime laughter. Their world was an Impressionist painting, every thing around them more unfocused and more trivial the further it was from a lover's face. Then into the lobby, where two tickets and two soda pops and a giant box of popcorn was a dollar which was a big percentage of a week's income earned from a paper route, but what was money for? And then into the relief of the cool darkness after the brilliant, hot outdoors and finally the frantic fear of touching hands again, terrified of rejection and even more afraid of a shy, thrilling acceptance.

This was the audience and Black Horse Canyon was the perfect movie, a simple tale of wild horses, haylofts and corrals, riding and saddles and hackamores... everything more unfocused and more trivial the further it was from a lover's face... McCrea the consummate, laconic cowboy and Blanchard the beautiful lady who needs a little protection from dastardly rustlers - but not very much because she really can handle most things herself.

"Black Horse Canyon" is an Impressionist's vignette, an American Dream, about hard work, and fighting the good fight, and about falling in love on sunny June afternoons.

Whereas I know very little about Director Jesse Hibbs - TO HELL AND BACK is the only other film he directed that I recall watching - I have always liked Joel McCrea, one of the most unassuming actors I have ever had the privilege to see on the silver screen.

In line with most of his performing output, McCrea does not deliver a memorable performance as he helps Mari Blanchard find and break a tough black horse that manages to free other equestrian creatures from their pens, and is anything but welcoming of humans and of being saddled and mounted.

Blanchard does not stand out in any way, Race Gentry is quite engaging as Ti, the young man in love with her. Good time passer 7/10.

Although not one of his better known films I'm sure that Black Horse Canyon must have been a film near and dear to Joel McCrea's heart. In real life McCrea had eschewed Hollywood even though he was one of the few film stars actually born there. McCrea lived on a working ranch and in his spare time was a working cowboy. Nothing phony about this man in his westerns. I've no doubt he broke horses there as long as age permitted.

McCrea and his young partner Race Gentry are after a wild black stallion who keeps driving off their stock to increase his herd. Among horses he's Rob Lowe in his Brat Pack days and the mares just line up for him. But Mari Blanchard of the neighboring ranch wants him too and she's got more of a right. She owned him and everyone knows it way back when the horse was a colt and went wild.

Still another party is Murvyn Vye who owns another ranch and he either wants to tame him or kill him. He's a mean guy as only Murvyn Vye can be mean.

Besides capturing the stallion there's a rivalry of sorts for Blanchard between McCrea and his young partner. Of course it all works out in the end.

Nice color outdoor cinematography and a real western feel characterize Black Horse Canyon. Joel McCrea's will appreciate it as no doubt McCrea did back in the day.