Mustang Country

This has been described as a Western but I tend to disagree feeling it has more of an affinity with the "wilderness"movies and TV series that were being made around the same time ,such as Adventures of the Wilderness Family and Grizzly Adams.It is a simple tale of an ex-rodeo star turned rancher (Joel McCrea)who ,joined by a young native American boy (Nika Mina)sets out to capture the last wild mustang in Montana ,during the 1920's .There are only two other roles -a brief one scene appearance from Robert Fuller (ex of the Laramie TV show)and Patrick Wayne.

The movie is pleasant but inconsequential offering little drama or character interaction but beguiling the eye with some attractive scenery and I suspect its main appeal will be to those seeking undisturbing family entertainment . It was to be Joel McCrea's last movie and he brought to it his usual rock solid professionalism The movie uses clips from earlier McCrea movies to illustrate the psst life of his character in this movie ..It would have been more fitting if he had ended his career with what turned out to be his penultimate movie Ride the High Country -that wonderfully elegy and tribute to a passing breed of men .As it was he left with this movie -pleasant ,untroubling but a bit too soft focused to be really aimed at adults

Its nice and its amiable -nothing more.

Joel McCrea came out of retirement to do this, and one can only wonder why. It seems likely it was either the chance to spend a lot of time on horseback in astonishing mountain countryside (which one would imagine he'd done plenty of times before this), or he was too nice to turn down a friend. The story is basic and unadorned by nuance or insight. Old cowboy wants wild mustang. Orphaned kid with spunk helps him. Adventures follow. There's no conflict in the story beyond whether the pair will capture the horse. The only two other actors in the movie are nice guys who disappear after one scene. And of the two main actors, Joel McCrea is the only one who can act. (He's not given anything remotely complex to act, though.) The kid is out-acted by McCrea's dog. In fact, the kid is out-acted by McCrea's hat. But it's wonderful to see McCrea in his twilight years, still a consummate pro, still a splendid rider, still a movie star. And the scenery is worth four of the five points I voted the movie.

A 70-year-old Joel McCrea emerged from retirement to make one last film - a simple unpretentious western about a hunt for a lone black stallion on the Montana-Alberta border in 1925. Ironically, McCrea was in Hollywood just two years after the setting of this film starting out in a series of uncredited modern dress roles. But I digress.

This is largely a two character movie, with McCrea accompanied for the majority of the film by young Nika Mina as a runaway Indian boy who, after he discovers that his grandfather has died, gets McCrea to agree, after numerous failures, to help him capture a stallion. There's a reward for the horse which the boy wants for his family. The story will also involve Three Toe, a grizzly who wiped out all the sheep on McCrea's ranch and who, of course, will emerge from the woods to cause trouble again.

Filmed on location in Banff National Park the scenery, needless to say, is breath takingly gorgeous, from the first shot in this film to the last. Those who love the sight of mountains and forests, lakes and streams, will have nothing to complain about in regard to that aspect of the film. There are also a lot of cutaway shots of animals, at times giving the film a bit of a Disney feel, but it's not too much of a distraction from the main story.

In his only film appearance Nika Mann is clearly limited as an actor but even though he's a bit stiff as a performer, he's a likable kid companion. McCrea, even in his grey haired senior years, still looks mighty convincing riding a horse, and there's a comfortable screen presence about him, as well as a direct honesty in his delivery of dialogue that makes his final screen performance an appealing one.

By the way, aside from the Indian boy, McCrea's other two companions throughout most of the film will be his horse, Rosie, and a remarkably bright dog, Luke, who will play a role in saving both McCrea and the Indian boy from wilderness tragedies.

Briefly appearing at the beginning of the film are Robert Fuller and Patrick Wayne as a couple of cowboys who try in vain to capture the stallion. While the film seems designed to appeal to kids, adults should also enjoy it for the scenery and McCrea's seasoned performance.

A family Western set in 1925, Montana, Canada border, about a veteran cowboy : Joel McCrea's final movie at his 69 year-old , and an Indian little boy : teen Mina, dealing with their relationships and the hunt for a valuable horse. Along the way they confront a feared Grizzly Bear that is causing wreak havoc.

Nice film regarding a family story with Joel McCrea as a rancher comes out of retirement and teams up with an Indian boy, and then both of whom attemping to tame a brave mustang. Here is shown Wilderness Splendor and animal fury . Here appears a lot of wildlife such as dangerous rattlesnake , wolves , Coyote , American Buffalo , Coonskin, Puma , the wild Mustang and a bloody Grizzly Bear . Forteen years on from Sam Peckinpah's Ride in High Sierra, aging Joel Crea's goes back , as he came out of retirement to play a likeable and upright starring in his last film. Pleasant to watch the old cowboy up and about, but there's little to it. 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, such as : Union Pacific , Buffalo Bill, The Virginian , Ramrod , South of Saint Luis , Four Faces West , The Oklahoman . MacCrea is well acompanied by a sympathetic kid, Nika Mina, and as guest stars in brief appearances : Patrick Wayne, John Wayne's son, and Robert Fuller who at the time played several Westerns.

It contains colorful and briliant cinematography by Barry Heron. Showing spectacular and breathtaking landscapes shot on location in Banff National Park, Canada. The motion picture was well produced and directed by John Champion at his only one . Champion produced various Westerns as Texas Kid , Shotgun , Hellgate, Stampede and Laramie series and Warfare movies as Submarine X-I , Attack on the Iron Coast , Zero hour, Dragofly squadron . Rating 6/10. Decent adventure western in Walt Disney style that will appeal both, children and adults

My daughter loves horses and is 6 years old. She and I watched this movie and were delighted the entire time. This is one of the very few G rated movies that is actually made in such a way that no parts were too intense for a young child. The scenery was lovely. The nature scenes were wonderful. The dialogue was simple, but very real, and laced with kindness that is rare these days. I loved the subtle wisdom of Dan, and the way the boy was refreshed by his influence. An overall winner in my book. One funny detail was that a pure-bred rottweiler dog was in the film, and when the owner was asked what kind of dog it was, he replied, "You name it, he's got it!"