Stallion Road

This movie has only been on for 22 minutes and I love it already. No sex, no drugs, no violence, no four-letter words. What more could you ask for when you have Ronald Reagan as a veterinarian and Zachary Scott as a writer! A western right after WWII and even tho in black and white it is a must see. I don't really care who gets Alexis Smith, they both deserve her but I am betting on Reagan.

This was one of Ronald Reagan's favorite films. He happened to love horses, the only thing that would have made him happier is to have been a western star in films. So for being a dutiful employee at Warner Brothers, Jack Warner gave him this soap opera that takes place among the horsey set in Southern California.

The story is told in flashback by novelist Zachary Scott who's dropped in on pal Ronald Reagan who's a veterinarian and show horse owner. Both these guys make the acquaintance of Alexis Smith and her little sister Patti Brady who are also show horse owners.

Doc Reagan has to deal with all kinds of animal and human problems including a climatic anthrax epidemic. He's also got divorcée Peggy Knudsen hankering after him also. She's got the meatiest role in the film, a real Alexis Carrington style tramp. This thing should have launched her on a big career.

Another film that would have been the basis of a great television soap opera.

Alexis Smith does, and we know from the start she will end up with him. Famous author Zachary Scott does, and we know from the beginning he will leave this bucolic area and go back to the city where he belongs. Peggy Knudsen does but she is a rich tramp and she will, we know, end up with maybe her money but nothing else.

Ronald Reagan is adequate as the vet. The others are all right. Scoot is a little more sympathetic than he was in some other movies of that time. Smith turned in this same performance many times, though that's what was known as typecasting. It wasn't her fault. She redeemed herself over two decades later on Broadway, in "Follies." People who are upset by such things -- people like me -- be advised: a horse dies. It's integral to the plot, though not milked for pathos. However, it is sad.

The movie, with what seems to be an A cast, is very slender and unengaging..

I really enjoyed this movie. I think that I enjoyed it because the story is a little different. It is about a bachelor Veterinarian who owns a horse ranch. He is visited by an old friend who is a famous author. The story is mainly a view into the Vet's life through the eyes of his author friend. It is also complicated by the fact that they are both attracted to a single woman who lives on a ranch nearby. Then, they all have to focus on fighting a disease which endangers everyone in the area -- and immediately threatens one of them.

I was eager to see how this all turned out. I hope that everyone enjoys it as much as I did.

RONALD REAGAN must have enjoyed his role in STALLION ROAD as a veterinarian. He spends most of his time on horses, as does his leading lady, ALEXIS SMITH, more tomboyish than usual and not the frozen ice princess she usually played.

Not much plot development during the first half-hour, although it's obvious that city slicker novelist ZACHARY SCOTT is not going to wind up with Alexis. She has her eyes on Reagan from the start. It's not easy to care about the characters in this horse opera because none of them are well defined and there's so little going on at the start. Blame that on Stephen Longstreet. He wrote the screenplay from his novel of the same name.

You know you're in trouble when the most exciting moment in the story is a high-jumping contest on horseback which Alexis wins against great odds. The balance of the story is involved with an anthrax outbreak which keeps Reagan busy tending to his horses.

ZACHARY SCOTT wears a bored expression as the writer out of his element among horses, the kind of look he perfected in many a film, and this time it's understandable, although he does get some of the wittier lines in the script. PEGGY KNUDSEN has fun as Reagan's man-chasing neighbor with a catty dislike of rancher Alexis. Seems that she too is smitten with Reagan, who pays more attention to horses than women.

If horses are your thing, you may enjoy this horse opera more than I did. Others beware--it's strictly formula stuff. Reagan, in an uninteresting role, is more bland than usual as the doc.