Bratty teenager Dean Stockwell (as Chester "Chet" Graham Jr.) causes a ruckus on the western railroad owned by wealthy father Leon Ames (as Chester Graham Sr.). While attempting to catch a lizard, young Stockwell gets separated from his busy dad and meets fatherly Joel McCrea (as Dan Mathews), who is attempting to catch a wild horse named "Midnight". The symbolic relationship is set and Mr. McCrea takes Stockwell under his wing. At first he resists, but Stockwell is put to work with Mr. McCrea in the "Cattle Drive" where he is working...
While Stockwell's father hopes his missing son is learning a lesson, the "bigger than his britches" attitude rubs mean cowboy Henry Brandon (as Jim Currie) the wrong way. Stockwell also works with liquored but lovable cook Chill Wills (as Dallas). This film can be described as Rudyard Kipling's "Captains Courageous" in a "western" setting, but without much nuance. The ending takes it wildly off track. A more appealing cinematic version of this story is director Victor Fleming's 1937 film starring Freddie Bartholomew and Spencer Tracy.
***** Cattle Drive (8/1/51) Kurt Neumann ~ Dean Stockwell, Joel McCrea, Chill Wills, Leon Ames
While Stockwell's father hopes his missing son is learning a lesson, the "bigger than his britches" attitude rubs mean cowboy Henry Brandon (as Jim Currie) the wrong way. Stockwell also works with liquored but lovable cook Chill Wills (as Dallas). This film can be described as Rudyard Kipling's "Captains Courageous" in a "western" setting, but without much nuance. The ending takes it wildly off track. A more appealing cinematic version of this story is director Victor Fleming's 1937 film starring Freddie Bartholomew and Spencer Tracy.
***** Cattle Drive (8/1/51) Kurt Neumann ~ Dean Stockwell, Joel McCrea, Chill Wills, Leon Ames