It's an unlikely crew. Wil Andersen (John Wayne) finds himself all ready to drive his cattle
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to market and his working crew has deserted him. What to do! And for John Wayne, who
must have made as many Westerns as anyone, he adds a new, albeit interesting, twist.
He recruits a group of youngsters, most of them pre-teens, to ride herd. And from here, it's
a real American “odyssey” to get the cattle all the way to the market, as one
distraction--sometimes deadly--after another sets in. Assisted (ably) by Roscoe Lee Tanner
as the other adult of his crew, Wayne's charges live up to the task! Also starring Bruce
Dern, as the real heavy in this one, the film, while garnering few honors and awards, is still
a worthy entry into the genre, most especially if you are a Wayne Western fan.
The review of this Movie prepared by Bill Hobbs
In this refreshing 1972 film, rancher Will Andersen has a herd of cattle to get to market before winter sets in, but a local gold rush has left him without any hands. He must resort to the schoolhouse and hire a bunch of teens (and younger!) to serve as his cattle drivers. Roscoe Lee Browne does a great turn as a wily cook on the drive, Colleen Dewhurst has a brief cameo as madam for a passing brothel on wheels, and Bruce Dern is the rather psychopathic head of a gang which intends to steal the herd. One of the notable details is that John Wayne's character gets killed midway through the film (shot in the back by Dern!), but of course that's not the end of this bracing "Little-House-On-The-Prairie-Meets-Lord-of-the-Flies" drama.
The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus