How much you enjoy the film overall depends on your interest or affection for the rodeo but there are some really fine performances. McQueen is excellent, a bruised thoughtful performance, but Robert Preston and Ida Lupino really take acting honors as his parents. The scene between them on the stairs is an example of what great actors can do to make characters live on the screen. Something that helps sell the story is that the two of them really look like they could be Steve's parents. Junior's a rambler who is happy to go his own way but finds the modern world getting in the way. A subtle drama of the kind that is rarely made today.
Review of Junior Bonner
