Glenn Ford was very busy as an actor in 1958- 6 films including Torpedo Run and this movie. Because of his being busy, this movie though well cast is kind of an assembly line production. There are some accidents in this film that make people think it is supposed to be a comedy.
The biggest one is the cast. Leslie Nielsen, Edgar Buchanan, and Slim Pickens all became know for comedy later in their careers. Just because they are in this cast does not mean it is a comedy. Just because this is sheep versus cattle doe not make it a serious film either.
What we have is something in-between. Ford plays his role straight and yet at times is funny himself. Shirley MacLaine's role here as Fords girl Dell is not fully exploited here. I think that explains the whole movie. A good looking talented cast and an uneven script. Writer James Edward Grant would write a better western comedy with McLintock later featuring the Duke, Chill Wills and Buchanan amongst others but in this movie he is still working on how to shape a western comedy.
This film is a pleasant diversion for those who like the cast. I believe it was intended to be more serious than it is but with everyone being so busy cranking out other films, and a lot of old western actors, the film is just a pleasure to watch and wonder if they really had tried to make a comedy here, how it would have turned out?
The biggest one is the cast. Leslie Nielsen, Edgar Buchanan, and Slim Pickens all became know for comedy later in their careers. Just because they are in this cast does not mean it is a comedy. Just because this is sheep versus cattle doe not make it a serious film either.
What we have is something in-between. Ford plays his role straight and yet at times is funny himself. Shirley MacLaine's role here as Fords girl Dell is not fully exploited here. I think that explains the whole movie. A good looking talented cast and an uneven script. Writer James Edward Grant would write a better western comedy with McLintock later featuring the Duke, Chill Wills and Buchanan amongst others but in this movie he is still working on how to shape a western comedy.
This film is a pleasant diversion for those who like the cast. I believe it was intended to be more serious than it is but with everyone being so busy cranking out other films, and a lot of old western actors, the film is just a pleasure to watch and wonder if they really had tried to make a comedy here, how it would have turned out?