User Reviews

This a neat, colourful "Captains Courageous" variation, with veteran Joel McCrea and youngster Dean Stockwell combining really well. The moralising and the sentimentality are underplayed and the action is excitingly staged by underrated director Kurt Neumann (even if some of the 'wild horse' scenes are taken from an earlier Universal-International western - directed by George Sherman - called "Red Canyon"). All in all this 78 minute oater is well worth catching.

I was about 11 years old when my parents took me to the Fox Theater in Inglewood, California to see this film. It just so happened that Dean Stockwell was appearing in person before the film and was answering questions from the audience. He was very shy and an adult male did most of the answering. I remember loving this film - perhaps because the star was present - as a western adventure involving a big locomotive. I remember the relationship between the father, looking for the boy, and the son as being more realistic than I had seen in films. By this age I was a veteran film-goer, seeing my first film, a Walt Disney film, at age of six. I gotta get a copy of this film to re-live it.

Young Dean Stockwell is one spoiled kid, but with his father Leon Ames running a railroad, he's hardly got time for the kid. After Dean gets lost on the New Mexico desert when his father's train stops to take on water, he's found by Joel McCrea who's the top hand of a Cattle Drive going to Sante Fe.

That Cattle Drive is the making of young Dean. Under the tutelage of Joel, the kid turns out to be quite a good hand.

If the story sounds familiar like everyone else who reviewed this film, we all noted the obvious similarity between Cattle Drive and Captains Courageous.

McCrea and Stockwell had worked well together before in Stars in My Crown for MGM the year before. Though Cattle Drive is a good film, I can't recommend Stars in My Crown highly enough.

Look also for a nice performance by Chill Wills as the cook on the drive. A man definitely good to stand in with as we learned in Monte Walsh.

There's no violence in Cattle Drive, there's no women in it either. We do learn Joel does have a girl friend as he shows a picture of Frances Dee to all who will look.

It's a shame that Cattle Drive is not out on VHS or DVD it's a perfect family film to rent.

This pleasant ,juvenile Western is a retread of the theme of the classic movie -and Kipling novel upon which it is based-Captains Courageous in that it deals with the education in life of a spoiled rich kid who is taken out of his comfort zone and forced to adjust to new situations and people Chester Graham Junior (a winning performance from Dean Stockwell)is the boy in question .He is left alone in the desert by mischance and can only get back to civilisation by joining a cattle drive bossed by the tough but fair Dan Matthews (the always excellent Joel Macrea).Chester is a fish out of water and struggles to adjust, making his dislike of the situation and his new colleagues all too plain until he sees the error of his ways learning lessons of the trail and life itself from his new boss and grizzled veterans played by genre luminaries Chill Wills and Bob Steele.There is one delightful touch when Macrea pulls out a picture of the woman waiting for him at end of trail -it shows his wife in real life ,Francis Dee, with whom he made a number of Westerns

Kurt Neumann,not a name usually linked with the genre, directs admirably and the colour photography by Maury Gertsman ,of Death Valley where the movie was shot is superb .Indeed the choice of ;ocation adds immeasurably to the impact of the movie as it is relatively little used in Westerns

This is not the only trail drive Western to draw its inspiration from a movie in another style -Red River being essentially a variation on Mutiny on the Bounty .This is not in the class of that magnificent movie but it is enjoyable and worth watching

Attractive Western with only a couple of shots , emotion and no blood-letting .Entertaining Western that seems to be a peculiar version to classic Captains Courageous by Víctor Fleming with Spencer Tracy . Concerns a lost boy : Dean Stockwell who missed himself at desert from the train of his father : Leon Ames . Then, a cowboy : Joel McCrea , meets the spoiled kid and he teaches him about cattle driving and to track down wild horses . Both of whom attempt to chase and tame a brave Mustang .The Story of the Grat Santa Fé Stampede¡

Nice and film with thrills , cattle drive and stimulating outdoors. Plenty of esplendor and animal fury , but no shootouts , only cattle drive and usual stampedes .This is a kind of alfresco charming tale , a refreshingly different movie , paying tribute to Joel McCrea and Víctor Fleming's Captains courageous .Here shows up a lot of wildlife with impressive Mustangs running across countries and mountains . These scenes about horses were later reused for other movies as Black Horse Canyon 1954 , this Cattle Drive and Fury series .

The picture was well starred by Joel McCrea as the expert cowboy , a world-wise person and wanna-be rancher . McCrea was a B actor , though he ocassionally played A films as Sullivan's Travels , The Most Dangerous Game , and Sam Peckinpah's Ride in High Sierra . Joel performed a lot of Westerns , as his interpretations are ideally suited for this genre , such as : Union Pacific , Buffalo Bill , The Virginian , Ramrod , South of Saint Louis , Four faces of the West , The Oklahoman . He is well accompanied by the always sympathetic and incombustible Chill Wills , Leon Ames as the wealthy railroad owner , Howard Petrie , Bob Steele , Harry Carey Jr , and the usually baddie Henry Brandon . And , of course , the prodigy child Dean Stockwell to follow a very long career as cinema as TV . The flick packs a luxurious , brilliant cinematography by Maury Gertsman and was well directed by Kurt Newman . Rating :6.5/10 . Worthwhile Watching .

Most Westerns, apart from comedies, are about conflicts- heroes versus villains, cavalry versus Indians, sheriff versus outlaws- which can only be settled by violence. "Cattle Drive", however, is different. It is the story of a spoilt teenager, Chester Graham Junior, the son of a millionaire railway tycoon, who is travelling through the West on one of his father's trains. When the trains stops briefly to take on water, Chester is accidentally left behind, but he is rescued by a gang of cowboys on a cattle drive. The men have no time to take him in search of his father; they insist that he must accompany them to their destination, Santa Fe, and that he must help them with their work if he wants to be fed. At first young Chester's arrogant and snobbish attitude alienates the men, but he soon learns the importance of humility, hard work and cooperation, and wins them over. One of the cowboys, Dan, becomes his special friend. Dean Stockwell makes a personable young hero, teaming up well with the veteran actor Joel McCrea. (McCrea tended to specialise in Westerns, although I always think of him as the hero of Hitchcock's "Foreign Correspondent").

The film is said to be based upon Kipling's sea-story "Captain's Courageous", but I must admit that I have never read that book or seen the 1937 film that was based on it. The plot, however, can be seen as a distilled and simplified version of the literary genre known as the "Bildungsroman", a German word which literally means "education novel" but which can also be translated as "novel of character formation". The basic plot of such a novel is "young man (or woman) learns important lessons about life", and Dickens's "Great Expectations" is a good English language example.

At just over an hour and a quarter it is a very short film, even by the standards of the time. It is, however, an example of two trends that were to mark the development of the Western in the fifties. Firstly, it is shot in colour against the background of some spectacular scenery, actually in Utah and California's Death Valley, although the action supposedly takes place in New Mexico. The generic "Wild West town" set used for Santa Fe bears little resemblance to the real city of that name. Secondly, there is a greater emphasis on character than on action, although there are some exciting scenes of a cattle stampede and a sub-plot about Dan's attempts, with Chester's help, to capture and tame a wild black stallion. There is nothing particularly deep or significant about the film; some much better character-driven Westerns, such as "The Naked Spur" and "The Big Country" were to be made over the next few years. By these standards "Cattle Drive" is a lesser Western, but it is still a watchable and entertaining one. 6/10

Okay...so we all know Cattle Drive (1951) is Captains Courageous (1937) on dirt, and instead of cut fingers and constantly soaked clothes, it's saddle sores and an endless supply of beans and bad coffee. So what? It doesn't lessen the value of the story, nor reduce the entertainment experienced when watching this movie. It's a little gem of a story. That said, there are some less than positive attributes with Cattle Drive (1951). The worst of these are that, frequently, the movie and the characters seem rushed and even abrupt. This leaves the viewer wanting more ... more development between the two main characters; more interplay with the other hands during the drive, and more information about the "education" of the father at the end of the movie. Having seen this movie subsequent to seeing Captains Courageous (1937), it was difficult not to mentally compare the two while viewing this movie. To some degree, that actually worked against Cattle Drive (1951). Even at that, Cattle Drive (1951) is well worth a look.

This is a nice, enjoyable western. Well told, with an engaging cast, especially Stockwell who steals the show along with Chill Wills.

What stops this movie from rating higher for me was the predictability, if you don't know whats going to happen after the first 5 minutes you have fallen asleep!

Regardless of that, it does deliver an good uplifting story worth checking out.

Although the CONNECTIONS link on IMDb does not say it, this is clearly a remake of "Captains Courageous"--the famous Spencer Tracy/Freddie Bartholomew film of the late 1930s. Now, Dean Stockwell plays the bratty rich kid and Joel McCrea takes Tracy's role as a friend and nursemaid (of sorts) to this kid. But, instead of being set at sea, this film is in the Old West--on the prairie. Instead of a fishing boat, the boy is taken on a cattle drive. When the brat is lost on a cross-country railroad trip, he is picked up by a group of cowboys. One takes the boy under his wing and shows him responsibility and kindness--things the boy truly needed to learn for himself. Because the basic story was so nice, this new film couldn't help but work as well--which it did, thanks to some excellent performances by Stockwell, McCrea and Chill Wills. Well worth watching--and nearly as entertaining as the original. This film's one advantage over the earlier film is McCrea's simple performance. Although Spencer Tracy won the Oscar for his performance, to me it was a bit broad in style.

By the way, the ending of "Cattle Drive" is very, very, very different from "Captains Courageous"--very!

Bratty Dean Stockwell is travelling on his father's railroad. When he falls off the train, he's rescued by Joel McCrea who gradually tames the boy.

Yes, it's CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS on the trail, with a fine cast, including Leon Ames as Stockwell's father, Chill Wills, Bob Steele, and even Harry Carey Jr. In a bit. McCrea, as usual, gives a fine performance, saying less than he knows. Stockwell is a bit annoying; I suspect someone showed him Freddy Bartholomew and the youngster tried to imitate him.

The best thing about this movie are the compositions of the cattle n the trail, shot by Maury Gertsman. Gertsman shows up as a camera operator in 1934, lit a few shorts in 1942, then moved onto B features. He peaked in the 1950s with Universal, but the downturn in programmers drove him to television work, where he lit the set on Lucille Ball's series. He died in 1999 at the age of 92.

On of the problems of looking at old westerns is the awful prints. B westerns were shot just as well as anything, but the prints were chopped up, worn out, and reduced to 16mm copies. Looking at a well struck copy like the one I saw is a revelation.

Solid script, good plot, strong performances - especially from the young Dean Stockwell - and superb scenery make for a very entertaining film. Nothing gimmicky in technique but solid and professional with a decent pace. Story has an excellent moral being the taming of a spoilt Eastern kid by a gang of experienced cowboys on a cattle drive. It is, however, not a typical kid's picture - it has a wide appeal and works for adults as well as children. Reviewed January 2001 on a very rare appearance on British television.

Fans of old movies will no doubt spot that this movies takes the premise and some of the plot elements from another movie - Captains Courageous (1937) - and transfers them to the old west. Instead of Spencer Tracy's Portuguese fisherman Manuel we get Joel McCrea as cowboy Dan Mathews and instead of Freddie Bartholemew as Harvey Cheyne we have Dean Stockwell as Chester Graham Jr. This relocated story lacks all of the excitement and raw emotion of the movie it is based on and it is notably lacking in subtlety in handling Chester's transformation from spoiled brat to polite, humble boy. Still, this movie is enjoyable enough if you're not expecting great things and easily passes the time.

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

Barely a Western save in setting, as there's very little action apart from horse and cattle stampedes and a couple of scraps between two lads.Unusually, no woman features, save in the distant background and when McCrea pulls out a photograph of his girl-friend; the makers are to be congratulated on resisting the temptation to introduce some love interest.

The actors do well enough and there's some good scenery well photographed. The only thing that puzzled me was where the horse herd came from that the black stallion stampeded. It just seemed to appear, but I had a vague idea that it attached to the cattle drive, though this seems unlikely.

In addition to John Wayne & Randolph Scott, another actor who is synonymous w/the Western is Joel McCrea (he also was in Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent & made some comedies w/Preston Sturges). Teaming up w/Dean Stockwell as a spoiled brat in need of some tough mentoring, the cattle drive serves as a perfect vessel to achieve that goal. Well made & has a great message of character building through hard work.

The lost genre being the good, challenging family/children's movie.

There were many series Westerns, and later TV variants like Cisco and Hoppy, but "Cattle Drive" is a lovely example of a cinema Western movie for kids but also to be enjoyed by the family. Shortish but with barely a false or draggy moment.

From the reviews already logged, it's obviously warmly remembered by those who saw it as children when it first came out.

Here in the UK it has been shown several times in the last few years and, as I write (March 2012) it's getting consecutive airings on a free to view digital channel.

No surprise: it's a terrific little film, one of two or three in similar vein that McCrea made around that time.

Joel McCrea obviously had an affinity with children, but, then again, wasn't he just a marvellous actor in whatever he did?

To the many points mentioned by the reviewers I would add another-the wonderful music.

I think Joel McRae is a great Western actor. Dean Stockwell is one of the better kid-actors that there was in the 1940's and 50's. And, I always like color Westerns that have really good scenery.

"Cattle Drive" has all of these but it comes up short for me. First of all, Dean Stockwell seems very 'wooden' in this role. In some of his other parts earlier on, he really played the characters well but here, he is reciting memorized lines. It's just not easy to believe he's the character he is playing... he's just Dean Stockwell reading lines. This is disappointing because in just the prior few years he did such a great job with roles in Kim!, The Happy Years, Down to the Sea in Ships, Stars In My Crown, and The Boy with Green Hair. Maybe by now he was just getting tired. He did apparently take five years off after this picture.

Another problem with this film is the story. It is so much a take-off on "Captains Courageous" - only a very, very pale imitation. If you aren't familiar with that film, it too has a spoiled rich boy falling off a transportation conveyance of which his father was an executive, being rescued by men whom he regarded as beneath him, ordering them about, refusing to cooperate, and eventually becoming deeply attached to them, returning at the end to his father as a young man greatly changed for the better. In "Captains", Freddy Bartholomew lived and breathed the role he played, and Spencer Tracy as Manuel was brilliant. (Tracy I believe said that it was so easy working with Barthomew because he was 100% believable as the character he was playing.) "Captains Courageous" was much more interesting and exciting too. Nobody can tell me that whoever wrote this screenplay wasn't trying to cash in on the theme of "Captains Courageous". It would be okay except that this is such a transparent and lackluster attempt.

This is probably a film Stockwell would strike from his record if he were able to do so. For all the promise of its ingredients, it just doesn't work. That's too bad. It could have been a lot better. Maybe even if there had been a juvenile lead who was more motivated than Stockwell seemed to be, it could have at least been average. If you want to see Stockwell in a movie where he is a kid who grows up in the company of men and adventure, watch him in Down to the Sea in Ships - it is so much better.

The film may seem dated now, I haven't seen it since 1953 when I was spending the summer in Topeka, Kansas with my Dad dying in the VA Hospital that same summer. Mom took my brother and myself for a break, one hot summer day, and this movie's story has not left my memory yet. Wish I could locate a VHS or DVD of it, but I'm guessing it is not available and may never be, so it will just have to remain a sweet memory of long ago.

My brother and I still bring up the subject of insisting on a bowl of strawberries when we are asking for the impossible. We both know what it means, but others who have not seen the movie think we are little daft, of course.

An excellent family-quality story. Kipling's "Captains Courageous" reset in a Western. Excellent performance by Stockwell as a spoiled kid that makes good. I hope that Universal can be persuaded to release this movie on video.

I am very touched by this story of a rough man teaching life to a spoiled kid; Their relationship is very well described and analyzed. The chemistry between Joel McCrea and Dean Stockwell is magnificent for me, far more important than the rest of this story. It is the key of it actually. I did not remember this Kurt Neuman's film and that makes his best western, but maybe not film, because of THE FLY. This topic of a young tenderfoot among cowboys, hard and rough men reminded me CULPEPPER'S CATTLE COMPANY from director Dick Richards. Very agreable western where the plot is nothing, only the characters matter. But is there at least a plot?