Cattle Empire

Cattle Empire opens with Joel McCrea being dragged through the streets of a small western town. He's a former trail boss who went to prison because he was held legally responsible for his crew shooting up a town and a lot of people getting permanently injured. That's a first in all the westerns I've ever watched and there've been a lot. But now the big cattle baron in the area, Don Haggerty who incidentally married McCrea's girl Phyllis Coates has need of his services. Haggerty has to get his herd to market and beat another baron's herd there or they win an army beef contract and Haggerty goes broke. Haggerty was also blinded in the fracas that put McCrea in prison. So much nobility in one western I could hardly believe it. McCrea always on film epitomized the strong silent western hero maybe more than any other player. But it was just too much for me to swallow. Steve Raines, Rocky Shahan, and Paul Brinegar wound up on the Rawhide series the following and all three have parts in Cattle Empire. Possibly they were cast after being seen here. In fact Eric Fleming was very much in the Joel McCrea mold as Gil Favor the trail boss, but he was not a candidate for sainthood as McCrea is here.

Joel McCrea stars as a trail boss falsely imprisoned for his men's misdemeanours. Released and suffering at the hands of an unforgiving and irate town, he's hired by a blind Don Haggerty to drive his herd - but Haggerty has his own agenda's on this trip. A routine Western that is chiefly saved from the bottom rung by the presence of Joel McCrea. McCrea was a real life cowboy type who owned and worked out of a ranch in California, thus he gives this standard Oater a naturalistic core from which to tell the story. If only they could have given him some decent actors to work with, and, or, a bolder script, then this might have turned out better than it did. Directed by Charles Marquis Warren (more famed for TV work like Gunsmoke and his writing than movie directing), the piece is scripted by Daniel B. Ullman, a prolific "B" western script specialist of the 1950s. This, however, is far from being a good effort from his pen. Shot in CinemaScope with colour by DeLuxe, it thankfully at least proves to be most pleasing on the eye. Brydon Baker proving to be yet another cinematographer seemingly inspired by the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, locations. Away from the turgid story there's a classical big Western shoot-out to enjoy, while a Mano-Mano shoot out set among the Alabama rocks towards the end is nicely handled. But the good technical aspects are bogged down by the roll call of by the numbers gruff cowboy characters, and worse still is a two-fold romantic strand that is so weak it beggars belief. All of which is acted in keeping with such an unimaginatively put together series of sub-plots masquerading as a revenge thriller. For McCrea this film is worth a watch - as it is for its beauty (the print is excellent), but in spite of the old fashioned appeal, and a couple of action high points, it remains borderline dull. McCrea and the audience deserve far better. 5/10

Widescreen, Color, Outdoor Western with Joel Mccrea Leading a Huge Herd of Cattle and a Bunch of Weak Actors on a Drive that We are Told Only He Could Make Happen. There is a Good Deal of Odd Hero Worship Combined with Loathing in the Overbaked Script. The Look of the Movie is Better than Average but its Short Running Time is Not Enough to Allow the Heavily Plotted Script to Become Believable or Very Exciting for That Matter. It All Ends Up Being a Rather Talky Tepid Affair. Alliances and Attitudes Turn Abruptly and the Action is Minimal. Not a Bad Movie but Not One of Joel Mccrea's Best. Gloria Talbott as a Now Grown Up "Niece" is Striking with Her Oddly Shaped Facial Features and a Shapely Body, but Doesn't Have Much To Do. Overall, Worth a Watch but it Doesn't Manage to Rise Above Average Despite Joel Mccrea, a Widescreen Template, Color, a Heavy Plot, and the Always Attractive Gloria Talbot.

There are plenty of good B westerns out there. This isn't one of them. To be brutally honest, this movie plays like it was written by 10-year-olds. Even the great Joel McCrae can't save it. I noticed that one other reviewer complained that the film was too short. I disagree. I think it was too long. In addition to the weak plot and some truly awful dialogue, the supporting cast is none too good either. The story concerns a man just out of prison, having been wrongly accused of letting his trail crew shoot up a town. He returns to the same town at the request of its leading citizen (who was blinded in the ruckus created by the trail crew, no less) in order to head up a cattle drive which is supposed to save the town. I'm not sure I've ever encountered such a lame premise for a dramatic film. Maybe a comedy, but that's not what "Cattle Empire" purports to be. All in all, I'm sorry I sat through the whole thing, but I guess I just expected it to get better. It didn't.

Plot-- Trail-driver Cord (McCrea) is blamed for letting his cattle crew wreck a town. After prison, he consents to head up a trail drive that will save the same town's finances. But the town's in competition with an outside cattleman to be first to arrive at the buyer's base and get the contract. So who will win, and can Cord be trusted. Despite the great Joel McCrea and a grabber opening, this is a bland western. The only action, until the showdown, is loping cattle going here and there and who knows where. The rambling script fails to gel into any kind of suspense, with one talky scene after another to accommodate the many characters and subplots. Meanwhile the large supporting cast flounders getting no help from director Warren. The one compensation —the scenic eastern Sierras— is marred by contrast with poorly designed nighttime sets that take us back to the studio. Considering this was a TCF production, I'm surprised it was so poorly put together. Maybe they were trying to capitalize on the McCrea name. But by this time, he was in his mid-50's, still quietly commanding, but aging, nonetheless. At least they don't have him riding into the sunset with one of the girls. Mostly he sits astride his horse and gives orders. As a fan of the ace cowboy, I wish there were more to compliment. But unfortunately, there isn't.

Cattle Empire has a strong story line and I won't give it away, but give this film a chance. If you like Westerns this is a film you must see! It is probably considered a "B" movie, but so many Western movies are(supposedly). If you look at this film through the eyes of a person in 2006, it may seem like you could have written the script yourself, but it's not that simple. There are subplots galore and Joel Mcrae is involved in them all, to some extent. There are women on this ride and that alone brings problems for the men on the cattle drive. Enjoy this film for the era it was made in and don't judge too harshly. This is an excellent Saturday afternoon rainy day film.If you like your Westerns any time watch it on a Sunny afternoon, you'll enjoy it just the same. We are true Western fans! Enjoy!

The film begins with a group of townsfolk dragging John Cord (Joel McCrea) from a rope tied to a man's horse. Yes, their plan is to drag him to death. Apparently five years earlier, Cord and his gang of cowboys entered the town and tore the place apart and spread a lot of misery. Inexplicably, he's back as one of the leading citizens in the town has hired him to take the town's cattle to market. How could this be?! After all, he was convicted of standing by and doing nothing to stop his men from an orgy of destruction. And, why is Cord so angry?! After all, the dragging seems more than justified when year hear about all the hellish things his men did to the town! And, why does Cord agree to take the job?! None of this makes any sense....and that's okay. Just keep watching!! It will make sense by the end. This is a very good western...which isn't a surprise considering it stars Joel McCrea. Even the most ordinary of westerns were made better by his solid acting...and this is a decent film to boot. Well worth seeing...mostly because it is unique...and that's very rare with westerns.

Cattle Drive movies are a special kind of western. While drives figure into a lot of them, few are really ABOUT them. They tend to be a lot more about the characters, relationships, and struggle against the elements. Cattle Empire isn't the best by far. Red River, Lonesome Dove, and even episode of the miniseries Centennial, "The Longhorns" are better. However, there's plenty to see here. Joel McCrae gives a good performance as John Cord, a man whose reputation has been tarnished and starts conflicted between a desire to get back at those who unjustly punished him and his true nature as an honest, dedicated trail boss. Don Haggerty as Ralph Hamilton is probably the only really other performance of note. A man blinded by Cord years previously, but is more than willing to give him a second chance. Ostensibly, it's because he's desperate to get his cattle to market first and he knows Cord is his best chance. However, it's clear all along he's harboring a secret. The rest of the cast is mainly by the numbers. Most of the people working under Cord are so openly hostile, it's actually hard to sympathize with the damage Cord's men did to them and their town five years earlier. This includes Hamilton's younger brother Douglas. More fleshing out would have served them well and made the final revelation more satisfying as we don't care that they feel guilty. The villain of the piece is fairly straightforwardly evil, but is clearly outmatched by Cord in all respects, so he never feels that threatening. Of course a cattle drive film doesn't really nee a villain and he would have served just as well as a competitor than an outright villain. It seems the cliched showdown is the only reason. Watch for McCrae, an entertaining and underrated actor.

Joel MCRae acts (if you could call it that) Not as if he is walking through his part. That would take too much effort on his part. He is sleeping through the film, literally! Underplaying is one thing-no playing is another. Boring to the hilt!

This is an enjoyable western that hits the spot in all the right places. The movie kicks of essentially in the middle of a bigger tale (you will understand what I mean) which works well as you try to understand the motivations of the key players in the film. As the movie roles along it does start to become more predictable which is a shame but still retains the viewers (mine) interest. Solid piece of western movie making that adds to this excellent genre.