Joel McCrea, a durable
star from the Old Hollywood era who was closely associated with the Western
genre, signed off with the family-friendly outdoors adventure Mustang Country, in which an aging
cowboy and an orphaned Indian boy work together to trap a wild horse that has
outsmarted countless other wranglers. Benefiting from extensive location
photography in Canada’s gorgeous Banff National Park, the picture delivers
exactly what it promises—viewers get lots of scenes with animals fighting,
jumping, and running—and it also serves McCrea relatively well, inasmuch as his
character comes across as sweet, tough, and wise. Like many family films, Mustang Country is gentle to a fault,
since the harshest thing that happens in the storyline is the death of an
animal, and the picture’s young costar, Nika Mina, brings the whole enterprise
down with his weak performance. Nonetheless, McCrea fans get to savor seeing a
beloved personality from countless previous Westerns ride in the saddle one
last time, and nature fans get to relish panoramic images of bears and horses
and other critters romping through crystalline lakes and resplendent forests
with the snowy peaks of the Canadian Rockies looming nearby.
Dan (McCrea) and
his trusty Rottweiler, Luke, trek through the frontier by the Canada/Montana
border while trying to capture a beautiful black mustang that cowboys have named
“Shoshone.” When Dan tumbles from his saddle one day and falls unconscious,
he’s discovered and nursed back to health by Nika (Mina), who recently ran away
from school. Dan offers to escort the lad to his grandfather’s place, but when
they discover the grandfather has died, Dan forms a partnership with Nika,
figuring two people will have better luck capturing the mustang than one.
Notwithstanding a subplot about a vicious grizzly bear, that’s the whole story,
so Mustang Country is a thoroughly
predictable saga about a young man gaining maturity while an old man reclaims
youthful enthusiasm. McCrea is as comfortable onscreen as ever, though his
characterization is a bit one-note, what with all the homilies and humility.
Still, writer-director John Champion remembers to provide some sort of
spectacle every 10 or 15 minutes. In between those highlights, he occasionally
pads the picture with bland montages, and don’t be fooled by the prominent
billing of costars Robert Fuller and Patrick Wayne—they’re out of the story
after the first sequence, and then it’s nothing but McCrea and Mina for the
rest for the ride.
Mustang Country: FUNKY
In 1976 this unexpected movie was as much a surprise as a refreshing relief from the grim gangster pics that had taken hold on the industry of the day. A well and truly retired Joel McCrea must have liked the script from writer/producer/director John Champion to allow himself to be lured back into the game he said he was through with - and at 69 he proved a formidable character to tackle such an active role. Being a professional horseman he makes moving at speed look as easy as an evening stroll! It seems the film was made to commemorate some Centenary celebration and was released in two versions – the best was released into cinemas as a support, at approx 80mins - while an extended version screened on TV, padded out with footage lifted from earlier McCrea westerns.
ReplyDeleteIt’s as pleasing to the eye as it is unusual for its day and while slight in its overall story, is set in some of the most ruggedly beautiful country in Alberta and well photographed by J. Barry Herron (Orca ‘77). Within the opening, there is an appearance of two guest stars, Patrick Wayne and Robert Fuller - who don’t return for the duration but are used quite well. A one and only screen performance by a young native Indian lad, Nika Mina completes the rest of the cast as they search the hills for a precious wild Mustang. Random shots of animals existing in the wild are accompanied by a fine music score from gifted composer/arranger Lee Holdridge. There’s a good song included by Denny Brooks (“Follow Your Restless Dreams”) that’s nicely featured in one section and closes the film. On the journey, a massive rogue Black Bear adds deadly excitement invading a barn the two central travelers take refuge in.
Any true McCrea followers will be pleased to see this sterling veteran performer in his final role. In 1976, this little film won a Western Heritage Trustees Award for outstanding family entertainment in a western motion picture (though I agree with other reviewers that this film, set in 1925, is more a ‘Wilderness’ movie than a Western) Some DVD copies available are poor but It seems Universal have recently given this worthy picture a new DVD release – while I have not seen the quality, if taken from the original 35mm negative this should look visually perfect.