John Wayne and Montgomery Clift star in this intense Western. After losing his fiancée in an Indian attack, rancher Thomas Dunson makes it to Texas to start his ranch. With him are Matt, a teenage boy, the lone survivor of the attack, and Dunson’s ranch hand, Nadine Groot. Dunson takes Matt in and raises him as his son. Now, 14 years later, Matt is a grown man, and Dunson is driving his herd of 10,000 cattle to market in Missouri, a trek fraught with danger, not the least of which is Dunson himself. He’s a cruel brute and his tyrannical ways test the men’s patience. Matt suggests redirecting the herd to Abilene, Kansas, an easier route but Dunson refuses.
Dunson’s extreme punishment, low morale, lack of supplies, and the hardship of living on the trail, drive the men to rebel. Matt joins them, taking over the drive. He turns the herd towards Abilene, and leaves Dunson to fend for himself. Now, Dunson vows to kill Matt, the only family he has.
Why We Like It: “This is a gritty coming of age story, and a classic John Wayne Western.”
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