The Missouri Traveler

Most of the other reviews make me cringe - not because they're so out there, but because they show how much individuality and gumption today's Americans have given up for a malevolent government safety net. Years ago, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas told a college graduating class (I forget whether it was at Ole Miss, or his alma mater University of the Holy Cross in Worcester Mass.) the one thing that has stuck in MY head, ever since..."the awful truth is, when you're in America, you're on your own." In the 1800s and even into the early 1900s, orphaned kids weren't given special dispensation for being orphans and such kids grew up damned quickly. The fact that so many succeeded in so many economic directions only spoke to the innate spirit of a man (or woman) when there was nothing to fall back on.

Most every review here does nothing but attempt to impose 21st-century social standards upon a world well over 100 years removed. I daresay someone from 1890 or 1900 would be nonplussed by the criticism of the world they considered normal by people today who've been coddled into complete infantilism. All one needs to do is to search the internet for a typical 8th-grade final junior high school graduation exam to see how much lowered today's standards have become...a 25-year-old today can't pass an exam a 13-year-old was expected to master 140 years ago. Biarn showed guts, spunk and quick wits to overcome the two deuces life dealt him. Thank the good Lord he wasn't the only one. Yes, it can be sappy at times but all in all this was a good watch.

Missouri Traveler is an okay movie; you and your kids can enjoy it at least once. Biarn is a runaway from an orphan's home who happens across the small town of Delphi, where he settles into an abandoned farm and makes a life on his own with both the help and interference of various of the townsfolk. Brandon DeWilde's performance as Biarn is rather underplayed, almost to the point of making him seem a bit dull; this is probably his weakest film performance but even so he's okay in it. There were so many differences between the book and the movie though, and I wonder why the movie version was changed so much. In the movie, most of the theme seems to be Biarn rising above Tobias Brown's taking advantage of him, but in the book the themes are much deeper and more numerous; just by being himself, Biarn affects many of Delphi's townsfolk to an extent nobody realizes until the end of the story. This unexpected depth of the plot has unfortunately not made it from the book to the movie. Even so, watch The Missouri Traveler - and if you and/or the kids like the movie, get the book. Read it, have your kids read it, or read it to them at bedtime... it's nearly 300 pages and you'll learn the REAL story of the Missouri Traveler. The movie is 'nice' but only a taste of the actual story; I would really like to see this one remade, staying faithful to the actual story. It would be so much better.

I watched this movie because Brandon De Wilde,who disappeared too soon ,was in it ; he already had under his belt such works as "Shane" and "member of the wedding ",and later on he would play prominent parts in " Hud " and "all fall down" .

Unlike some very young actors,he never hammed it up : all he had to do was act naturally ; an orphan ,he wins a whole town over (after a chilly welcome :does he come from a reform school?).He becomes Magee's protégé ;Gary Merril is excellent as the man feeling time is passing him by and who tries to live again his youth dreams thanks to the teenager who looks like a lot like him ; Lee Marvin may seem an unsympathetic character but the boy learns from him an important thing in life : for any deal ,put it in writing;on the other hand,his love affair is insignificant.

Shades of "national velvet " (the race) and more a chronicle than a classic eventful western ;predictable and derivative, but pleasant to watch with a dose of humor : the statue of the general used as a hiching post for Marvin's horse.

Nearly every scene of this featherweight film set in the early 20th century is directed at an andante tempo, its story concerning a youth named Byron (a lacklustre Brandon DeWilde), a runaway from an orphanage who finds a home in a quiet Missouri town named Delphi, thanks to the editor of the local paper, played warmly by Gary Merrill. Byron is not, however, a favourite of wealthy but harsh land owner Tobias Brown (Lee Marvin), who teaches the lad lessons of life the hard way; their conflict forms the kernel of a torpid work which does benefit from a strong performance by always reliable Paul Ford as proprietor of a small cafe but which is sunk by the flaccid direction and hackneyed dialogue.

This movie shows us how "the boy from Shane",has matured, still a soft talking very polite youth. He is a runaway in this movie and is groomed by Lee Marvin, a hard taskmaster who has made a name for himself as the poor boy who made good in this story. He takes unfair advantage of Brandon, but in the process, really teaches the youth some valuable lessons about life and how to take care of himself. These are lessons we can all learn from, and Gary Merrill provides care, comfort, and guidance for Brandon as he overcomes the hard "teaching" of Marvin. The film is anchored by the fine acting of Paul Ford, as usual, a leader of the business community, but with a soft heart for the troubled. This is a great family film, free of Hollywoods blood, guts, sex, and profanity.