Cattle King

"Cattle King" is the last film Robert Taylor made under his MGM contract. His full-time contract had ended in 1959 but he agreed to do three more pictures. "Cattle King" is the third. Mr. Taylor plays a large scale cattle rancher whose living is being threatened by a Texas cartel who want to build a cattle highway from Texas to Canada. This would bring thousands of undesirable cattle to Mr. Taylor's Wyoming home. It's a nice twist on the old cattle ranchers vs. sheep herders story. Instead of wanting to leave the range free for cattle to roam, Sam Brassfield (Mr. Taylor) wants to fence in land for the controlled breeding of high quality bovines. The only sheep herder in the picture ends up siding with Brassfield. The cinematography is outstanding with a palette that brings out the beauty of the area near Yellowstone Park. There are numerous scenes of groups of people riding which must have looked wonderful on the big screen.

The acting is done by seasoned professionals like Robert Middleton, Ray Teal and William Windom and a newcomer, Robert Loggia. They are all excellent. As usual in westerns, Joan Caulfield as the love interest for Sam isn't given enough to do. President Chester A. Arthur (Larry Gates) plays a pivotal role. In many ways Robert Taylor's colleagues at MGM made this a warm farewell. The name Robert Taylor fills the screen from top to bottom in the credits. He is photographed lovingly with numerous close-ups. There's a wonderful scene where Mr. Taylor stands proudly, legs apart in the western stance facing his enemy when the camera slides into a screen filling close-up. Robert Taylor was very good at playing characters who were larger than life, people who made a difference without losing their integrity. There's even a bit of humor as he spends a fair amount of time fussing with his various ties. "Cattle King" is a solid, well-acted, beautifully photographed western.

It's 1883 in the Wyoming Territory. Sam Brassfield (Robert Taylor) is owner of a giant cattle ranch (in fact the American title of the movie is Cattle King , and also titled Guns of Wyoming) , living along with Ruth Winters (Virginia Christine) , her husbad Ed Winters (Ray Teal) and his Mexican right hand man, a tough , two-fisted foreman named Johnny Quatro (Robert Loggia) . Sam took in his now young adult nephew and niece , Webb (Robert Ivers) and June Carter (Maggie Pierce) , upon the distressed circumstances concerning his sister . Webb is learning to be ranch hand thanks to Quatro , but his hotheadedness often hinders his right way . But someone cutting Sam's wire fences , as hired killers plunge Wyoming into ranch-war and then Sam joins his underlings to go into action . They contend Clay Mathew (one of the screen's best oily villains , Robert Middleton) , a Texas cattle baron who wishes open range all the way from Texas to the Canada border. Sam believes Clay's self interest is driven by he having purchased too many cattle for what his own land can support, as Sam stubbornly determines to stay put , though warned of a hired gunslinger . One other smaller neighboring ranch which has split priorities is that owned and operated by the Travers brothers . As Harry Travers (William Windom) , is a man with no backbone who is easily controlled by others farmers . On the other side is Henry's sister , Sharleen Travers (Joan Caufield) , who does most of the work on the ranch in Henry's uselessness, and who is in love with Sam . As the confrontation seems to become more and more personal between Sam and Clay , once the hero's best friend . Another factor influencing what happens in the matter is the visit to the region of President Chester A. Arthur (Larry Gates ) who attempts to keep peace and order . Land-robbers , hired killers!...the whole Wyoming territory wasn't big enough to hold those gunslingers and the "CATTLE KING" .'Rip down his fences ! Gun down his woman! but then they must answer to the man who walks like a giant and fights like a fury!

It deals with the usual western plot : Range War , as Sam/Robert Taylor who owns and operates the Teton cattle ranch alongside his foreman and housekeeper , husband and wife . On the other hand is Clay Mathews, a Texas cattle baron who wants that open range all the way from Texas to the Canada border resulting in a range war . Despite promising -not just Tay Garnett and big star Robert Taylor , but a nice camerawork- this MGM Western is pretty much a non-starter . The first half is efficient but slow and predictable , at the beginning a couple being attacked by a band of renegades secretly in pay of a land baron . Overall, though , this is a mighty slow ride through familiar pasture . Therefore , the script going in circles producing some boring incidents as appearance by US President himself , stoutly fighting for peace but losing any sense of dramatic process . Robert Taylor gives a passable acting in his habitual style as a wealthy landowner of Wyoming fighting to prevent the Texas herds from trampling his rich meadows . Robert Middleton plays splendidly a powerful cattle baron wanting eventually to oversupply the market with his inferior product at the end of the season to make millions . William Window is an alcoholic person , he is a man with no backbone who is easily manipulated . On the other side is Henry's sister , Sharleen Travers well played by powder-pluff blonde Joan Caufield , who does most of the work on the ranch in Henry's uselessness , and who is in a relationship with Sam . As well as Robert Loggia who likes his girls a little too much and delivers the hardness and bravura necessary to take down villains . And it is nice to see an important plethora of secondaries such as : Ray Teal , Virginia Christine , Robert Ivers , John Mitchum , Don Beddoe , Woodrow Parfrey , Malcolm Atterbury, Richard Devon as the hired gun in the form of badman Vince Bodine to execute his dirty work , as he seems to enjoy the character as the heavy for being the heavy's sake and , finally , Larry Gates who provides a plum role as true President Chester A. Arthur .

The picture was professional -though with no enthusiasm- directed by Tay Garnett . Following his service as a naval aviator in WW I, Tay Garnett entered films in 1920 as a screenwriter. After a stint as a gag writer for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach he joined Pathe, then the distributor for both competing comedy producers , and in 1928 began directing for that company. Garnett garnered some attention in the early 1930s with such films as On way passage (1932) and Her man (1930), but his best work came in the mid-'30s and early 1940s with such films as China Seas (1935), and Slave ship (1937) . He directed all kinds of genres as Wartime , Drama , Westerns , Musical , Adventure , such as : Challenge to be free , The big push , Main street to Broadway , One minute to Zero , Cause of alarm , The valley of decision , Mrs. Parkington , Cheers to Miss Bishop , Seven sinners , Slightly honorable , Eternally yours , Joy of living , Stand-in , The flying fool . His best known film would have to the John Garfield/Lana Turner vehicle The postman always rings twice (1946), although his version of A Connectticut Yankee in King Arthur's court (1949) was a hit , as well as his successful warlike movie : Bataan , that had a well-deserved critical and commercial applause , as well . Garnett journeyed to England in the early 1950s for several films, but upon his return made only a few pictures before jumping enthusiastically into television. Rating : 6/10 . Passable and decent western but not extraordinary.

The only fault i can find is with the premise of the film ... to prevent the territory from becoming a cattle expressway to canada ... that makes no sense at all because the cattle market is in chicago ... i also find it damn near impossible to travel by horseback from the tetons or even lander for that matter to cheyenne in one day ... perhaps from laramie to cheyenne ... being a cattle baron is a risky business because you have to fight off the elements, rustlers, and the buyers that give low prices... not to mention the crooked cattleman's association ... the railroad is rarely used to ship cattle now because its done cheaper and faster by truckers ... the president is in wyoming to visit yellowstone national park which is at least 6 days travel from cheyenne ... its okay, hollywood can make anything happen overnight

Cattle King was the last film that Robert Taylor made under the MGM banner. He set a record unlikely to be broken of having the longest studio contract in the history of film. When he left MGM officially in 1959 he had an option for two more films. Cattle King was the last of those films.

This was hardly the grand send off MGM gave him, but it's an entertaining B western. It played the bottom half of double features in 1963. Taylor had been off the screen for three years doing his The Detectives Television series. He no longer had the box office clout he once had.

The plot involves Taylor, a Wyoming cattle rancher pitted against a big time operator played by Robert Middleton who wants to have a National Cattle Trail which means unfenced open country. Middleton wants to bring cattle from Texas, more than the range will support, make a quick profit and leave. Plot is very similar to Kirk Douglas's Man Without a Star. Middleton's hired a gunman played by Richard Devon.

Middleton is also using William Windom against Taylor. Taylor is wooing Windom's sister played by Joan Caulfield.

What makes this western a bit unusual is that in addition to settling things in the traditional western way, Taylor and Middleton are busy lobbying the President of the United States who's in Wyoming for a visit.

In fact that part of the story is true. President Chester A. Arthur made a publicized trip to the Yellowstone National Park, the first visit by a sitting president to the western territories. Probably the only time Chet Arthur was ever portrayed on screen and here he's played by Larry Gates.

The cast is made up of people who've done westerns before and a veteran director in Tay Garnett. He got the film done on location in less than two weeks. Good if you have seasoned players who know exactly what to do.

I would also point out that Robert Loggia played Taylor's Mexican ranch hand and turned in a memorable performance right at the start of his distinguished career.

Nice B western with a plot centered around a little known true story of the west.

Well-armed backers of an interstate cattle trail running from Texas to the Canadian border run into resistance from Wyoming rancher Sam Brassfield (Robert Taylor) who has accepted and adapted to the reality that what was once an open range has now (1880's) become increasingly fenced off. His fences are blocking the plan for the cattle super-highway, the main backer of which is burly Clay Matthews (Robert Middleton) and his hired Texas gunman Vince Bodine (Richard Devon) who leads a ruthless band out to bring to reality the cattle trail by killing and scaring off any potential resistors. Matthews uses alcoholic rancher Harry Travers (William Windom) to spread rumors that Brassfield is the one cutting everyone's barbed wire fences in order to become the cattle king of the Wyoming range. Windom's part isn't half bad as the weak brother of the woman Brassfield becomes engaged to (Joan Caulfield). The whole idea of the cattle trail is interestingly brought out when the then President of the United States Chester Arthur (Larry Gates) visits Wyoming and finds out for himself that the rules of the range have changed for good. The film stumbles along at times, but for an early to mid 60's western it has some tough moments.