The Sheepman

The Sheepman is directed by George Marshall and written by William Bowers, James Edward Grant and William Roberts. It stars Glenn Ford, Shirley MacLaine, Leslie Nielsen, Mickey Shaughnessy, Edgar Buchanan, Willis Bouchey, Pernell Roberts, and Slim Pickens. Music is by Jeff Alexander and cinematography by Robert J. Bronner.

Utterly delightful semi-comic Oater, The Sheepman pitches Ford as sheep farmer Jason Sweet, who arrives in Powder Valley - a place ruled by cattle ranchers only - and upturns the applecart by announcing he intends to let his sheep graze on the lands there. Trouble, motives and back stories will out!

With the exception of some poor rear projection work, this is a pic that's constructed with style and humour. The opening is a doozy as Sweet quickly puts down a marker in the town, with a glint in his eye and a punch of some force. It's an irresistible characterisation by Ford, deftly blending humour with machismo, setting up the rest of the film by firmly pulling us viewers onto his side. Supporting cast are bang on the money, doing justice to well written characters (the screenplay was Oscar nominated), with the writing also having some nous via twists and a commitment to never let the story be boring or twee.

An absolute must see film for fans of the irrepressible Glenn Ford. 8/10

This is a very special western ,very tongue in cheek ,which was very unusual in the fifties where the masters produced unsurpassed classics (Ford,Daves ,Walsh,Mann....)Till the moment when Glenn Ford tells the story of his former fiancée to Shirley McLaine ,there's absolutely nothing dramatic in this plot which involves a Sheepman who has got problems with the inhabitants of a cattle village .Sheepman has to battle for sheep herds and for the "colonel"'s fiancée, a tomboy who was ahead of her time ,as far as woman's lib is concerned ,at least till her very last lines ;Glenn Ford ,Shirley McLaine and Leslie Nielsen do not take their roles seriously and it's much fun watching them battling against each others ;one can regret that Georges Marshall should have introduced drama in the second part .It should have stayed a comedy till the end!The scenes of the ball and the night train tooting alone are worth the price of admission.

Didn't Jason get the Golden Fleece?

This is one of the 1950's best westerns in the Destry Rides Again mode of tongue-in-cheek westerns and foreshadows Support Your Local Sheriff by a decade. It's ideally cast and is certainly one of Glenn Ford's finest roles. He and Shirley MacLaine have marvelous chemistry. Familiar faces Edgar Buchanan, Mickey Shaughnessy,Willis Bouchey,Percy Helton,and Slim Pickins are around to give it the proper old western flavor and Leslie Nielsen is slickly handsome as Ford's rival for Shirley's affections. Pernell Roberts is an effectively slimy villain. Director George Marshall was an old hand at combining comedy with action and The Sheepman is one of his best efforts. The screenplay by James Edward Grant and William Bowers was nominated for an Academy Award.

The Sheepman still holds up well today and will appeal to anyone who is a fan of western's,comedies,or just plain entertaining movies. It's good, clean, old fashioned fun and a prime example of one of those kind of films"that they just don't make anymore!" More's the pity

"The Sheepman" is a comedy-drama...with an emphasis on either that changes throughout the course of the movie. It begins with Mr. Sweet (Glenn Ford) arriving in a new town and thoroughly ticking off almost everyone he meets. Why would be behave so? Apparently, he expects to be hated and he's just speeding up the process. And, the reason to hate him? He's planning on raising sheep in the range--a place where cattle is king and folks hate sheep! The rest of the film is about how the town tries to get rid of Sweet and how the clever Sweet takes to this unkindness.

Aside from some amazingly crappy rear projection used throughout the movie, it's a rather unusual and enjoyable film. The mood is odd however...at times a bit funny and at others deadly serious.

This a enjoyable comic B Western that l saw for first time in late 1976 in my hometown when l was a boy, Glenn Ford is amazing as outsider and how he wants that the people know him before to bring all sheep to a Cattle's valley, but for me the movie resume in two different and amusing persons Milt (Edgar Buchanan) and Jumbo (Mickey Shaughnessy) Milt is clever, peaceful and funny, Jumbo is thug, stupid and funny, they are the true stars of this comic western, the remains of the movie is usual as always, Milt and Jumbo are remarkable guys!!

Resume:

First Watch: 1976 / How Many: 5 / Source: TV-Cable TV-DVD / Rating: 7.5