A Lei do Chicote

Maureen O'Hara, in her prime, is wasted in this rather dreary , pointless, outback yarn, shot in Technicolor, on location in Australia. Fortunately, she would rebound with 2 of her best roles, in "The Quiet Man" and "Against All Flags", where she had more interesting leading men(John Wayne, Errol Flynn) than the badly miscast urbane Peter Lawford, barely recognizable behind all that facial hair.

In a minimal effort to justify the title, we do see a couple of roos hopping about in one scene. But, at times, we see many more thirsty, hungry , cattle, who only have wind-blown dust to eat much of the time. The plot is an unfocused mishmash, that never really grabs our attention and never comes to any dramatic conclusion, aside from a big rainstorm that finally ends the long drought, that has the townies doing 'a rain dance'. Shortly before this, Lawford and Boone engage in a bizarre fight with bullwhips and a rifle, after being spotted in the bush by a couple of lawmen. ......Maureen, after begging to be included, wanted out after discovering what it was really going to be like. Perhaps the only saving grace for contemporary audiences was the brief shots of some of the native animals and natives, at a time when such weren't commonly available.

Peter Lawford and Richard Boone are two criminals who befriend on old drunk (Finley Currie) who turns out to be the rancher father of Maureen O'Hara who's been looking for him for two weeks. All this takes place, and entirely filmed, in the wonderful outback of Australia where you see the Aborigines dance for rain, kangaroos hopping, and flocks of birds flying around. Plenty of exciting scenes of stampede herding of steer and windmill stopping and fights between Lawford and Boone. One part I wasn't too crazy about was one when O'Hara and Lawford were about to kiss in the middle scene since Peter was supposedly passing himself off as the long-lost son of her father! Good thing it didn't happen then! Pretty good direction from old pro Lewis Milestone. Worth a look for old-time movie buffs.

This is a 1952 epic Aussie Western adventure in dazzling and glamorous Technicolor . During early 20th century Australia a young man who goes bankrupt is attempting to find cash to afford him to go back home and he'll stop at nothing to get it . The young called Richard Connor (Peter Lawford) checks into a Sydney boarding house where he's mistaken for an alcoholic rancher's long-lost son . The same night Richard attempts to steal a stranger , John Gamble (Richard Boone) , but when he finds out that this person too is broke , they befriend , join forces and decide together to steal a local gambling house . Just by chance , they meet the drunk rancher (Finlay Currie) again. The rancher insists the young Richard is his lost son . When Richard and his robber colleague discover that , they decide to carry out a set-up about the long-lost son and claim the eventual inheritance . However , the rancher's daughter , Dell (Maureen O'Hara) , becomes an unforeseen obstacle to their twisted schemes . Then the two pals become rivals for the affection of the rancher's gorgeous daughter . A roaring chip on their shoulder---A rousing challenge on their lips! . There's a new word for Excitement ...There's a new name for Adventure . They're real people , fun people , fervent people. We see the wild aborigines of Australia dance the blood-tingling corroboree . They have a tremendous urge to keep breathing. Their rousing story comes roaring across six thousand miles of excitement...You are part of its blazing excitement...its elemental drama...its rousing laughter, all of which made 'Kangaroo' the year's record-shattering tops in entertainment ! Dedicated to the Pioneers who made Australia Great!. Adventure...As far as the eye can see! .The Cry of Mighty Adventure! . The continent time Tribute to greatness...to-night screen history is made ...as "Kangaroo," the first feature film in Technicolor produced by Hollywood in Australia, makes its debut before distinguished audiences at gala charity previews in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Port Augusta (S. A.) ...memorable occasions to mark the beginning of a new phase of this great enterprise ...Soon all Australia will be seeing the motion picture that has excited world-wide interest...Two years to make but worth waiting for . A motion picture of Australia - for Australia - expertly made as only Hollywood knows how ! Australia as seen through the eyes of Lewis Milestone who gave you impressive films . Thrill to a new kind of outdoor adventure !

This is a nice movie that blends a renowned cast , the rugged country and the joyous adventure classic . A mighty drama of Australian adventure set in turn-of-the-century , where two criminals ingratiate and join themselves to execute a robbing and subsequently proceeding a complex swindle , but then things go wrong . An exciting , unusual and consistently dramatic action-adventure set in the Australian Outback , being first and only Technicolor production made in Australia and in which excitement stampedes the screen . As the cameras record the sight and sound of aborigines in the exciting dance of the corroboree and they have caught the thunder of thirst-crazed herds, the scream of the boomerang, and a bull-whip fight never before seen on the screen ; in addition we see Kangaroos , giant lizards , wombats, dingos, bull ants , extinct everywhere else for 60,000,000 years . Here stands out the moving and rousing musical score by the classic composer Alfred Newman and being well cinematographed in blazing and brilliant Technicolor by Charles G. Clarke . Interpretations are uniformly acceptable, all of them contributing fortright performances , stars the red hair Mauren O'Hara as the stubborn young confronted with all manner of prejudice and temptation to three suitors : Peter Lawford , Richard Boone and Chip Rafferty . As Peter Lawford as a young broke man who's wishing to take money at whatever cost to allow him to return home, though eventually falling in love . While Richard Boone's Gamble giving a magnificent study of cynical opportunism . Likewise the veteran Finlay Currie as the drunk rancher who has an extensive property.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Lewis Milestone . This one was a vintage filmmaker who shot a lot of films in all kinds of genres with penchant for warlike genre , getting some masterpieces . As Lewis Milestone directed the following ones : " Mutiny on the Bounty" , "Oceans' 11", "Pork Chop Hill" , "Halls of Moctezuma" , "Arch of Triumph" , "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" , "Of Mice and Men" , "The General died at Dawn", "The Front Page" , "All Quiet on the The Western Front" , "The Garden of Eden" . Rating : 6.5/10 . Well worth watching . Essential and indispensable seeing for Maureen O'Hara fans.

You look at this cast, Peter Lawford, Maureen O'Hara, Chips Rafferty, Richard Boone and Finlay Currie, and you'd think this would be a winner. Well, not quite. The story line which draws on the fortunes of an Irish immigrant (Currie) and his daughter (O'Hara)to rural Australia just kind of wears out. Boone, of course, is at his hammy best as the bad guy and Lawford, in his pre-Ratpack days, provides the romantic interest but the story just seems to run out of steam, even with the efforts of veteran Aussie character actor, Chips Rafferty. If it shows up one night on the late show, you might want to watch it but I doubt if you'll remember much of it afterwards.

Being half Australian myself and knowing something about Australia, I really liked the movie. In addition, I am a "Paladin" fan so it was great to see Boone in the movie. As far as icons, I saw Chips Rafferty, koala bears, kangaroos, joey's (small kangaroos), two-up (the gambling using two coins tossed up in the air after resting on a piece of wood), the word tucker (food), cockatoos (the white bird), and the Australian Kingfisher bird. There were also the aborigines aka Abos (natives) with their boomerangs and spears with throwing boards (they help throw the spears). Shown too were the Abos on a walkabout. That is where they travel in groups. There was also drought, bush fires, and the men carrying on their shoulders the short whip they use for the cattle. Also mentioned was how good the Abos are in tracking. They are world famous as being the best in the world. Like Chips said, they can track a man by the shadow the man left on a rock a week before. I kept waiting to see what else showed up. For additional information, I can throw a boomerang--ask me how! All in all a good and interesting movie.