Montana (1950)

Errol Flynn plays Morgan Lane, who rides into Montana not with a herd of cattle, but with a herd of sheep.

And that puts the cattle barons in a tizzy. After all, everyone knows a cow won’t graze where a sheep has been.

Three ranches control the valley — the Forsythe ranch, the Singleton ranch and the Ackroyd ranch. And pretty Maria Singleton is engaged to Rodney Ackroyd, which would unite their holdings.

All three are dead set against letting sheep into the valley. But Lane is undeterred. He charms Maria into leasing him a piece of land; she has no idea he’s a sheepman at the time.

Then he tries to convince small ranchers to raise sheep alongside their cattle. With cattle prices plummeting, it seems worth a try. He even convinces Forsythe to back the plan.

But Rodney and Maria are just as determined — determined that no herd of sheep will stay in their valley.

Errol Flynn as Morgan Lane, determined to prove sheep and cattle can co-exist in Montana (1950)

Alexis Smith as Maria Singleton, the flame-haired cattle queen with a hatred for all things sheep in Montana (1950)

Review:

The film’s running time is about an hour shorter than most Flynn Westerns and more in line with the length of a low-budget oater. But this is far better than most B Westerns.

Flynn’s charisma certainly helps. So does the smoldering, blue-eyed, red-haired Smith. The sizzle far hotter as a couple in this film than in 1945’s “San Antonio.”

Among the most memorable scenes: Smith and Flynn’s duet of “Reckon I’m in Love,” her tirade after learning he’s a sheepherder and that unusual final showdown, with her standing at one end of main street with her six-gun and him riding tall in the saddle as he leads his herd down the other end.

We also get solid supporting performances from S.Z. Sakall as a travelling salesman and Paul Burns as an old-timer who sides with Morgan Lane.

Along with “Rocky Mountain,” also released in 1950, this marked one of Flynn’s last Westerns. He continued to perform in films until the late 1950s. He died at age 50 in 1959.

This marked the fourth pairing of Smith and Flynn. In fact, two of Smith’s first credited roles where in Errol Flynn vehicles — the WWII aviation film “Dive Bomber” (1941) and the boxing film “Gentleman Jim” (1942).

Douglas Kennedy as cattleman Rodney Ackroyd, timing Morgan Lane’s ride on a bucking bronc in Montana (1950)

Ian MacDonald as Slim Reeves, hot-headed foreman for a cattle spread in Montana (1950)

Directed by:
Ray Enright

Cast:
Errol Flynn … Morgan Lane
Alexis Smith .. Maria Singleton
S.Z. Sakall … Poppa Schultz
Douglas Kennedy … Rodney Ackroyd
James Brown … Tex Coyne
Ian MacDonald … Slim Reeves
Paul Burns … Tecumseh Burke
Charles Irwin … MacKenzie
Tudor Owen .. Jock
Lester Matthews … George Forsythe
Dorothy Adams … Kitty Maynard
Monte Blue … Charlie Penrose
Lane Chandler … Sheriff Jake Overby

Runtime: 73 min.

Song:

Alexis and Errol sing “Reckon I’m In Love”

S.Z. Sakall as Poppa Schultz, the traveling salesman who winds up with a sheepherding partner in Montana (1950)

Paul E. Burns as Tecumseh Burke, the old-timer who sides with Morgan Lane in Montana (1950)

Memorable lines:

Poppa Schultz, the peddler, to Morgan Lane: “You have no pistol gun?”
Lane: “What?”
Schultz: “You don’t carry boom-boom?”
Lane: “Nah. Don’t like ’em. They make me nervous.”

Maid: “Maria, you’d better marry that man (Ackroyd) while he’s still in one piece.”
Maria: “Maybe I could handle him better if he was broken up a little.”

Maria Singleton, on a tirade after learning she’s leased range to a sheepman: “If you could have seen him smirking. If I’d had a gun, I would have blown him in two.”
Her maid: “Well, next time you go out with him, dear, be sure to carry your gun.”
Maria: “Next time? Next time, I’ve got to get even!”

Dorothy Adams as Kitty Maynard, Maria’s maid, somewhat humored by her boss’s predicament in Montana (1950)

Lane Chandler as Sheriff Jake Overby, learning someone is fooling around with his gal in Montana (1950)

Morgan Lane to Maria Singleton: “You didn’t bring your whip.”
Maria: “No. I left all my weapons at home.”
Morgan, glancing at her low-cut dress: “Ahh, not all of them.”

Rodney Ackroyd to Maria, as he and his men prepare to stampede sheep off the range: “Your friend, Lane, might know something about sheep. Today, he’s going to learn about cattle.”

A wounded Morgan Lane to Maria Singleton: “I can see I’m going to have trouble with you.”

Errol Flynn as Morgan Lane, showing the signs of what happens when they find out you’re a sheepherder in Montana (1950)

Alexis Smith as Maria Singleton, baffled as Morgan Lane returns the lease on her land in Montana (1950)

Charles Irwin as MacKenzie, aka ‘Mac’, one of the sheepherders working for Morgan Lane in Montana (1950)

Forrest Taylor as banker Clark and Lester Matthews as cattle George Forsythe, ready to consider Lane’s notion that cattle and sheep share the range in Montana (1950)

Errol Flynn as Morgan Lane, riding into town with his herd of sheep in Montana (1950)

Alexis Smith as Maria Singleton, pistol at ready, determined to stand up to Morgan Lane in Montana (1950)

S.Z. Sakall as Pappa Schultz and Paul E. Burns as Tecumseh, watching Morgan Lane try to ride a bucking bronc to win a bet in Montana (1950)

Alexis Smith as Maria Singleton and Errol Flynn as Morgan Lane, caught playing guitar in Montana (1950)