Joel McCrea is Dan, a former rodeo champ turned rancher who’s fallen on hard times.
So he joins other cowboys in an attempt to collect a $500 reward for catching a black mustang dubbed Shoshone, the only mustang to escape the previous year’s roundup.
He finally gets a lasso around the mustang, only to be pulled from the saddle and left lying face down and unconscious in shallow river.
His dog Luke drags him from the water. An orphan Indian boy named Nika who happens by does the rest, getting Dan safely back to his camp.
Nika has fled the Deer Mountain School and is walking to Bear Springs to reunite with his grandfather. Dan agrees to take him there.
When they reach their destination, the grandfather is dead, so the two join forces to track down the mustang.
A grizzly named Three Toes — Dan and Luke have encountered him before — will complicate matters.
Joel McCrea as Dan, getting to know his young companion Nika in Mustang Country (1976)
Nike Mina as Nika, learning about Dan’s history with a grizzly in Mustang Country (1976)
Review:
The good news is that McCrea came out of retirement at age 69 to make this film, meaning the horrific, low-budget “Cry Blood Apache” was no longer his last movie or his last Western.
The bad news is that the budget for this film wasn’t much higher, and it’s routine family fare, predictable and padded with nature scenes.
What’s more, familiar Western faces Patrick Wayne and Robert Fuller disappear early, leaving all the screen time to McCrea and Nika Mina.
McCrea is comfortable in the role of the old-timer with a creaky body, a man who’s learned to roll with the punches and dispenses wisdom to the young lad.
Nika’s performance … well, let’s just say the dog playing Luke comes off better. But his enthusiasm does prod McCrea’s character on when he might otherwise have given up the hunt.
Given the ending, the three stars might be a bit generous. But it was nice to see McCrea in the saddle again.
Robert Fuller as Griff, one of the cowboys chasing a wild mustang in Mustang Country (1976)
Patrick Wayne as T.J., one of the cowboys after a wild mustange in Mustang Country (1976)
Directed by:
John C. Champion
Cast:
Joel McCrea … Dan
Robert Fuller … Griff
Patrick Wayne … Tee Jay
Nika Mina … Nika
Runtime: 79 min.
Song:
“Follow Your Restless Dream”
by Denny Brooks
Luke, Dan’s faithful companion in the hunt for a mustang in Mustang Country (1976)
Joel McCrea as Dan, sharing some of his wisdom with Indian yough Nika (Nika Mina) in Mustang Country (1976)
Memorable lines:
Dan, on why he didn’t suggest Mike return to the school he ran away from: “I gave up telling people what they should do a long time ago. You’ll know soon enough what’s best for you.”
Dan, about Shoshone: “I don’t mind being outsmarted by people. But when horses do it, that’s where I draw the line.”
Nika: “I wish I could be like you.”
Dan: “Why?”
Nika: “You never let anything get to you. You just take it as it comes.”
Dan: “When you’ve been around as long as I have, you’ll get the hang of it. No point in feeling every bump in the road.”
Dan: “When someone’s doin’ their best, all there is is good luck and bad. Both of them are part of living.”
Nika: “Okay, but when do we get to the good part?”
Joel McCrea as Dan, with the elusive mustang nearly trapped in Mustang Country (1976)
Joel McCrea as Dan and Nika Mina as Nika, partners by chance in Mustang Country (1976)
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In 1976 this unexpected movie was as much a surprise as a refreshing relief from the grim gangster pics that had taken hold on the industry of the day. A well and truly retired Joel McCrea must have liked the script from writer/producer/director John Champion to allow himself to be lured back into the game he said he was through with – and at 69 he proved a formidable character to tackle such an active role. Being a professional horseman he makes moving at speed look as easy as an evening stroll! It seems the film was made to commemorate some Centenary celebration and was released in two versions – the best was released into cinemas as a support, at approx 80mins – while an extended version screened on TV, padded out with footage lifted from earlier McCrea westerns.
It’s as pleasing to the eye as it is unusual for its day and while slight in its overall story, is set in some of the most ruggedly beautiful country in Alberta and well photographed by J. Barry Herron (Orca ‘77). Within the opening, there is an appearance of two guest stars, Patrick Wayne and Robert Fuller – who don’t return for the duration but are used quite well. A one and only screen performance by a young native Indian lad, Nika Mina completes the rest of the cast as they search the hills for a precious wild Mustang. Random shots of animals existing in the wild are accompanied by a fine music score from gifted composer/arranger Lee Holdridge. There’s a good song included by Denny Brooks (“Follow Your Restless Dreams”) that’s nicely featured in one section and closes the film. On the journey, a massive rogue Black Bear adds deadly excitement invading a barn the two central travelers take refuge in.
McCrea followers will be pleased to see this sterling veteran performer in his final role. In 1976, this little film won a Western Heritage Trustees Award for outstanding family entertainment in a western motion picture (though I agree with other reviewers that this film, set in 1925, is more a ‘Wilderness’ movie than a Western) Some DVD copies available are poor but It seems Universal have recently given this worthy picture a new DVD release – while I have not seen the quality, if taken from the original 35mm negative this should look visually perfect.
A delightful movie. Academy Awards for two horses, the dog and the grizzly.