All they wanted was their chance to be men...and he gave it to them.

Starring: John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Brown, Bruce Dern, Colleen Dewhurst, Adolfo Martinez, Slim Pickens, Stephen Hudis

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I'm thirty years older than you are. I had my back broke once, and my hip twice. And on my worst day I could beat the hell out of you." – Wil Anderson

Why watch this? Wayne has never been better, as a man desperate to drive his cattle to market.

Plot Summary: Wil Andersen, a rancher needing help for his cattle drive, is forced to hire on a group of inexperienced schoolboys after his regular crew leaves for the gold rush. He trains these youngsters, who learn about life and the responsibilities of being a cowboy during their arduous journey. Their challenging drive is complicated by the presence of a gang of rustlers who are after their herd.

Dad's Preview: This is a superb non-standard Western. Wayne has to holster his pistols and become a surrogate father for the young boys he has hired for the trail drive. I'll forever love Roscoe Lee Brown as Mr. Nightlinger, the cook, who breathes real life into his role. And who will ever forget Bruce Dern as "Long Hair", the film's creepy, murderous antagonist. I love it when the Dukes tells the boys each early morning, "We're burnin' daylight!"

Mark Rydell; Warner Bros.