The Rare Breed

1966 "Young lovers ... restless, bold, ready to meet the brawling dangers of the raw West ... Head On !"
6.3| 1h37m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 02 February 1966 Released
Producted By: Universal Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

When her husband dies en route to America, Martha Price and her daughter Hilary are left to carry out his dream: the introduction of Hereford cattle into the American West. They enlist Sam "Bulldog" Burnett in their efforts to transport their lone bull, a Hereford named Vindicator, to a breeder in Texas, but the trail is fraught with danger and even Burnett doubts the survival potential of this "rare breed" of cattle.

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Reviews

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting
AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,
Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
williwaw James Stewart made this film at Universal with a very very beautiful Maureen O Hara as his leading lady reprising their teaming for 20th's Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation. Andrew McLaglen who was part of the James Stewart-John Wayne fraternity of action movies directs well this story of cattle breeding. Lots of familiar Universal back lot locations add to my enjoyment of this film. I respect both James Stewart and Maureen O Hara for keeping their careers in high gear even in the troubled 60's. With Maureen O Hara she outpaced many of her peers who retired due to lack of work, only Susan Hayward and Lana Turner were as active as the beautiful Irish Ms. O'Hara was in her steady stream of work as leading lady to John Wayne, Henry Fonda, James Stewart stalwart's of the American screen. Don Galloway a Universal contract player is also cast. Always thought Don Golloway would be a star.Is this movie great? No! Is it enjoyable yes! And Maureen O Hara one of the great Beauties of the Screen!
aimless-46 Director Andrew V. McLaglen's "The Rare Breed" (1966) has a surprising amount of historical interest, both to students of the old west and to western genre film buffs. It is actually a fairly accurate (if fictionalized) account of the displacement of Longhorn cattle on the Texas range by intentional interbreeding with more conventional bulls (in this case a Hereford named Vindicator).Just as interesting is the film's position as one of the early intentional parodies of the western genre. While less obvious than in "Cat Ballou" (1965), the self-reflexive elements and parody are there if you look close. The most obvious are Brian Keith's overplayed (almost expressionistic) Scotsman and McLaglen's juxtaposition of classic John Ford outdoor scenery with obvious sound stage shots-including matte paintings by Albert Whitlock. And McLaglen rounds out his cast with genre favorites Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., and Jack Elam.But "The Rare Breed's" real claim to fame is as the first "chick flick" western. It is likely to appeal more to women than men viewers as the story is told from the point of view of its heroine Hilary Price (Juliet Mills), who sets out with her parents to bring a small herd of cattle from Hertfordshire (England) to the American west. Unfortunately her father dies on the ocean voyage so Hilary and her mother Martha (Maureen O'Hara) are faced with the daunting task of completing what had been her father's dream. Mills is wonderful in this role and it really suits her. She is a placid observer of the strange land in which she finds herself while her mother is almost savagely reactive. Yet Mills gets all the really good lines as Hilary injects a lot of wit and wry humor into the story. McLaglen gives real dimension to only two of the characters, Hilary and "Bulldog" Sam Burnett (Jimmy Stewart). Burnett is a cowhand who starts out to swindle the two women but ends up being completed by them; eventually becoming a father/husband replacement to Hilary and Martha respectively, as well as a complete believer in their mission to change the nature of the American cattle industry.But Burnett has to come a long way to make this transition as he begins by calling the symbolically named Vindicator a muley bull (because it has no horns). His reaction does not get him off to a good start with the protective Hilary, who has raised Vindicator from a calf. The bull follows her around like a dog and is easily quieted with a verse from "God Save the Queen". Entertaining but not riveting, this unique example of the genre is a nice change of pace. Unfortunately the scenes between Keith and O'Hara will make you think more of Disney's original "The Parent Trap" than the film you thought you were watching.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
kenandraf Average western that has a good story but bad screenplay,script,cinematography and directing.Stewart and O'Hara deliver very well as always but the bad production just weighs their performance down.Too bad for the subject matter of the story is very interesting and historically educational with a lot of action,drama and even comedic potentials.Only for big western fans and fans of the lead actors......
Stu-42 I enjoyed the movie "The Rare Breed" despite the fact that it was a tad silly at times. I don't think that it was an attempt to make an extremely powerful, gut wrenching story, but rather some great actors doing a film that mixed some serious moments with a lot of fun. Instead of knocking Mr. Stewart for doing this movie I would just as soon sit back and have a good time watching this "modern" western. I must agree however with Leonard Maltin who says that the only thing wrong with it was too much studio footage. It really would have helped the credibility factor to go out more to the open range. As a major Jimmy Stewart fan, I acknowledge that this was not his best, but who cares!