Exoticalot
People are voting emotionally.
Marva
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
Cheryl
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
alexandre michel liberman (tmwest)
The title of this film is misleading, a sheepman makes you think of a shepherd and a light comedy, and even though it is partly a comedy, it has its share of violence and drama. George Marshall was an expert at this combination of styles he directed "Destry Rides Again" (1939), "Texas" (1941), "Destry" (1954). What "The Sheepman" does not lack is great actors: Glenn Ford, Shirley MacLaine, Edgar Buchanan, Mickey Shaughnessy and Leslie Nilsen. Nilsen plays a charismatic "bad man", he seems so nice and friendly, and all of a sudden turns into a rattlesnake. Edgar Buchanan is Milt Masters, a likable guy with no morals and that has no qualms about it. Mickey Shaughnessy is Jumbo, supposed to be the toughest guy in town. There is a good chemistry between MacLaine and Glenn Ford, she falls for him gradually, which woman could resist such a perfect hero? Even though it has the same style it does not come close to "Destry Rides Again", but it is still an enjoyable western.
dbdumonteil
This is a very special western ,very tongue in cheek ,which was very unusual in the fifties where the masters produced unsurpassed classics (Ford,Daves ,Walsh,Mann....)Till the moment when Glenn Ford tells the story of his former fiancée to Shirley McLaine ,there's absolutely nothing dramatic in this plot which involves a Sheepman who has got problems with the inhabitants of a cattle village .Sheepman has to battle for sheep herds and for the "colonel"'s fiancée, a tomboy who was ahead of her time ,as far as woman's lib is concerned ,at least till her very last lines ;Glenn Ford ,Shirley McLaine and Leslie Nielsen do not take their roles seriously and it's much fun watching them battling against each others ;one can regret that Georges Marshall should have introduced drama in the second part .It should have stayed a comedy till the end!The scenes of the ball and the night train tooting alone are worth the price of admission.Didn't Jason get the Golden Fleece?
jpdoherty
MGM's THE SHEEPMAN (1958 - aka "Stranger With A Gun") is a hugely enjoyable light hearted western that is fondly remembered by western fans! Beautifully photographed in Cinemascope and Metrocolor by Robert Bronner its Acadamy Award nominated script by William Bowers and James Edward Grant could at times be quite amusing. The fine Edmund Grainger production was brightly directed by George Marshall.Glenn Ford Is Jason Sweet (a name that elicits guffaws from leading lady Shirley Maclaine in one scene) who arrives into a town of a predominately cattle rearing district to start raising - of all things - SHEEP! The locals are incensed and under the tutelage of big cattle rancher Colonel Stephen Bedford (a very young Leslie Neilson in his dramatic Pre Frank Drebin days) they make a stand against him. But it comes to light Jason and the Colonel are old enemies and eventually must face each other. In the meantime, after many attempts to rid the town of Jason and his woolly merchandise the Colonel sends for three hired gunmen led by Chockdaw Neal (the impressive Pernell Roberts) to take Jason down. They first ride roughshod over the sheep camp killing the hands and later, in an exciting set piece, Jason confronts Chockdaw in the town's Main Street for a one to one fast draw shootout before riding out to the Colonel's ranch for the final showdown.Ford is excellent in what is one of his most likable roles! Combining the comedic talent he displayed in such films as "Teahouse Of The August Moon" (1956) and "Imitation General" (1958) together with his dramatic tough persona in westerns like "Jubal" (1955), "The Violent Men" (1956) and "3.10 To Yuma" (1957) his Jason Sweet is an altogether engaging and winning character. Giving great support and adding to the fun is Ford's long time friend and co-star from many movies Edgar Buchanan as the town's nosey parker, Mickey Shaughnessy as the Colonel's lame brained foreman, Pernell Roberts as the fearsome and violent gunman and Shirley MacLaine looking very pretty as the girl who secretly admires the Sheepman. Also notable and adding to the fun is the fine music score by MGM staff composer Jeff Alexander whose finest work and best known score is "Escape From Fort Bravo" (1953). For THE SHEEPMAN he invented some marvellous comical cues for the movie's amusing initial scenes. There are also some exciting dramatic cues and a lovely lingering main theme heard in its broadest rendition over the titles.THE SHEEPMAN is an entertaining and much rewarding romp and is worth repeated viewings. The good news is that it has just had its first Region 1 release from Warner Home Video on their new Warner Archive series. It is a lovely 2.35 widescreen transfer! The bad news is there are no extras - only the bare bones - not even a trailer! For the outrageous price Warner's are charging for this disc could they not have stretched to a measly trailer? HUH!
silverscreen888
Many viewers of U.S. westerns deem this one of the funniest of all satirical comedies set in the West. The so-called western defies the limits post-modernists want to put onto it. Their purpose is to argue away the reality based, secular, individual-rights basis of North American history, to argue that it was all a bad idea persons mistakenly believed in, and that we ought to be glad to be living in the Age of public interest imperialism and the corporate man. "The Sheepman" is as powerful and as humorous a refutation of totalitarianism modern-variety as any I know. The writers were the comedy specialist William Bowers, western veteran James Edward Grant and William Roberts, with the swift-paced and able direction being supplied by versatile George Marshall. The story-line retails what seems at first glance to be a superior situation from which to develop a comedy. Jason Sweet, able played by Glenn Ford, has won a herd of sheep in a poker game. He is intelligent enough to know that while cattle and sheep get along very well, the folks in the area he wants to graze them are not about to prefer science to their own stupid bigotry; so he has no choice but to make a splashy entrance into the town he has chosen. Gonzales Gonzales plays his lugubrious sheepherder foreman; Ford heads into town, leaving the sheep to him while he accomplishes three things. One is to meet ditsy but very cute Shirley Maclaine, whom he fancies immediately as much as he sets her teeth on edge. A second it to pick a fight with Jumbo, ably played by Mickey Shaughnessy, so the town--as in "Destry Rides Again"--will take notice of his defeating their toughest bully. ASnd third, he finds out an old enemy, Johnny Bledsoe, calling himself Colonel Bedford, in the person of Leslie Nielsen, is courting the lady and pretty well running the town. So from the start, Ford knows the game. Dirty tricks abound, but eventually Nielsen has to hire a gunfighter, played by Pernell Roberts, to try to ride himself of Sweet and the sheep. However, all turns our right in the end, leaving a grinning Ford in possession of everything he had set out to win. The colorful story is actually quite attractive as a production, with cinematography by Robert J. Bronner and art direction provided by Macolm Brown and William A. Horning. Jeff Alexander provided the original music, and there are fine sets by Henry Grace and Hugh Hunt and Walter Plunkett's vivid costumes to enjoy also. This is one of several excellent Gleenn Ford--George Marshall western efforts, a body of work second only perhaps to the John Wayne-John Ford team's output. Not to be missed; a favorite with viewers everywhere. In the talented cast besides Ford and an understated and intelligent Nielsen, the viewer can find such western stalwarts as Edgar Buchanan, Willis Bouchey, Slim Pickens, Buzz Henry, Roscoe Ates, Hoot Gibson, Kermit Maynard, Percy Helton and Harry Harvey.
