n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

If you like westerns and Errol Flynn and who doesn't, prepare to be entertained. Cattle, sheep, a woman, ranches, shootings and all the rest take place in a rather quick paced plot that serves its purpose. It would have been a 5-6 rating but Errol is always a pleasure to watch as he has this way of acting that looks so effortless. Hollywood did well to take advantage how the camera loves this man. Good movie to eat a sandwich while watching with a tasty drink and perhaps some choice candy. There is a couple parts where they sing and in the bat scene, the song is quite catchy. Listen to the words or read them if you have closed captioning. It gives us a glimpse of life back then, what people liked and song subjects can be revealing. Just listen and learn. Okay boys, lets ride

I much enjoyed this Technicolor latter day Flynn western, more so than my initial viewing some years ago. Although the viewer can soon guess the ultimate outcomes in the intertwined romance and business departments, the details of getting there are entertaining in typical Flynn fashion. Some reviewers deride it for its relatively short length, but I'd rather have a well-paced shorter film than a tedious long one. Flynn is once again cast as a romantic rebel, this time as sheepman Morgan Lane, intent on invading cattle-only territory in western Montana. He cleverly poses as a hawker for traveling salesman Papa Schultz('Cuddles' Sakall), in order to get his foot in the door. Although he claims to be an Australian who decided to move to the US, if you listen carefully, his father(probably when he was a small boy), as a sheepman, was run out of this region by cattlemen, and he has returned to reestablish a mix of sheep and cattle. He knows it will be a tough sell, but he's undeterred.Cattle queen Maria Singleton(Alexis Smith) long ago lost her father and brother in a sheepmen-cattlemen war, presumably the one involving Lane's father, although this connection is never explored. Thus, she and neighboring cattleman fiancé Rod Ackroyd have warned death to any attempt to reestablish sheep in their corner of Montana. Before she learns Lane's true intentions, Maria is impressed with Lane's skills with a gun(in a showdown with foreman Slim Reeves), a guitar, and riding a notorious bucking bronco; thus offers to lease him some of her best grazing land, presumably to establish a cattle herd. Naturally, she is horrified to learn that he is the proprietor of the sheep flock recently harassed nearby. Maria spends the rest of the film being alternatively attracted to Lane's charm and ranch skills and repelled by his sheep past and plans: a classic conflict between an irresistible force and an immovable object.Lane eventually convinces most of the small ranchers, one big rancher, and a banker that, given the depressed prices for cattle products, sheep plus cattle is the way to go. He arranges to move his sheep onto the land of a cooperating big rancher, who is then assassinated by Slim, who then accidentally shoots himself in a grapple with Flynn. The non-cooperating cattlemen then plan a cattle stampede through the sheep flock, but are thwarted by Flynn and cooperating cattlemen, who were forewarned. Ackroyd is trampled to death by his own cattle after losing a grapple with Lane. To rub Maria's nose in his victory, Lane herds his sheep into town, where she is waiting with a gun. Well, you can guess the outcome of this showdown, more or less. End of story.The two leads are very well cast and charismatic. Flynn, with his past success at combining physical skill, imagination, wordy charm and humor, made a believable upstart, and Alexis made a great brassy beautiful adversary/romantic counterpart. Her flaming red hair and bright gray-green eyes were made for Technicolor. I was surprised to learn this was their fourth(and last)film pairing. Unlike some reviewers, I thought Flynn still looked rather good for age 39(The film was actually shot in '48, not '50). He definitely looks much better in the film than on the jacket of the current DVD! You may or may not be charmed by the charismatic talkative Hungarian refuge 'Cuddles' Sakall, who becomes Flynn's initial local 'old timer' partner and adds some lightness to the story. Sakall disappears after bankrupting himself, losing multiple bets on Lane staying on that bucking bronco for at least one minute(Lane loses this bet due to undetected foul play). He is replaced as Flynn's 'old timer' friend by bewhiskered Paul Burns, as Tecumseh.In addition to the background music, Flynn and Alexis's duet "I Reckon I'm in Love" is a pleasant diversion in their getting acquainted process. In addition, there is a short traditional Latin song around the campfire, interrupted by a cattlemen attack, and a harmony ditty "Ole Dan Tucker" in the saloon.So, how does this story relate to actual history? Lane's sheep and shepherds got off very easy compared to some actual depredations by cattlemen. Actually, Montana was one area of the Great Plains where cattle-sheep wars were relatively few, and sheep were often grazed with cattle and horses. In part, this was because individual investors often had both cattle and sheep flocks, and sheep and cattle raising began about the same time in the 1860s. The later '80s and early '90s were a difficult time for northern plains cattlemen, as mass cattle deaths from severe winters and drought, and economic depression drove many into bankruptcy. In this film, only the price drop is mentioned as a hardship.This film dramatizes some of the common prejudices of the times by cattlemen against sheep and shepherds: sheep eat vegetation down to the roots, are smelly and their meat inferior to beef, while sheepmen usually are inexperienced at riding horses and using firearms, and are financially poor. Most sheperds were Mexicans, Native Americans or poor immigrants, as depicted. In fact, sheep prefer forbs to grass, opposite to cattle. If raised around cattle, they often follow cattle, which tend to scare off lamb predators, abetting guard dogs.Presently available as part of the Flynn westerns DVD collection, and has played occasionally on the Encore Westerns TV channel.

Reminds me a little of the Glenn Ford movie, "The Sheepman". Glenn Ford also brought sheep into bovine territory. I always like that movie and then just discovered this one on TCM this morning. Errol Flynn is one of my favorite actors and this little jewel will be added to my collection. The movies a classic B movie. But Errol Flynn and Alexis Smith was able to pull it off. And to the person who called his sheepdog a mutt: that was a blue merle collie and could very well be my dog's great-great parent. Mac looked exactly like that. We lost him last year to cancer. This makes the movie even more cherished to me. I just purchased it on Amazon!

This lackluster Errol Flynn oater qualifies as one of his minor efforts. Clocking in at a sheer 73 minutes, "Montana" doesn't waste its time getting down to basics, but the narrative has its lapses. One character shows up and then is gone without an explanation. The performances are good and the Warner Brothers production values are bed-rock. Seasoned western writers such as James R. Webb and Borden Chase penned the screenplay, but they deliver little in the way of memorable dialogue and there are absolutely no surprises in this formulaic horse opera. Some of the situations, like our hero being duped into riding an unbreakable bronco, are old hat.Basically, Morgan Lane (Errol Flynn of "The Sea Hawk") plunges his flock of sheep into cattle country in 1879 and the cowboys refuse to tolerate these sheep-nanigans. No sooner has Lane and his flock entered cattle country than the cowboys descend on them at night with their guns blazing death. An unarmed, young Mexican shepherd becomes the first casualty with a bullet in the back. The following day Lane and company encounter Papa Otto Schultz (S.Z. Sakall of "Casablanca") who drives his peddler's wagon into their camp. Lane and Papa Otto become partners almost instantly and the two ride into Fort Humboldt to peddle his wares. Initially, Lane receives a chilly reception in the Little Big Horn Saloon where Slim Reeves (Ian MacDonald of "High Noon") goads him into a showdown after he labels Lane a sheep-man. Although he knows that it isn't any of his business, a bearded, leathery-looking Tecumseh Burke (Paul E. Burns of "Son of Paleface") pokes his nose into the confrontation. The older gunman offers Lane the use of his hardware since our hero doesn't pack a pistol. Tecumseh warns Lane that the trigger is tied back and he will have to fan the weapon. Slim shoves the holstered revolver and gun belt at Lane. Everybody clears out of the way so the two can shoot it out. Tecumseh starts the countdown to three, but the bushwhacking skunk that Slim is tries to shuck his six-shooter on two. Lane blows the revolver neatly out of his adversary's fist as easily as he might blow out a candle. The ruffian apologizes because he insists no sheepman could possibly wield a shooting iron with such dexterity."Montana" features a romance between the principal players. Predictably, it doesn't take our hero long to meet, greet, and get sweet with cattle queen Maria Singleton (Alexis Smith of "San Antonio"), even though she is engaged to marry rancher Rod Ackroyd. Lane has Maria eating out of his hand after he wagers that he can ride a bronco that nobody else has managed to stay aboard for a full minute. Sneaky Reeves whittles away at the cinch and Lane barely missing staying in the leather long enough. Apparently, the colossal loss of money that Papa sacrificed not only drove him out of his partnership with Lane but also out of the movie. Papa vanishes and is never heard from again. Meanwhile, Maria decides to lease Lane some land to run his steers on since he didn't tame the bronco. At this point, things take a turn for the worse for our protagonist. Inexplicably, Lane's sheep dog Jeanne prances into town that same day that Lane steps outside the bank with Maria with the lease for the land. Reeves and his cohorts expose Lane as a sheepman when the mutt goes to him. Naturally, Maria is furious, but what she doesn't know is that her fiancée has been two-timing her with the lawman's girlfriend. Indeed, the lawman, Sheriff Jake Overby (Lane Chandler of "Samson and Delilah") doesn't know that he, too, is being two-timed.Meantime, the ornery cattlemen cannot shed their deep-seated prejudice toward the mutton-minded Lane. Lane argues that sheep and cattle can get along together. He has seen it in Mexico, but the cattlemen don't believe him. Gunslinging cattleman Rod Ackroyd (Douglas Kennedy of "The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold") leads the charge against Lane and his sheep and bites the dust. The showdown in front street at the end of the action looks like a mild imitation of "Red River" with our colorful heroine shooting the man that she loves. Flynn was looking a mite long in the tooth when he made this oater and the alcohol had robbed him of his spontaneity but not his charm. He looks a little more heavyset than usual. Smith doesn't look like she has changed since their last collaboration on "San Antonio" except that her outfits aren't as flamboyant. Mind you, she is a bit more hard-hearted and tough as a cattle queen who lost her father and brother in the war against the sheep herders."Montana" doesn't rank in the same league with Flynn's more prestigious westerns like "Dodge City," "Virginia City," and "They Died With Their Boots On." In fact, "Montana" rates as one of his least appealing westerns. At least the Technicolor makes this modest western look good. Strangely, the peddler that Sakall plays vanishes inexplicably from the action. If you want to see a genuinely entertaining cattle versus sheep western, watch director George Marshall's comedy western "The Sheepman" (1958) with Glenn Ford.