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Hunter...Frontiersman...Adventurer!
A frontiersman and his son fight to build a new home in Texas.
CinemaSerf
Nov 14, 2022 · via TMDB
Burt Lancaster starred in, and directed, this story of a well meaning traveller ("Big Eli") and his young son "Little Eli" (Donald MacDonald) heading to Texas hoping to make a decent living for him and his son. Along the way he encounters (and buys) an indentured slave "Susie" (Diana Lynn) who only complicates their already interesting journey as he fights his own demons with women, booze and a particularly nasty Walter Matthau ("Bodine"). It's a beautifully shot piece of cinema, this, and the mischievous charm of the star is writ large. It's too long, though - frequently sagging as the romantic elements go quickly from humorously hostile to schmaltzy just a bit too quickly. Matthau and his whip are the stuff of cinema legend though, and the young MacDomald plays his part well. Fans of Burt will love this, but I found I was bored by the half way mark as what pace it does have it doesn't really sustain.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Burt Lancaster
Elias Wakefield
Dianne Foster
Hannah Bolen
Walter Matthau
Stan Bodine
Diana Lynn
Susie Spann
John McIntire
Zack Wakefield
Una Merkel
Sophie Wakefield
John Carradine
Ziby Fletcher
John Litel
Pleasant Tuesday Babson
Rhys Williams
Constable
Edward Norris
Roulette Dealer
Will Wright
John Decker (uncredited)
Douglas Spencer
Frome Brother (uncredited)
Paul Wexler
Frome Brother (uncredited)
Clem Bevans
Riverboat Captain (uncredited)
Norman Leavitt
Frontiersman (uncredited)
Whip Wilson
Frontiersman (uncredited)
Ernest Laszlo
Director of Photography
Burt Lancaster
Director
Bernard Herrmann
Original Music Composer
Roy Webb
Original Music Composer
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(Chicago, Illinois) (premiere)
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(Los Angeles, California) (premiere)
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The Cameraman
2011
Denise
2016
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
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