Sierra (1950)

Am I Missing Something?

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

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.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Audie Murphy and his aging, fugitive father Dean Jagger, live deep in the mountains, away from trouble. A chance encounter with lost lady lawyer Wanda Hendrix and a serious injury to Jagger sends Audie to town for the first time since he was a small boy, where he finds trouble with the law.Striking locations, good photography, and a well-plotted story combine to make a fairly entertaining movie. Action scenes are handled quite nicely as well, especially the climax, involving a stampeding of hundreds of horses, back and forth between the good guys and the bad! The only problem with the movie is that the ending (satisfying as it was) is just a little too convenient.An interesting cast includes Burl Ives as a singing mountain man and early performances from Tony Curtis and James Arness as brothers and part of an outlaw family hiding on Audie and Jagger's mountainMeanwhile, Audie plays pretty much the same type of character you always see (and love to see) him playing, that of a young, angry, brooding, misunderstood young man, real-life traits, shaped by his service in World War II, that Hollywood seized upon and interestingly enough, inspired writer David Morrell to create the character of Rambo, a piece of trivia that makes seeing Audie elude a posse in the mountains all the more interesting.

Sierra is an enjoyable early Audie Murphy western, based on the novel The Mountains Are My Kingdom by Stuart Hardy. It co-stars his first wife Wanda Hendrix, and features an excellent cast, with an amusing performance by Burl Ives, who cleverly sings Murphy out of jail. Beautifully filmed against the most stunning landscapes in Utah, this story revolves around Audie Murphy and his father, fugitives from the law, as the father has been falsely accused of a murder he did not commit. They live a secluded life in the mountains, spending there time trapping and breaking wild horses. Burl Ives is their only trusted friend who helps them in the selling of the horses. Trouble is unleashed while out trapping one day, Murphy discovers a lost Wanda Hendrix close to their hide-out. The story progresses at a good pace and has plenty of action and moves toward an adequate ending.Audie Murphy's performance is very good and he displays an awkwardness that very much suits the character he plays. Wanda Hendrix is equally good and the chemistry between Murphy and Hendrix displays well on film. This interesting western offers sightings of James Arness and a young Tony Curtis in the cast of hired outlaws. Fans of Audie Murphy should find the stars fifth film entertaining.

I'm always fascinated by a movie star's early work and even more so with Audie Murphy because this was just 5 years after his heroics in WWII. It's amazing to think how much transition this young man went through in only a handful of years. Murphy is a natural fit for Westerns with his quiet manner and brooding looks. Sierra is not often shown on television, but if you have the chance to catch it, you won't be disappointed. I'd say watch for Burl Ives alone, because his voice was timeless. Such beautiful simple little Western melodies are peppered throughout the film. What's also unique about Sierra is that Murphy is costarred by his then-wife Wanda Hendrix. Their marriage didn't last long, but their chemistry is very obvious. And keep your eyes peeled for a young Anthony "Tony" Curtis as a Coulter gang member.

This is not one of Audie Murphy's better known movies. In fact, hardly anyone has heard of it. I saw it once many years ago, and fell in love with it. I really enjoyed Burl Ives performance also. I have wanted a copy of this movie for my colldection for a long time.