The Rare Breed (1966)

The lately widowed “Martha” (Maureen O’Hara) is travelling with her daughter “Hilary” (Juliet Mills) and cowhand “Sam” to St. Louis where they hope to introduced the hardy British Hereford breed of cow to the United States. Their prize possession is “Vindicator” whom they sell to the curmudgeonly old Scot “Bowen” (Brian Keith). On their way to his remote ranch, “Sam” and “Martha” start to bond a little, but upon arrival nobody reckons the bull has what it takes to survive the harshness of the winter and so “Bowen” and the dejected “Martha” talk marriage whilst “Sam” spends the winter trawling through the snow looking for the bull. As spring approaches, so do some nuptials and “Sam” knows that if he can somehow prove that “Vindicator” succeeded in breeding then maybe, just maybe, “Martha” will change her mind. This is all perfectly watchable stuff with a degree of chemistry between Stewart and an O’Hara who doesn’t quite convince as an English lady, but quite where Brian Keith got his Scots accent from is anyone’s guess. Even with his tongue in his cheek, he’s always out-acted by his four-hooved co-star. There’s some fine cinematography - I’m a sucker for a snowy scene, of which there are plenty here; and with a genuine looking stampede thrown in for good measure this is quite a gently engaging comedy that marries the pluckiness of us Brits with the hardiness of some longhorn cattle and a Jimmy Stewart just being himself. It’s not exactly memorable, but it’s an easy ninety minutes.