Smoky is the simple tale of a man and a horse. If Fred MacMurray were a juvenile we might say that Smoky would be a prototype for the Fury TV series.
MacMurray who said that he never felt comfortable in westerns may have given the performance of all time if that was the case. He's a lone cowhand who happens to see some cowboys from Anne Baxter's ranch trying to catch one strong and tricky wild black stallion. He brings him in and earns a job at her spread although foreman Roy Roberts doesn't like hiring a man who won't talk about his past.
The past in the form of Bruce Cabot catches up with Fred and he gets a job at the Baxter spread. But Fred's more interested in training Smoky who he does not want Baxter to sell, but he thinks can be a good cow pony.
He's everything that MacMurray could want, but like Fury he's fiercely loyal to one man only. If people were that way there would be no divorces.
Smoky marked the screen debut of Burl Ives as one of the hands who sang several of the folk ballads associated with him. In the wilds before mass media, a guy like Ives was probably a necessity in the way of entertainment for people working in an isolated area where the Baxter ranch seems to be.
It's quite a triangle, Anne, Fred, and the horse. In the end look to what happens to the wild horses in The Misfits for a clue as to what Smoky's fate at the end of the film.
The film is a nice one, well photographed with characters you like and root for. Especially the horse.
MacMurray who said that he never felt comfortable in westerns may have given the performance of all time if that was the case. He's a lone cowhand who happens to see some cowboys from Anne Baxter's ranch trying to catch one strong and tricky wild black stallion. He brings him in and earns a job at her spread although foreman Roy Roberts doesn't like hiring a man who won't talk about his past.
The past in the form of Bruce Cabot catches up with Fred and he gets a job at the Baxter spread. But Fred's more interested in training Smoky who he does not want Baxter to sell, but he thinks can be a good cow pony.
He's everything that MacMurray could want, but like Fury he's fiercely loyal to one man only. If people were that way there would be no divorces.
Smoky marked the screen debut of Burl Ives as one of the hands who sang several of the folk ballads associated with him. In the wilds before mass media, a guy like Ives was probably a necessity in the way of entertainment for people working in an isolated area where the Baxter ranch seems to be.
It's quite a triangle, Anne, Fred, and the horse. In the end look to what happens to the wild horses in The Misfits for a clue as to what Smoky's fate at the end of the film.
The film is a nice one, well photographed with characters you like and root for. Especially the horse.