weezeralfalfa One of Joan Leslie's hobbies was horse riding. She makes use of that skill in this horse-dominated cowless oater. Cleary, she's having a marvelous time, often at James Craig's(Dan) expense. Fortunately, it was filmed in Cinecolor, which had it's disadvantages, but the reds and blues, especially were as vivid as any Technicolor print, and at a far less cost. Joan's flaming orange hair was made for color cinemotography. The majority of shoots were done in the spectacular scenery of Banff National Park...The remainder of shoots were at the Calgary Stampede....In several parts, the main focus of attention is on a pure white stallion named White Outlaw or alternatively Blizzard. Blizzard was notoriously difficult to capture and tame. Blizzard favored a particular wild mare, thus providing an analogy to a man and woman, which Joan used to suggest a possible romance between herself and Dan. From what I have read, horse societies actually consist of a stallion and a harem, rather than this idealized pair. ...In the central portion of the film, Dan and Joan are competing for prizes in the Calgary Stampede. Both win some events, but Dan was the overall winner, thanks largely to an errant wheel on Joan's chuck wagon. Somehow, Joan gets ahold of Dan's winnings and buys 4 horses with it. Now, he can't fire her, as threatened, because he can't pay her back wages, over a year or so, for acting as foreman at his ranch....Dan wants to sell the ranch so he can continue to spent his time on the rodeo circuit, while Joan wants to stay on the ranch and raise or capture horses. Not clear how their budding romance can deal with this conflict. Joan is often impish in her competition with Dan, which much adds to the interest of the film....See it on YouTube.

aimless-46 Filmed in Alberta, "Northwest Stampede" has the full-color glory of the Canadian Rockies as a backdrop, and the gorgeous Joan Leslie in an unprecedented (for 1948) number of nice close-ups. Despite a below average story, the visual elements of the film make it worth viewing. The story concerns a rodeo star named Dan Bennett (James Craig), who inherits his father's ranch but does not want to be tied down and distracted from his efforts on the rodeo circuit. The female ranch foreman Christine Johnson (Joan Leslie) wants him to continue his father's dream of building up the ranch. Dan is only hanging around the ranch because a horse he once owned has turned wild and he wants to capture and tame it. Much of the film is simply an excuse to exhibit footage shot at the 1947 Calgary Stampede, into which they cut close shots of Craig and Leslie whose characters are entered into the various competitions. Jack Oakie and a remarkably thin Chill Wills play supporting parts and provide most of the comic relief. The Wills character is named "Mileaway" James because when there is work to do he is always a mile away. There is some comedy in the Dan-Christine dynamic; a bit like the Rock Hudson - Paula Prentiss stuff in "Man's Favorite Sport".Dan and Christine eventually fall in love. Like the wild stallion, Dan cannot be forcibly domesticated but when the horse voluntary enters the corral to be with a mare you know that Dan likewise will choose to stay on the ranch with Christine. Christine Johnson (called Chris) is a pivotal character in film history and "Northwest Stampede" is a significant film for this reason. She not only runs the ranch efficiently, she rides, ropes, and breaks horses as well as any of the men. She comes within an equipment malfunction of beating Dan for the total points prize at the rodeo. Yet she maintains her feminine identity. Dan learns to respect her professionally long before falling in love with her. This character could only have appeared in a post World War Two Hollywood movie. The extensive mobilization required to win the war had let the genie out of the bottle of women's occupational choices. Women had served in the military, become military and civilian pilots, and replaced men in most factory jobs. When the men returned home they reclaimed most of their jobs but the myth of a woman's inability to work productively outside the home had been exploded. "Northwest Stampede" put a very positive spin on these developments, showing that a modern couple with mutual respect could have as good (maybe even better) romantic relationship than had been possible in the pre-war years. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Python3955 For a movie made in 1948, this one is on par. Rowdy son of a rancher, returns after his father passes, with intentions on selling the ranch, but only after he captures the "white outlaw" a wild steed, he remembers from his youth.Fireworks start immediatly, between him and the foreman, who happens to be a woman, who can rope, ride and shoot with the best of the men. I was surprised to find this to be in color, and the scenery of the Canadian Rockies didn't dissappoint me.The story line may have been a bit sappy, but not for the time it was made, and I have always been a sucker for a romantic western.

phadrs This could almost become a cult classic, sort of a Plan 9 From The Calgary Stampede. The plot is pleasant, however unbelievable. The scenery is quite nice and the color is lush. And then there are those moments like when Chris outruns the herd of horses escaping from the corral. Like the previous commentator, I was unsure of the period setting, until I saw Chris with an electric lamp on while telephoning. There are no cars as I recall, though, so it might be a mixed-time thing? Jack Oakie and Chill Wills are in good form.