The Rare Breed Reviews

O'Hara, the widow of an English breeder, comes to the St. Louis Exposition looking for a rancher who will work with her on crossbreeding Herefords and longhorns. The man who agrees to her concept is a fiery Scotsman, Keith, who gives Stewart the job of transporting the Hereford bull to Texas. Persistent O'Hara, along with her daughter Mills, demands to go along on the trip. Stewart, a cynical cowpoke, has accepted a bribe to swindle the lady. But in the course of protecting her from stampedes, rustlers, and other hazards of the West, he begins to admire O'Hara and her ideals. When the bull is safely delivered, Keith begins to doubt the whole project, questioning whether the animal will be able to survive the Texas winter. O'Hara, who has remained a guest in Keith's house, begins to get pessimistic also. Only Stewart remains a staunch believer in the experiment. However, when the spring thaw comes, the bull is found dead, and the breeding attempt has apparently failed. O'Hara prepares to marry Keith. But Stewart stubbornly refuses to give up his belief that somewhere out on the range there's a half-Hereford calf. He searches high and low until he finds it, carrying it back to the ranch house. He and O'Hara decide to marry and start their own cattle-breeding operation. The three leads, Stewart, O'Hara, and Keith, are very effective in their roles, but the best performance is a bit part by Elam as a colorful rustler who attempts to swindle O'Hara. The main fault of the script is that it tugs at our heartstrings in completely predictable ways, especially in the treatment of Stewart's devoted search for the calf.