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.

"Baby Face" director Alfred E. Green helmed this beautifully lensed but lame oater. This early Audie Murphy western isn't one to remember. Wanda Hendrix is spunky enough as the heroine, and Robert Rober makes an acceptably obnoxious villain. Murphy plays a callow young cowboy named Ring Hassard who dwells with his dad way back in the mountains. Murphy's father Jeff (Dean Jagger of "Bad Day at Black Rock") was wrongly accused of a homicide that he didn't commit years ago. Now, Jeff lives in a sort of self-imposed exile with his fast-drawing son. Nobody can find the Hassard camp tucked as it is far back in the mountains with only a stream threading through the towering rocks to follow. One day, an impetuous young girl, Riley (Wanda Hendrix), sets out to find a quaint character nick-named Lonesome (Burl Ives) who warbles songs on horseback while he strums his guitar. Riley loses her horse, and Ring finds her. He takes her back to his camp. Later, after she loses another horse, Riley realizes she maybe stuck with Ring and his father longer than she wants. She has been gone for about three days. The Hassards are short a horse so the elder Hassard decides to break a bronc for her to ride. The steed throws Jeff and drags the poor guy around the corral before Ring can rescue him. Once Ring has his father back to their camp and in a bed, Lonesome rides up and recommends that Ring fetch a doctor. Ring plans to pay for the doctor with his maverick hores, but Big Matt Rango (Robert Rober of "Port of New York") steals Ring's horses. Eventually, Ring takes Riley back to Sierra. Along the way, Riley is bitten by a rattlesnake. Since he doesn't have a sharp enough knife, Ring shoots Riley. Everybody is overjoyed when Ring arrives in town with Riley. Meantime, Ring and Lonesome try to recover the horses that Big Matt appropriated from them. Big Matt and his gunmen capture Ring and put him in jail. The punishment for rustling horses is hanging. Ring has nobody to represent him. Riley steps in to defend Ring. Incredibly, Lonesome serenades the town marshal's deputy and gets the keys to open Ring's jail. As it turns out, Jeff Hassard was actually innocent of the crime. "Sierra" is nothing special.

Skip it – While this ranks among Audie Murphy's best westerns, it's far from spectacular. The plot, however, is unique. It is the story of an innocent young man who was raised in the mountains by his outlaw father. When his father gets injured, he is forced to go for help, and in doing so enters society for the first time. The naïve young man gets in to trouble, and it doesn't help matters any when the townspeople find out his true identity. While the plot is original enough, nothing else really stands out about this film. It co-stars a very young Tony Curtis and a very old Burl Ives, who starts getting annoying after he sings his fourth song. There is not very much action, and there are twice as many songs as gunfights. 2 action rating

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.