"Destry Rides Again" director George Marshall's western "The Sheepman" qualifies as a lightweight, tongue-in-cheek, cattlemen versus sheepherders, oater that turns to violence only as a reluctant last resort. The names of the three scenarists who adapted and wrote the screenplay should tell any western movie fan that Marshall's western is going to indulge in dialogue more than visceral action. James Edward Grant served as John Wayne's personal scriptwriter. He wrote "Angel and the Badman," and he went on to write the serio-comic John Wayne western "McLintock." William Bowers was no stranger to westerns. He wrote "Black Bart" (1948) and its 1967 remake "Ride to the Hangman's Tree," and those two horse operas emphasized humor. Bowers wrote "The Sheepman," and the script foreshadows Bowers' efforts on the James Garner law & order western "Support Your Local Sheriff." The third writer was William Roberts who received credit as the scenarist of "The Magnificent Seven." He also took credit for "One More Train to Rob" (1971) and "Red Sun" (1971). Indeed, an hour elapses before the dastardly villains shoot and kill the first unarmed, innocent sheepherders, but Glenn Ford takes everything in stride as a fast-draw, straight-shooting cattleman. Jason Sweet (Glenn Ford of "Arizona") was born to herd cattle, but the murder of his wife set him on the trail of vengeance. During his search for the killers, Sweet won his herd of sheep in a poker game and delivers them to Powder Valley. No sooner has Sweet arrives in town via the train than he tangles with the toughest man in town, Jumbo McCall (Mickey Shaughnessy of "Jailhouse Rock"), who works for the chief villain. The chief villain is Colonel Stephen Bedford (Leslie Nielsen of "Forbidden Planet") who owns the most prosperous cattle ranch and he is destined to wed the prettiest woman in town, Dell Payton (Shirley MacLaine of "Two Mules for Sister Sara"), the daughter of another cattleman. Eventually, Jumbo and two other cowhands usher a reluctant Jason into the Colonel's home. The Colonel turns out to be one of Jason's former friends. The two of them had planned to shoot it out in a duel, but neither of them showed up at the appointed time to slap leather. Jason knows 'the Colonel' as Johnny, a former outlaw who has changed his name and gone straight. The Colonel asks Jason to keep his real identity secret. Meantime, Jason befriends another character in town, livery stable owner Milt Masters (Edgar Buchanan of "Abilene Town") starts out as a potential adversary and becomes a friend. Interestingly enough, the Colonel orchestrates a party that he invites Jason to while he rounds up Jason's sheep and puts them aboard a train. Once, the Colonel has Jason's wooly horde on the train with the chief sheepherder, Angelo (Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez of "Rio Bravo"), and has told the locomotive engineer to leave them locked up on the freight car for 200 miles before they are to be released. All along our shrewd but amiable protagonist has been on the look out for the despicable man, Chocktaw Neal (Pernell Roberts of "Ride Lonesome"), who killed his wife. Chocktaw and two gunslingers show up at the Colonel's ranch and promptly ride off to murder all the sheepherders and gun down Jason. When they raid the sheep camp, they miss Jason who rides in after they have killed his hired hands and scattered his sheep. Of course, Marshall concludes matters with a showdown on Main Street where Jason has to shoot it out with Neal. Initially, Neal believes that he has Jason caught in a crossfire and it is a foregone conclusion that he will kill him. At this point, Dell has reformed herself and is sympathetic to Jason, and Milt and she gets the drop on Neal's two partners and disarm them. One showdown leads to another, and Jason storms out to the Colonel's ranch for the final shoot-out.The first hour of "The Sheepman" is thoroughly entertaining, and Glenn Ford is terrific. Edgar Buchanan plays another conniving galoot who winds up on the side of good, and Leslie Nielsen is urban as the evil villain. The dialogue is sparkling stuff. One of our hero's interesting ploys that has become a trademark for him is his sharpshooting trick where he balances a whiskey shot glass mouth down on the back of his hand with a poker chip atop it. He flings the glass and chip up into the air above him and adroitly whips out his six-shooter and shatters the glass with his bullet and then catches the poker chip. "The Sheepman" is an amusing oater.

A man comes into a town to settle down with his flock of sheep, something that does not sit well with the resident cattlemen. The film contains a number of funny characters. About the only character who's serious is future funny man Nielsen as the villain who rules the town until Ford arrives. Ford is terrific in the title role of an easygoing fellow who just wants to settle down with his sheep. MacLaine is charming as a feisty young woman who is betrothed to Nielsen, unaware of his shady past. The supporting cast includes such veterans as Buchanan, Shaughnessy, and Pickens. Under the capable direction of veteran Marshall, the film moves at a breezy pace.

This movie is played for laughs, particularly in the early scenes. The Fall scenery of the Colorado Rockies is gorgeous. The pretty title theme by composer Jeff Alexander reappears later in another Glenn Ford outing, "The Rounders". The strong cast includes Glenn Ford, Shirley McLaine, and Leslie Nielson. Edgar Buchanan is particularly good in a supporting role.This movie is fun to watch. Ford is good as the sheepman and Shirley McLain does well with her role as the almost-wife of bad guy Leslie Nielson. The film is a little short on action, but the witty script more than makes up for it. Most of the action occurs at the end with Sheepman Ford shooting the bad guys.I particularly enjoyed Shirley McLain's performance. The script gives her a character with some potential and she makes the most of it. If she's done another Western I can't remember what it is.>

The interface between cattle ranchers and sheep herders is played for more amusement than viciousness. This movie came out before the violence reached the degrading state, but still has lots of excitement and suspense. Families with fairly young children can see this together without fear, boredom, or embarrassment. While it may not quite meet the current PC view of women, it still shows the female lead with a lot of personality and originality, without trying to make the men look stupid.