Bluebell Alcock
Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
Roy Hart
If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Payno
I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Paynbob
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Spikeopath
Guns of Wyoming (AKA: Cattle King) is directed by Tay Garnett and written by Thomas Thompson. It stars Robert Taylor, Robert Loggia, Joan Caulfield, Robert Middleton, Larry Gates and William Windom. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by William Snyder.A range war looms large in Wyoming...Fronted by the ever reliable Western presence that was Bobby Taylor, this pic follows a familiar and slight formula. Which ultimately is fine for those who love the prolific line of Westerns produced in the 50s and 60s.Thematically it's strong, where we find Taylor's hard working and honest cattleman desperately trying to protect his land from the free grazing movement - something which brings into play nefarious characters. Sam Brassfield (Taylor) fences off his land and Clay Matthews (Middleton) - with henchmen in tow - cuts them down, simultaneously putting the word out that it's Brassfield who's doing the snipping! Naturally there's romance in the air, which causes friction from more than one quarter, and into the mix comes a visit to this part of Wyoming by President Chester A. Arthur. Who, as it happens, is a key player in spite of his limited screen time (Gates regally excellent).There's a dark edge bubbling away in this one, which is capitalised upon with a genuinely shocking turn of events. If only the finale could have given us a barnstormer of the kind the story kind of demands. Elsewhere there's no problems in the cast, all perform goody/villain/pretty gal characters with measured form, the location photography in Kernville, California is most appealing, whilst the screenplay is without fuss and pointless filler. True enough to say it's hardly essential viewing for Western fans, and action junkies will be left hankering, but Taylor fans are appeased and it remains watchable from first frame to last. 6/10
judithh-1
"Cattle King" is the last film Robert Taylor made under his MGM contract. His full-time contract had ended in 1959 but he agreed to do three more pictures. "Cattle King" is the third. Mr. Taylor plays a large scale cattle rancher whose living is being threatened by a Texas cartel who want to build a cattle highway from Texas to Canada. This would bring thousands of undesirable cattle to Mr. Taylor's Wyoming home. It's a nice twist on the old cattle ranchers vs. sheep herders story. Instead of wanting to leave the range free for cattle to roam, Sam Brassfield (Mr. Taylor) wants to fence in land for the controlled breeding of high quality bovines. The only sheep herder in the picture ends up siding with Brassfield. The cinematography is outstanding with a palette that brings out the beauty of the area near Yellowstone Park. There are numerous scenes of groups of people riding which must have looked wonderful on the big screen.The acting is done by seasoned professionals like Robert Middleton, Ray Teal and William Windom and a newcomer, Robert Loggia. They are all excellent. As usual in westerns, Joan Caulfield as the love interest for Sam isn't given enough to do. President Chester A. Arthur (Larry Gates) plays a pivotal role. In many ways Robert Taylor's colleagues at MGM made this a warm farewell. The name Robert Taylor fills the screen from top to bottom in the credits. He is photographed lovingly with numerous close-ups. There's a wonderful scene where Mr. Taylor stands proudly, legs apart in the western stance facing his enemy when the camera slides into a screen filling close-up. Robert Taylor was very good at playing characters who were larger than life, people who made a difference without losing their integrity. There's even a bit of humor as he spends a fair amount of time fussing with his various ties. "Cattle King" is a solid, well-acted, beautifully photographed western.
RanchoTuVu
Well-armed backers of an interstate cattle trail running from Texas to the Canadian border run into resistance from Wyoming rancher Sam Brassfield (Robert Taylor) who has accepted and adapted to the reality that what was once an open range has now (1880's) become increasingly fenced off. His fences are blocking the plan for the cattle super-highway, the main backer of which is burly Clay Matthews (Robert Middleton) and his hired Texas gunman Vince Bodine (Richard Devon) who leads a ruthless band out to bring to reality the cattle trail by killing and scaring off any potential resistors. Matthews uses alcoholic rancher Harry Travers (William Windom) to spread rumors that Brassfield is the one cutting everyone's barbed wire fences in order to become the cattle king of the Wyoming range. Windom's part isn't half bad as the weak brother of the woman Brassfield becomes engaged to (Joan Caulfield). The whole idea of the cattle trail is interestingly brought out when the then President of the United States Chester Arthur (Larry Gates) visits Wyoming and finds out for himself that the rules of the range have changed for good. The film stumbles along at times, but for an early to mid 60's western it has some tough moments.
bkoganbing
Cattle King was the last film that Robert Taylor made under the MGM banner. He set a record unlikely to be broken of having the longest studio contract in the history of film. When he left MGM officially in 1959 he had an option for two more films. Cattle King was the last of those films.This was hardly the grand send off MGM gave him, but it's an entertaining B western. It played the bottom half of double features in 1963. Taylor had been off the screen for three years doing his The Detectives Television series. He no longer had the box office clout he once had.The plot involves Taylor, a Wyoming cattle rancher pitted against a big time operator played by Robert Middleton who wants to have a National Cattle Trail which means unfenced open country. Middleton wants to bring cattle from Texas, more than the range will support, make a quick profit and leave. Plot is very similar to Kirk Douglas's Man Without a Star. Middleton's hired a gunman played by Richard Devon.Middleton is also using William Windom against Taylor. Taylor is wooing Windom's sister played by Joan Caulfield. What makes this western a bit unusual is that in addition to settling things in the traditional western way, Taylor and Middleton are busy lobbying the President of the United States who's in Wyoming for a visit.In fact that part of the story is true. President Chester A. Arthur made a publicized trip to the Yellowstone National Park, the first visit by a sitting president to the western territories. Probably the only time Chet Arthur was ever portrayed on screen and here he's played by Larry Gates.The cast is made up of people who've done westerns before and a veteran director in Tay Garnett. He got the film done on location in less than two weeks. Good if you have seasoned players who know exactly what to do.I would also point out that Robert Loggia played Taylor's Mexican ranch hand and turned in a memorable performance right at the start of his distinguished career. Nice B western with a plot centered around a little known true story of the west.