Sierra (1950)

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.

Until they take in a fugitive girl, a father and son hide out in the mountains to elude a bogus murder charge.Pretty good Murphy western, one of his earliest. When you think about it, his transition from Texas sharecropper to WW II hero to Hollywood actor is remarkable. True, it was hard for him to loosen up on screen, still he delivered his lines well enough, while nobody could do a hard-eyed stare better. Here Murphy does well enough, carrying most of the movie. The role of a hard eyed loner (Ring Hassard) appears tailor made for him. At the same time, diminutive, girlish Hendrix (Riley) manages her courtroom lawyer sequence in pretty convincing fashion. Ironic to think the two were married at the time, but in the process of getting divorced. So there's something poignant about their riding into the sunset at movie's end.Universal popped for a pretty big budget, unlike many of Murphy's later westerns. The red rock Kanab (Utah) locations are really eye-catching. Then too, those wild horse herds are anything but skimpy. And nobody could strum a guitar more soothingly than the rotund Burl Ives. Together they add a lot of color and mood to the dramatics. At the same time, there's not much gunplay, yet quite a bit of suspense to the rather complex story.All in all, it's a picturesque, entertaining Murphy western.

I'm always fascinated by a movie star's early work and even more so with Audie Murphy because this was just 5 years after his heroics in WWII. It's amazing to think how much transition this young man went through in only a handful of years. Murphy is a natural fit for Westerns with his quiet manner and brooding looks. Sierra is not often shown on television, but if you have the chance to catch it, you won't be disappointed. I'd say watch for Burl Ives alone, because his voice was timeless. Such beautiful simple little Western melodies are peppered throughout the film. What's also unique about Sierra is that Murphy is costarred by his then-wife Wanda Hendrix. Their marriage didn't last long, but their chemistry is very obvious. And keep your eyes peeled for a young Anthony "Tony" Curtis as a Coulter gang member.

Even though Sierra was not written by Zane Grey, it has all the elements of a typical Grey story, like hidden places and horse stampedes. Most Audie Murphy films were made to measure for him but not this one and the fact is that he comes out quite well. The main character is Wanda Hendrix, who was married to Murphy for a certain time. She is Riley, a girl who gets lost in the mountains when trying to look for Lonesome (Burl Ives). Instead she finds hundreds of horses and Murphy. Murphy has been hiding with his father Jeff (Dean Jagger) who is a fugitive. Jeff gets hurt trying to tame a horse and when he thinks he might die, he tells his son to always remember that he is innocent. Hendrix overhears it and will do everything she can to help them. Burl Ives as the singing Lonesome adds a lot to the film with his music and personality, completely different from the serious and bitter men he used to play in many films. Sierra is a light, colorful, entertaining, sometimes naive western worth seeing.