A Technicolor western drama from Universal. Based upon Stuart Hardy's 1937 novel The Mountains Are My Kingdom and previously filmed as Forbidden Valley (Wyndham Gittens, 1938).
Ring Hassard (Audie Murphy) and his father Jeff (Dean Jagger) have been holed up in the mountains for 15 years after Jeff was wrongly accused of murder. With the aid of lawyer Riley Martin (Wanda Hendrix) they attempt to clear his name, but most townsfolk would rather see Ring and Jeff hanged.
Achieving national hero status as the most decorated US soldier in World War II, Audie Murphy was still fairly new to movies. In this, his 5th screen appearance he receives second billing to then real-life Mrs Murphy, Wanda Hendrix. The pair are fine in the leads, although there is, perhaps, a surprising lack of chemistry between the two. Tellingly, the couple's short lived marriage was over by the time the movie was released. Bedridden for much of the movie, talented character actor Dean Jagger has little to do, yet is effective in his role as the falsely accused man. The standout performance is that of singer turned actor Burl Ives as amiable hermit Lonesome. Lending his beautiful voice to a handful of folk ballads, it is a solid performance from Ives and an early indication of his tremendous talent, later given full rein in star character roles such as The Big Country (William Wyler, 1958) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958). Sierra also offered early roles for future stars Tony (here billed as Anthony) Curtis and James (billed as Jim) Arness.
It is a fairly modest movie and a little lacking in elaborate action set-pieces, yet, at less than 90 minutes, the pace rarely flags. What distinguishes the movie most is Russell Metty's vivid colour cinematography. This, along with its rugged Utah locations help give the movie a larger scope than was afforded the average studio oater.
Sierra is not quite a classic of the western genre but is a decent movie nonetheless. Lightweight, enjoyable matinee fodder, enlivened by Metty's striking Technicolor photography and the mellifluous vocal talent of Mr Burl Ives.
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