James Craig gives over a ranch for boys ( although some look well over eighteen, and most are near to sixteen or over, so I think in today's terms this title is misleading, ) who are close to the wire of becoming criminals, or simply unwanted in ' society. ' The UK was clearly wary of the film as they gave it an ' A ' certificate aiming the film at adults and children under sixteen only seeing it with an adult. The craziness of this needs I think to be pointed out. Butch Jenkins is one of them, but he is not quite given enough to warrant the lead part on posters. It should have been given to Skip Homeier and Darryl Hickman as their close relationship is at the heart of the film. There is a strong platonic love between them, and Hickman spends a lot of his screen time on getting his friend Homeier out of trouble, and the chemistry between them is electric. James Craig has a wife in the film, but she has few scenes and this is almost entirely a male film. Without giving away spoilers Hickman gets very near to death due to his friend Skippy ( Homeier ) and it is Skippy who wakes up to the fact that he has to rescue his friend. How this happens is deeply moving and shows a great deal of love, and perhaps viewers could be uncomfortable at naming it as love. Directed by the talented Roy Rowland all the emotional stops are pulled out to make this a very fine film on male love and deep friendship. Beautifully filmed it deserves a ten.
Review of Boys' Ranch
