Stallion Road

Outdoorsy California rancher-politician Ronald Reagan seems right at home playing outdoorsy California rancher-veterinarian Larry Hanrahan in this action-filled melodrama scripted by Stephen Longstreet from his novel. Always impressive astride a horse, Reagan spends plenty of time in the saddle as Larry contends with the attentions of two beautiful women (Alexis Smith and Peggy Knudsen), the romantic rivalry provided by his writer pal (Zachary Scott), and the terrors of an anthrax outbreak that threatens local livestock and Larry himself when he contracts the dread disease. Among the visual highlights: an exciting horse-jumping contest and magnificent location shooting in the Sierra Madre range.

Veterinarian Ronald Reagan contracts anthrax from treating diseased cows in this horsey melodrama from Warner Bros. In fact, Reagan's dutiful Dr. Larry Hanrahan is so busy with the cows that he completely ignores a summons from lady horse breeder Rory Teller (Alexis Smith) to treat her prize-winning stallion. Rory is pretty peeved over what she perceives as a slight and briefly, ever so briefly, contemplates accepting a proposal of marriage from smooth-talking author Stephen Purcell (Zachary Scott). Until, that is, the seriousness of Larry's condition finally forces her to take a drastic measure: to treat the dying vet with the same serum he had used on the cattle. According to some reports, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were scheduled to star in STALLION ROAD as a follow-up to the hugely successful THE BIG SLEEP (1946). Rather than appear in what they rightfully considered a Grade-B production, they chose to go on suspension.