Across the Great Divide (1976)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

i must have seen a different film!!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I love this movie! Great shots of our Canadian mountain ranges, and an excellent family movie! It's true you either like this movie or hate it, but it's full of great lines from all three major characters. Storyline: (promise no spoilers :-) Zachariah Coop is a gambler on the run when he comes across two stranded kids. Holly and Jason Smith have been abandoned on the trail by a lowdown guide while on their way to inherit a farm and save it from the clenches of their mean old stingy Uncle. After unsuccessfully stealing (really, he was just borrowing :-) their horse, Mr. Coop tries to make peace with the kids. After saving Jason from a watery death the three began their journey together through the pass. Facing bears, wolves, friendly Indians, scoundrels and not just one, but two cougars a long lasting and sure to be interesting friendship is forged! Filled with a memorable soundtrack (the title track will stick with you, believe me) this movie represents some of the better non-Disney flicks around. Plus, Robert Logan at his best - so things happen in three's to him...(for those who don't know, Logan's characters never get into just one mess, but three or four at one time!) The chemistry between Rattray and Logan is very well played out. This would have been a great TV series...

I guess you could watch this with your family, but it won't be enjoyed too much. The movie is slow and boring. Whenever it has something with the potential to be interesting, it ruins it somehow. The movie wasn't well acted, but you couldn't expect much I guess! 2 out of 5

In 1976, at the height of the John Denver phenomenon, all us college kids flocked to the theatres to see the awesome Rocky Mountain scenery. The story did not appeal nearly as much then, as it does now, watching my kids watch it. In midlife I have come to enjoy it in totality. The scenes (Utah and British Columbia) are breathtaking. The child actors are spunky and yet charming. Logan is inimitable in his mannerisms. After a while you are drawn into the situation as though you are part of it. Sit down with the kids or grandkids and enjoy it over and over.

Plot: A professional gambler on the run stumbles across and eventually joins up with two orphaned children on their way to Oregon.Good stuff: The film has some amazing scenery and even more amazing scenes with animals. The performance by the actress playing the older sister is pretty good and there is some nice dramatic tension between her and Robert Logan's character. The card game between Logan and the horse traders was pretty amusing.Bad stuff: I thought the film ended rather abruptly. While there is a resolution of sorts, it would have been interesting if the film could have gone on for maybe another 15 minutes. In addition, Robert Logan seems far too pleasant to play the self-centered gambler character. Overall, not a great film, but one good enough to keep your attention and the attention of the kids.