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.

• drama