BY LEE PFEIFFER
Kino Lorber continues to release titles that were originally telecast on ABC TV in the United States as part of the network's "Movie of the Week" anthology series of original productions. While most of the earlier films in the series, which began in 1969, exceeded expectations, with some becoming classics, by the time 1972 rolled around, the network was cutting back on production costs and some less-than-stellar shows were produced. One of the telecasts shown during this period was "The Daughters of Joshua Cabe", a starring vehicle for Buddy Ebsen, who had become a TV icon through "The Beverly Hillbillies" and who would go on to find great success a few years later as TV detective Barnaby Jones. "Joshua Cabe" was shot between the two series. Ebsen is well-cast in the title role that affords him his familiar persona as a laid-back, soft-spoken man of simple means but admirable values. Josh has been proudly calling a beautiful spread of rural land his own, a dream he shared with his beloved wife who passed away many years ago. He now lives a rustic lifestyle with his best friend, Bitterroot (Jack Elam) and the two men are quite content until they receive the alarming news that a new law affects the ownership of homesteads. In order to be declared the rightful owner of the property, Josh only has weeks to find his three estranged daughters of many years and convince them to settle on his land for a period of no less than one year. It's a tall order but he sets out to St. Louis to begin tracking the daughters down. He only finds one of his offspring, Mary (Julie Mannix), and she is content living the life of a nun. She advises him that her two sisters are now living in New York with their families. Dejected, Josh almost gives up on his quest to qualify for ownership of his land until he gets an audacious inspiration: he approaches three wayward women from the other side of the tracks who are living hardscrabble lives in St. Louis and convinces them to move back with him and pose as his daughters for a period of one year. The young women have diverse personalities but they are all streetwise, cynical and willing to go toe-to-toe against the inevitable lechers who try to seduce them. They are Mae (Lesley Ann Warren, billed here as "Lesley Warren), a prostitute being exploited by a charmless pimp, Mae (Sandra Dee), a pickpocket and Charity (Karen Valentine), a recently paroled thief.
Problems arise when Josh's arch-enemy, Amos Wetherall (Leif Erickson) and his four no-goodnick sons set eyes on laying claim to Josh's land to expand their local empire. Their plans hit a set-back when Josh arrives with his three "daughters" but Wetherall and his boys use violent methods to try to intimidate him, including burning down his precious ranch house that he had built for his wife. Wetherall's tactic only reinforce his determination to claim the land legally for his own. The three young women, who had been indulging in plenty of bickering, become united to try to help him, as he's emerged as a kindly father figure to them. The climax finds a showdown between Josh and Bitterroot and Wetherall and his sons to determine who will possess Josh's land. Guess who comes out on top?
"The Daughters of Joshua Cabe" is directed with workman-like efficiency by Philip Leacock, who had a long resume in TV and films as director and producer. The script by Paul Savage is largely unoriginal and predictable. The main reason for watching the film is the delightful cast. The three actresses playing the "daughters" are all amusing with Warren getting the meatiest role as a prostitute. Ebsen is always a delight to watch and he gets plenty of amusing support from Elam, who seemed to inherit Walter Brennan's roles as crabby, eccentric western sidekicks. Erickson makes for a fine villain and his scroungy, sadistic sons are played by well-known actors, specifically Don Stroud, Michael Anderson Jr, Paul Koslo and William Katt (billed here as "Bill Katt".)
The Kino Lorber transfer is adequate, but no more. That's probably because the source material for the print used was less-than-desirable and no one would expect KL to sink a great deal of money into enhancing this modest, little-remembered title, the production values of which are pretty chintzy. IMDB verifies that it was shot on 35mm film but it's hard to believe that the interiors weren't filmed on video, as they have a soft focus look that resembles an episode of a soap opera from the era. The only impressive action scene involves a stampede. Beyond that, the movie is definitely a 1970s Poverty Row production. Still, it's nice to have these obscure TV movies now available on home video, so regardless of their individual merits, we hope KL keeps 'em coming.
The DVD includes a gallery of other KL western comedy trailers including "Support Your Local Sheriff", "Support Your Local Gunfighter", "Young Billy Young" and "Sam Whiskey".
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