The tender story of the travels (and travails) of a happy-go-lucky Australian sheep shearer, with a wife who desperately wants to settle down. Director Fred Zinnemann captures a whole panorama of Australian outdoor life, and his commonplace tapestry is enriched by a series of wonderful character studies from Ronald Fraser, Mervyn Johns, and especially Glynis Johns as a faintly blowzy widow with sights firmly set on Peter Ustinov's rascally Venneker. Robert Mitchum's Australian accent is well-nigh impeccable and his portrayal one of his finest achievements. Deborah Kerr's warm but worn-down wife gave her a sixth, last and probably unluckiest unsuccessful Academy Award nomination in an amazing 12-year run. It's a film that really makes you feel for the characters it presents.

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