Nearly every scene of this featherweight film set in the early 20th century is directed at an andante tempo, its story concerning a youth named Byron (a lacklustre Brandon DeWilde), a runaway from an orphanage who finds a home in a quiet Missouri town named Delphi, thanks to the editor of the local paper, played warmly by Gary Merrill. Byron is not, however, a favourite of wealthy but harsh land owner Tobias Brown (Lee Marvin), who teaches the lad lessons of life the hard way; their conflict forms the kernel of a torpid work which does benefit from a strong performance by always reliable Paul Ford as proprietor of a small cafe but which is sunk by the flaccid direction and hackneyed dialogue.
Review of The Missouri Traveler
