I have a pet peeve and before I begin I want to say a few words about it. I have done a huge number of reviews and am constantly noticing that even the most mediocre films get scores of 10 from some reviewers. While this is definitely a better than average film, no sane person could say it deserves a score akin to that of GONE WITH THE WIND or THE GODFATHER. I think it's great to love a film, but over-scoring it doesn't lend much credence to your review. Just my two cents worth and I'm sure I'll catch heck for saying it.<br /><br />As for this movie, it's a nice little family film that benefits from being very unique and having several wonderful performances. In this slice of pioneer life film, William Holden and his son are left alone after the death of his wife. Needing a mother for the boy and someone to help out around their frontier homestead, he travels to the nearby fort to find a wife. There, he buys an indentured servant (Loretta Young) and brings her back home after marrying her. Not exactly a romance, I know! Unfortunately, there never really is any romance, as Holden and son treat her more like a hired hand and after a while it's obvious she resents this--especially after she works herself to the bone caring for them. Into this very unhappy situation comes "the stranger" (Robert Mitchum)--who immediately realizes the problem and proposes to take Rachel away from this drudgery--and pay Holden for her! While there is a lot more to the film, this certainly made for an unusual flick.<br /><br />The performances all around are excellent and the film ended on a very good and not especially sappy note. Well worth your time and I have no serious complaints--other than the writer who indicated that Miss Young was playing a lady who was 25 (yeah, right!!). In actuality she was a decade older and she wasn't fooling anyone--but still a lovely woman regardless of the age difference.