‘Durango’ Ropes In Colorful Characters

Not exactly a western, Hallmark Hall of Fame’s “Durango,” Sunday on CBS, celebrates courage and self-reliance in a saga with an attractive hero (Matt Keeslar) who rides tall in the saddle and, sure enough, doesn’t seem to cotton much to the mushy stuff.

Based on John B. Keane’s novel, the play is set in pre-World War II Ireland, where determined young farmer Mark Doran (Keeslar) leads neighbors on a cattle drive to confound the unscrupulous, low-balling village beef buyer. An honest market--and higher prices--await 40 miles away in a corral at a pub called Durango.

The movie has enough going for it--breathtakingly verdant locations, sumptuous photography, an evocative score, seamless production design and a superb, mostly Irish, cast--to render its shortcomings almost trivial.

Keeslar’s character appealingly gains stature and maturity as he reflects on his plan, summons inner resources and forges ahead. But at the same time, he can barely work up a whit of fortitude to ask for the hand of his lady love, Annie (Nancy St. Alban), from her menacingly possessive father, Fergus (Patrick Bergin). So he seizes upon an idea that Gary Cooper wouldn’t have considered for a minute.

Although everything hinges on the cattle drive, veteran screenwriter Walter Bernstein (“The Front”) never submerges vividly drawn characters: a soldier deserting one army so he can join another (Mark Lambert), a pistol-packing rector (George Hearn), Annie’s fistic brothers (Dermot Martin and Paul Ronan) and the black-hearted cattle jobber (Pat Laffan). Doran’s Aunt Maeve, Brenda Fricker--an Oscar winner as the devotedly driven mother of “My Left Foot”--proves to be the lad’s sturdy soul mate and mentor.

Even small performances--such as Joe Pilkington’s upstanding beef buyer Donnelly--are invoked with craftsmanship for producer and first-time director Brent Shields.

All of which makes it easy to overlook the American actors’ mildly distracting accents and the hero’s “Quiet Man” persona, which leaves moments when passion should smolder feeling a bit wooden.

* “Durango” airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on CBS. The network has rated it TV-G (suitable for all ages).