Fresh-faced Michael Douglas struts through his movie debut in this adaptation of John Weston's novel about a young man with long hair (i.e., anti-Establishment)--just out of jail for protesting the war--who returns to the family farm (and the brother who hates him) to say goodbye before reporting for service in the Army. He's hoping to stop the fighting overseas with love, but learns he has a temper and, with a weapon in his hand, is capable of violence. Opening scene with Douglas playing toreador with a truck filled with crop-pickers sets the artificial tone (the Mexicans cheer his bravado and offer Douglas a ride into town). Jerome Moross' saccharine score underlines every scene with sentimental remembrances, while young Douglas is often called upon to fill the vacuum by talking to himself, to a stuffed cougar head, and to his grandfather's headstone (not that old one again!). Gordon Lightfoot sings the title track and the catchy "Wherefore and Why". ** from ****
