The Castaway Cowboy, a western film in the Disney tradition is a family film about Texan Lincoln Costain, played by James Garner. While in California, he gets shanghaied and jumps ship just off the shore of the Hawaiian islands. While there, he works on a ranch run by Henrietta MacAvoy, played by Vera Miles and comes face to face with a major problem. The problem is that wild cattle are destroying her crops, causing her to be further behind on her bank note. And the banker, Calvin Bryson couldn't be happier because he's got his eyes on Henrietta and her farm.
The problem is, Calvin is devious and dubious and will do anything, legal or not to get his hands on the property. If that even includes a little sabotage or murder, he feels he's above the law. He doesn't count on Lincoln Costain's no holds barred Texas approach on solving problems. Eventually, Henrietta and Costain are able to convert the farm from cash crops to cattle, which in the long run will net Henrietta with more income if they can successfully pull off how to load the cows onto a boat.
This is an interesting film, it shows a part of Hawaiian history prior to its statehood in the United States, a time when it was still being colonized and before it was completely commercialized. It's also one of only two films that James Garner made for the Disney company, the other being One Little Indian.
