The film opens in Chinatown San Francisco, 1898 where we five exotic virgins from the Celestial Empire are bought by Captain Billy Fender (James Russo) to be sold as slaves and introduced into the brief and violent life of prostitution
Robert Duvall stars as "Print" Ritter, an old cowhand whose sister left a will inheriting all to him rather than to her own son, Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church) who lives in John Day Country Oregon...
Print ignores why she has done it, or why was crossed between the two, but his sister done it
Print got the idea to buy a team of tough, high-desert mustangsthree to eight years of ageto take them to Sheridan, Wyoming to sell to the British Empire; the money they'll earn will be to increase their capital
And on the shares, Print figures a 25-75 split on profits after expenses and loan repayment to the bank
From this point, Hill's Western becomes a road movie, with all kinds of odd characters, from ugly villains to a friendly musician, but the key to "Broken Trail" is that through a series of circumstances, fate has placed the five Chinese innocent girls in the hands of Tom and his uncle
But the reality is another
Their families sold them to that rat captain heading out to the mining camp, where Kate, an odious saloon owner, bought them from an associate in San Francisco
Our two cowboys save the girls' lives from rape and take them along on their journey
With great photography, gorgeous vistas, perilous ground, sensible brave girls, good and decidedly courageous men, great action when it is necessary, and a big confrontation at the climax of the movie, Hill's Western is a must see film for the fans of the genre
