United States

Rodeo rider Junior Bonner (Steve McQueen), broke and bruised after a losing battle with a bull, returns to his old family home to find things have changed. The ranch house deserted, the land being cleared, his father (Robert Preston) in hospital, his mother (Ida Lupino) distraught, and his brother Curly (Joe Don Baker) unwilling to help. So Junior arranges with stock controller Buck Roan (Ben Johnson) to get another ride on the bull that threw him. Meanwhile he meets Charmagne (Barbara Leigh) and gets into a fight over her. Plenty of action and drama, climaxing as Junior gets his rematch with the meanest bull in town - with his family's future in the balance.