The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky

In 1919 Montana, a young man named Mac takes a job as a forest ranger and finds himself under the wing of Bill Bell, the crew's veteran leader. Bell is a hardened, widely feared figure whose reputation among the rugged rangers precedes him, and Mac works hard to earn his approval. What begins as wary respect between the two develops into a friendship as Mac passes through a series of tests and challenges that mark his passage into adulthood. The story's backdrop is an era when fighting wildfires depended on physical courage rather than aircraft and chemicals, and it builds toward Mac facing his most demanding trial, which involves winning the woman he hopes to marry.

The film is a drama with Western elements, directed by John Kent Harrison as the first entry in the directing career listed here, followed by The Water Is Wide, The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler and Anne of Green Gables. Brent Shields produced it for television, and Sam Elliott plays Bill Bell opposite Jerry O'Connell as Mac, with Ricky Jay, Molly Parker, Don S. Davis and Robert Wisden in supporting roles.

Its reception sits in modest territory. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.4 from 851 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6 out of 10 from a much smaller pool of 13 votes. Both figures point to a film that found a steady but limited audience rather than broad acclaim.