Secure behind an excellent European reputation and happily outside the smothering bosom of Hollywood's plot cartel, J. Arthur Rank has shunned customary procedure in his totally unorthodox presentation of a documentary film. Centered around the historic migration of Australian cattle herds to escape a threatened Japanese invasion, "The Overlanders" becomes experimental by American standards in its complete emphasis on realism without the added appeal of ersatz excitement. Mr. Rank has successfully produced an absorbing, plausible movie and neatly avoids treading on the worn-down heels of contemporary horse operas.

Filmed in the arid bush country of Northern Austria, "The Overlanders" achieves its distinction through a scrupulous regard for simplicity and historical accuracy. The story of a thousand cattle being driven across 1200 miles of rugged terrain needs expert treatment to maintain a high level of interest without sporadic injections of high-octane melodrama. "The Overlanders" reaches the correct balance between fact and fiction, resulting in a refreshing absence of gun play or fiendish attacks by woolly-headed natives. By careful pruning, the producers have portrayed the grim struggle to save a herd from the Japanese with all its harsh, wearing aspects. A long push to a dried-up water hole comes over as a very real tragedy and the countless flies sticking to the riders' backs are the kind that bite, not just shavings from a Hershey bar pasted on the shirt of a sweaty extra.

Cast with Australian players, the level of acting falls below the high standard generally set in English pictures, yet the slight amateurism does not detract greatly from the overall effect of the picture. Chips Rafferty as the tall, gaunt trail boss, can both act and ride, giving an excellent picture of a single-minded bush rider. "The Overlanders" admirably combines simple historical fact with a feasible amount of action to become one of the few examples of a vivid and unprocessed documentary film. The only annoying moment during the picture is the indignant attempt of the Boston Censors to seratch out Mr. Rafferty's one chance to say "damn."