man invented a pair of shoes with ball bearings on the sole

Vignettes weaving together the stories of six individuals in the old West at the end of the Civil War. Following the tales of a sharp-shooting songster, a wannabe bank robber, two weary traveling performers, a lone gold prospector, a woman traveling the West to an uncertain future, and a motley crew of strangers undertaking a carriage ride.

Before Nike, and Adidas, there was the Hi-Jo! Here is a Brooklyn tale set back in the day about a young Italian-American shoemaker (Frank) on the verge of greatness. News comes from his cousins in Italy that they have obtained the first automated vulcanizing machinery to produce gym shoes called the Hi-Jo.