Running Time: 122 minutes
Synopsis: In 1843, former politician William Tadlock (Kirk Douglas) leads a caravan of families heading from Missouri to Oregon in search of a better life. Tadlock recruits the experienced but reluctant Dick Summers (Robert Mitchum) as the main guide and scout for the expedition. The travelers include Lije and Rebecca Evans (Richard Widmark and Lola Albright) and their teenaged son Brownie. He develops a crush on free-spirited Mercy McBee (Sally Field), although she sets her eyes on an older man trapped with a frigid wife. On the long trail to Oregon, the caravan experiences natural hazards, skirmishes with the Sioux tribe, and inter-personal rivalries.
What Works Well: This Harold Hecht production adapts A.B. Guthrie Jr.'s book into is an ambitious and sprawling cinematic experience filled with magnanimous cinematography. Loosely based on the actual Great Migration, director Andrew V. McLaglen finds highlights in an impromptu hanging, a river crossing, a trek through the desert, and finally an audacious descent into a ravine. Although they rarely need to stretch beyond the confines of pre-defined characters, Kirk Douglas (driven and unempathetic), Robert Mitchum (laid back as ever), and Richard Widmark (tightly coiled) ensure an abundance of star power.
What Does Not Work As Well: This is a choppy and episodic adventure, with limited character evolutions and no narrative focus beyond the obvious "get to Oregon!" objective. And with a large number of cast members competing for time and space with oxen, mules, horses, and wagons, none of them achieve compelling depth. Mercy McBee's sexual escapades threaten to derail the caravan into sordid home wrecker and union-of-convenience territory.
Key Quote:
Lije (discussing whether or not to do battle with the Sioux): I guess we'll have to fight, Dick.
Dick: Well, all right, but some of us are gonna have to settle for a piece of ground a little short of Oregon.
All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We welcome reader comments about this post.