weezeralfalfa Review of The Cariboo Trail

The Cariboo Trail (1950)

Unusual Randolph Scott western, with some problems.

[6/10 · 26 March 2018]

A reasonably exciting Randolph Scott western, supposedly taking place in the interior plateau country of British Columbia, where caribou used to graze the abundant grass. Scott and his partners hope to establish a cattle ranch in this virgin grazing region, along with some gold prospecting to help establish their ranch, as they have little money. They are joined by Grizzly(Gabby Hayes): an old prospector, down on his luck, who will soon help them get started in panning for gold, after they lose their herd, as well as gear, to a nocturnal stampede engineered by a gang of larcenous cutthroats, headed by Frank Walsh, headquartered in the little town of Carson Creek, up ahead. A later run-in with the Blackfoot Indians, while prospecting for gold, nearly ends their lives, except for a lucky turn of events. Walsh would later engineer yet another nocturnal cattle stampede, this time via the Blackfoot, who became allies of the Walsh gang. Fortunately, most of their gear was undamaged this time. Scott had thrown in with Grizzly and his kin, who had brought this cattle herd up the Cariboo Trail. Presumably, after rounding up most of their cattle, they continued on to their promised land. The film is actually considerably more exciting than what my summary suggests. ....There are some questionable events in the screenplay. Perhaps most glaring is the manner in which the 3 prospectors escape from the Blackfoot. Supposedly, their pack mule started kicking up a storm, thus freaking out the Indians, who were mostly gathered in a bunch. Scott, and presumably the others, got away by stealing an Indian pony, along with a rifle(Yea, right!). They didn't consider that they might have similar runins with the Indians when they brought in their cattle. After escaping the Indians, Grizzly made it to Montana and brought back that new cattle heard, with his relatives mighty quickly. Simultaneously, Scott was panning for gold, presumably without proper equipment or survival equipment and supplies! Presumably, he spent the better part of the snowless season collecting his gold, so that he would meet up with Grizzly and kin. The final stampede involved the Blackfoot, Scott and bunch, Walsh and gang, and a citizen group headed by Mike Evans, who had recently defected from the larcenous Walsh. Along with the cattle, in semi- darkness, this made for a very confusing several minutes, as shadowy forms raced back and forth on the screen. Nothing is said about the task of rounding up most of their cattle, which they had failed to do with their first herd. ...This was Gabby Hayes' last role in a feature film, having been a beloved sidekick for many a western hero over the past 15 years....Unlike some reviewers, I didn't notice a problem with the Cinecolor cinematography. The copy I saw said it was an upgraded video and audio version. Taking a brief look at a non-upgraded version, it's very obvious why all the complaints. See it at YouTube.