The Great Barrier (1937)

Copyright 4 February 1937 by Gaumont British Picture Corp. of America. New York opening at the Criterion: 25 March 1937 (ran two days). U.S. release through Gaumont-British: 29 April 1937. U.K. release through Renown: February 1937. London opening at Haymarket: 4 February 1937. Australian release through 20th Century-Fox. 9 reels. 83 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway is halted at the Rockies.COMMENT: A rip-roaring, action-paced, vigorously staged Canadian western whose continuous thrills are halted only by an occasional sub-title, a bit of mild romance with the attractive Miss Cellier and the equally attractive but villainous Lilli Palmer, and three pleasant-enough songs (two from Mr Mackay). The action is staged on the grandest of scales with lots of rioting extras, rugged locations, real rolling stock and lots of destruction (both natural and man-made). Production values rate as extremely lavish. The players in this action feast acquit themselves most capably (Roy Emerton is especially forceful). The direction from Milton Rosmer is surprisingly swift and sure. The lighting photography not only catches the eye, but the work of four cameramen blends so perfectly it's impossible to tell who did what. The film editing is ultra-pacey yet smooth. The plot moves so fast, the script has little time for character development and other such subtleties. But the players give their roles plenty of color nonetheless.All told, a must for action fans, railroad buffs, and Canada-lovers.

The 68 minute version that I bought on video cut out most of Lilli Palmers scenes which is a pity since she is why I bought the film.. The original film runs apparently some 20 minutes longer. I assume Lilli is in most of it.. Too bad..The film is pretty good but the dark haired leading lady who I looked up and only made a handful of films is far inferior to Miss Palmer. They should have cut out HER scenes instead. The film might have been worthwhile but not in this cut version. I was very disappointed. They should release it either in video or DVD with the whole film intact. I don't know why they had to cut it since it only has an 83 minutes running time.. beats me.

I bought a copy of the "Silent Barriers" 5 years ago. I always thought there was no difference between "The Great Barrier" and "Silent Barriers" but in title only until a week ago I had the privilege of viewing "The Great Barrier". "The Great barrier" is almost 20 minutes longer that the "Silent Barriers" with a lot of important scenes to the plot of the story left in. I found "The Great Barrier" story line to flow whereas the "Silent Barriers" left out a lot of an answered questions. "The Great Barrier" I found was an interesting and entertaining movie for both classic movie viewers and railway buffs. A must see.Gordon

I recorded this just to see one of my favourite actresses, Miss Lilli Palmer. The delightful little lady, always so proper, so stiff-upper-lip, so serene...and suddenly she's in a low cut dress with a tight bodice, a blonde wig, hanging around a cheap bar. The town floozy. And to her credit, she absolutely pulls it off, like Jean Kent's reversal from The Reluctant Widow back to The Wicked Lady. If this had been an American production, I daresay Palmer would have gotten an Oscar nomination for her superb playing. But, enough of that. This isn't JUST "the building of the Canadian Pacific Railroad", that makes it sound dull. Sure, that's what it's centered on - finding a pass through the Rockies to complete the rail - but it's so much more. A couple of card sharks start the action by coming to town; not to work, but to win. But they end up working anyway, after a fight at the saloon finds them in court, without money for bail, and with a full prison cell. The movies shows how they both take to their fate, and the many obstacles, some of them romantic, in their way. This is real, and it's not a happy ending for some. Great movie overall, 9/10.