Canadian Pacific (1949)

Years ago I saw it on t.c.m.It was a good print,but,not excellent.After new version from Kino Lorber,I realize that the older print was poor.The preservationist did a good job.Half of the surviving element were in the united states,but the rest of the elements where in Germany and was restored there .The American elements were scanned to Germany ,probably via internet,since the American elements could not be sent.The one that was on t.v was based many of the surviving prints of that movie,both 16mm and.There was even an 8mm ,8 minute silent version released in the early 60's ,in black and white by castle films as well as a 16mm color sound version printed the Cinecolor way,which an excerpt of it beside the 8mm version is on the Blu-ray.It seem that the chemical restored version on Eastman color was dissatisfying.They got the black and white Cinecolor masters and recombined it and fixed it up digitally a lot better than the chemical print.There were problems in the black and white master on some of the frames,since these were dupes ,the original and negatives have been destroyed long ago.There were missing frames and tear the preservationist were able to digitally eliminate and replace.Only two problems could not be solved.There was one shot that was dark for a couple of seconds.It could not be removed.The final shot of Randolph Scott and Nancy Olsen looking at each other and then the camera ,the second color element was missing.The Cinecolor print version was of poor quality.The only solution was to print that shot in black n white,but the rest of the ending color remains intact.That wasn't bother some. The Story? Randolph had just done his last job for the railroad surveying for Robert Barat. He's going home to Marry his wildcat sweet heart,played by Nancy Olsen,in her first film role.He just got shot by Victor Jory almost,who was also interested in Nancy.He finds out that Jory is organizing the Community to turn against the expansion of the rail road cause it would ruin his own business.Randolph decides to go back ,in order to help protect it,so it will be complete.Jane Wyatt plays the female doctor ,who work for the rail road, who is against guns and tries to persuade Randolph to solve indifference without the use of violence.Jay Carroll Naish plays his side kick ,who always makes up stories.Wonderful music score by Dimitiri TIomken.Good Western.also includes black n white trailer reissue. 11/21/16

Wow, is this an ugly movie. While it was originally filmed in color and must have been a pretty film, the print shown on Turner Classic Movies was incredibly ugly--very fuzzy and with weird color saturation. It just looked dreadful and the movie is clearly in need of restoration.The story, not surprisingly, is about the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Because a baddie is trying to stir up the fur trappers against the railroad (mostly because he hates the railroad man, Randolph Scott), Scott spends almost all of the movie putting out fires, so to speak. Fighting among the work crew, missing dynamite and a variety of other problems are all solved by out stalwart hero. And, along the way, he meets a pretty female doctor. Because they instantly hate each other, you KNOW that according to cliché #33, they will be head-over-heels in love by the end of the film...it just has to be! However, and at least here it does NOT follow convention, there is another girl throughout the film and Scott's choice by the end of the film WAS a bit of a surprise. At one point it looks like poor Randy is about to die...but according to cliché #1, a hero cannot die (unless you are John Wayne in "Sands of Iwo Jima"). And finally, the Indians are all bad...bad, bad, bad (cliche #4).The big conflict in this film is not between the baddie or the railroad workers, exactly. It's more a conflict within Scott, as his usual method of kicking butt is at odds with his new sweetie and her refined ways. She wants Scott to handle things like a gentleman--and he becomes very reticent to act as a result. And, not surprisingly, things on the railroad start to unravel quickly. But by the end, Scott proves that the best way to maintain the peace is violence! Yay, violence! On hand as supporting are J. Carrol Naish, Robert Barratt and the baddie, Victor Jory. All three are very well-known by fans of classic Hollywood films. While these are all good actors, the film itself seems very routine and is certainly not among Scott's best. Now it isn't bad...just not all that good and you'd certainly not put this on par with his later films directed by Budd Boetticher.

The first thing one has to accept is that the quality of the film broadcast over Turner Classic Movies is terribly degraded. One of the worst I have ever seen on that network. But, I still give the network kudos for recently bringing forth a lot of films that haven't been seen in years. I understand that this was an independent film distributed by 20th Century Fox, and if true, perhaps that is why it has not been preserved well. The sad thing is that much of the film was hotographed on location in the beautiful Canadian Rockies. But you can't see the beauty very well due to the degradation of the film. My other complaint is not about the film, but about Randolph Scott. Scott was a fine leading man in many pictures before he turned to Westerns. Perhaps had he known how out-of-favor Westerns would later become, he might not have concentrated on them so much in his later career. At least this is one of his better Westerns with a decent budget.The film starts out as more than the typical Randolph Scott western. Opening scenes are filmed in the valley north of Banff, Canada, and, if I'm not mistaken, at Takakkaw Falls. At any rate, I was excited to see several locations where I hooted, "Oh, I've been right there!" But, while this film had great potential, and might have been great under a better director (Edwin Marin -- over 50 films to his credit, but none that were first rate), after a while it sinks into rather predictable clichés found in so many other westerns.That's not to say the film doesn't have some notable features. Good performances by Randolpf Scott and the lovely Jane Wyatt (not long before she became the wife of "Father Knows Best" on television), for starters. And some character actors we don't see so often (including "Perry White" from t.v.'s "Superman"). On the other hand, I felt Nancy Olson's performance as the third member of the romantic triangle was a horrible performance. You'll recognize quite a few of the character actors in the film, although you'll likely not remember their names.The vivid scenery that is so stunning at the beginning of the film is no more after the opening minutes. For the rest of the film, the locations are on the prairie And some of the stage scenes cut into the scenery look so fake.On the one hand, it appears that most of the Indians in the film were real Indians. But, while the Indians are seen as the "good guys" in the first half of the film, later in the film they are made to appear gullible and murderous. Quite inconsistent.I've grown weary of the many westerns made in the late 40s and throughout the 1950s. But I will give this film credit for having high expectations, even if those expectations didn't quite pan out. It is worth watching, and I recommend it over most westerns.

A cowboy and Indian movie of a different type. The peoples of Canada have already fought the Indians and the winning spoils amount to land...lots of land. Tom Andrews(Randolph Scott) is the surveyor and "go to man" in case of troubles for the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Greedy locals try their best to stall the railroads completion by stealing dynamite. When they become more aggressive, they sell the explosives to the Indians and turn around blaming them for blowing up the rails. Maybe causing an Indian uprising will stop the railroad. Andrews gets blown up with a wagon full of explosives and is saved by a transfusion from Dr. Edith Cabot(Jane Wyatt), who will be vying for his affection with Nancy Olson playing the sister of one of the angry locals(Victor Jory).Filmed mostly on different Canadian National Parks and on Indian Reserve land, this movie was not exactly a box office smash; but Scott fans were satisfied and even put up with the lousy attempt at early color. Also starring are: J. Carrol Naish, John Parrish, Grandon Rhodes, Walter Sande and Don Haggerty.