The Cariboo Trail (1950)

Like Canadian pacific,this film had a segment too near the end, that also only lasted a couple of seconds ,in which only one component survived.Because of that it was printed in black and white.The.German preservationist are too perfectionist.The color component of that segment survived in the Eastman color print ,which had no shrinkage ,compare too Canadian pacific. as far as the print as concern.The whole print was used for VHS version released by fries video in 1991.I got that.Why did the German preservationist use the color record of that segment from that print? The same with other? cause they were too perfectionist.The quality did not match the rest of the digitally restored color frames of the rest of the film.So what ? the fact that the color was available from other print it was important to keep the whole print in color constancy.U.c.l.a ,if they restored, it would of felt that way.It was only a few seconds,The quality of material available for the Restoration of Paramount on parade ,was also below quality of the t.v reedited version,but they used it.So was the material use in the finale of the talking version of Broadway ,1930.In spite of this the whole print is still very pleasing.When I saw Gabby Hayes reacting to Bill Williams arms being amputated by Randolph Scot ,after the cattle stampede ,cause by the bad guy,played by Victor Jory, It seemed that this character actor gave everything in his talent that would of deserve an Oscar nomination, but Cinercolor feature were viewed as low brow and the academy did not considered them.Like the other feature this also take place in Canada.I'm wondering if this was a part of promoting the Canadian film industry? Any how this was quite entertaining.This also include bonuses ,like the 8mm 8 minute edited version that was put out in the early 60's,in b and w.For a few cents more that company could of printed it in color, castle films. 11/24/16

Turner Classics offered up this Randolph Scott Western a few nights ago and it opened with a fairly extensive explanation on how the picture was restored from it's original Cinecolor filming process. I'd never seen that before, as it looked almost like it was part of the picture appearing right after the opening title. I don't know if it had anything to do with the restoration, but a cattle stampede instigated by Walsh's (Victor Jory) henchmen a little into the movie appeared to take place during night and day both! The story takes place in British Columbia, with displaced Montana cattle man Jim Redfern (Scott) heading out along the Cariboo Trail to find a nice place to settle down and take up ranching. His partner Mike Evans (Bill Williams) would rather prospect for gold, and when he loses an arm in the stampede ambush mentioned earlier, he has a falling out with Redfern. I think the picture could have explained Redfern's action in amputating Evans' arm, say along the lines of it being horribly mangled or prone to gangrene, but the story offered no explanation. Failing that, there was an opportunity for Dr. Rhodes (Charles Hughes) to offer a medical opinion along the same lines, but again, nothing to be said about it.I didn't realize this was George 'Gabby' Hayes' last film role, but I did look it up to see how old he was when he made the movie knowing that most of his work took place in the Thirties and Forties. Turns out he was sixty five, but not looking much older than any of his earlier screen appearances. Still feisty as ever and pretty nimble, I had to wonder why his movie career just stopped right there, though he did host a mid-Fifties TV Western show bearing his name. Gabby had a pretty good line in the story when he described how hungry he was - "My stomach's crowdin' my backbone". I'll have to remember that one.If you're watching this film with a critical eye, there's a good chance you'll be disappointed because some of the elements just don't come together too believably. Captured at one point by Blackfeet Indians, Redfern and his crew are saved by Grizzly's mule Hannibal! There's also the improbable rescue by the town folk of Carson Creek at the finale, engineered by Mike Evans when he has the sudden change of heart regarding his former partner. Still, it's not a terrible send off for one of movie Western's iconic character actors, and another nifty notch in Randolph Scott's belt in mid-career.

This film has many faults, and if Randolph Scott made many westerns that could be called "adult" this is certainly not one of them. You can't take it seriously but I enjoyed it. One must remember that this film was made in 1950, and color here is of great importance,considering most westerns of the forties and before were made in black and white. Randolph Scott had the ideal physique for a western hero, and his presence together with a nice scenery and a lot of action, the usual fistfight, and shootouts, cattle stampede, Indian attacks would please most of the spectators of the fifties and it sure pleases me, perhaps a nostalgic feeling. Gabby Hayes is always a welcome presence, great sidekick. Bill Williams has a good performance as Mike Evans, who loses his arm and blames it on Scott, Karen Booth as the saloon owner who falls for Scott, and a small part of a very young Dale Robertson as Will Gray. If you are a nostalgic for old westerns like me you will enjoy it.

RANDOLPH SCOTT and BILL WILLIAMS share the co-starring credits in this rather weak western, nicely photographed in Cinecolor against some gorgeous western backgrounds in Canada. Unfortunately, the story of ranchers vs. gold prospectors has been done before with better results and it's not one of Scott's more memorable western roles.Among the bad guys, it's interesting to note a young JIM DAVIS who would later make it big on "Dallas" TV. GEORGE 'GABBY' HAYES plays his usual rustic character, usually a sidekick for Gene Autrey or Roy Rogers. He has the sort of role as a grizzly old-timer usually played by Walter Brennan, calling all the other men "young fellas".All of the ingredients usually found in a western of this kind--including shootouts and cattle stampedes--are here, but the results are pretty ordinary.Summing up: Not recommended unless you're a die-hard western fan with time on your hands.