The Cariboo Trail

1950 "Between majestic mountain and frozen waste lay the Cariboo Trail... gateway to gold, greed and glory!"
5.9| 1h21m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 01 August 1950 Released
Producted By: 20th Century Fox
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

A cattleman fights to establish a ranch in the middle of gold country.

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Reviews

Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.
Diagonaldi Very well executed
Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
weezeralfalfa 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 ruins 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 version. See it at YouTube.
bsmith5552 "The Cariboo Trail" is a trail through the "wilds" of British Columbia in Canada where cattleman Jim Redfern (Randolph Scott), Mike Evans (Bill Williams) and Ling (Lee Tung Foo) are driving a small herd of cattle from Montana with the hope of reaching a so-called promised land on which to establish a cattle ranch. Along the way, they meet up with grizzled old prospector Grizzly (Gabby Hayes - in his final film).On the trail, they are confronted by a toll bridge manned by Murphy (Douglas Kennedy) and Miller (Jim Davis). Redfern and company refuse to pay the toll and stampede the cattle across. Town boss Frank Walsh (Victor Jory) owns the bridge. Walsh sends his men to rustle the cattle but during the stampede, Evans is injured and Redfern is forced to amputate his left arm. Evans becomes bitter to the point of hiring out his gun to Walsh.Redfern meanwhile, is befriended by independent saloon owner Francie Harris (Karin Booth) who grub stakes him for a go in the gold fields. Refern, Grizzly and Ling venture onto Indian lands and are captured. With the help of Grizzly's mule, the trio escape in different directions.Redfern discovers a hidden valley suitable for cattle while panning for gold. He discover gold and returns to town where Walsh cheats him and incites the towns people to drive him out of town. By chance Redfern meets up with Grizzly who has returned to Montana and hooked up with his brother's family. Headed by the feisty Martha Winters (Mary Kent), they are driving their herd north. Along with Martha's daughter Jane (Mary Stuart) and foreman Will Gray (Dale Robertson), Redfern is offered a partnership in the venture.Back in town, Walsh plots to steal the cattle. Mike Evans has a change of heart as Redfern returns to town to confront the Walsh gang and.....................................................Randolph Scott could sleep walk through most of his westerns playing variations of the same character. But he did so in a most entertaining way. Gabby Hayes, who was anything but the be-whiskered old side kick he portrayed, goes out on a high note. Bill Williams never got to the big time but had a successful marriage to Barbara Hale and became the parents of actor William Katt. Victor Jory, always at his best when playing the villain, turns in another great show as the sneaky be-speckled, oily Walsh. Dale Robertson was just starting out at this time. Douglas Kennedy, Jim Davis and James Griffith also stood out as members of Walsh's gang.Just a note. Since the story takes place in a lawless part of British Columbia with crime abounding, one has to wonder "Where were the Mounties"?
Neil Doyle 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.
bkoganbing Randolph Scott is leaving the USA for the greener pastures of Canada's British Columbia. He wants to start a cattle ranch there with partner Bill Williams and cook Lee Tung Foo. They stampede their small herd over a toll bridge erected by Victor Jory. Later Jory rustles their cattle and Williams loses his left arm during the fracas.From 1945 until 1962 when he retired, Randolph Scott made a series of good adult themed westerns, some of them considered real classics. Unfortunately the Cariboo Trail will never be listed among his best westerns. It's more like the material that Roy Rogers or Gene Autry might use. The story is downright silly at times. Williams who was along for the ride with Scott, he wanted to go prospect for gold as there was a big strike at the time. He doesn't blame the rustlers, he blames Scott for convincing him to make the trip for the loss of his arm. Also there's a scene in the film when Scott, Lee Tung Foo, and Gabby Hayes are captured by Indians. They escape because Gabby's mule has been taught to kick on command and he kicks away at the Indians allowing our heroes to escape. I'm not sure that would have played in a Rogers film.Furthermore the story actually wants you to believe that tyro prospector Randolph Scott accidentally stumbles on a gold strike after just a few lessons from prospector Gabby Hayes on how to find gold. This was Gabby Hayes's farewell feature film part. It would have been better had he gone out in a good western and in fact he had done a couple of better ones with Randolph Scott before this.I will say this, though no Caribou made any appearance in the film, this is one of the few Canadian locale films from the past that did NOT have any Mounties. But if I were you unless you are a big fan of Randolph Scott or Gabby Hayes, take the next detour off The Cariboo Trail.