Tue 8 Apr 2025
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: THE CARABOO TRAIL (1950)
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Western movies[7] Comments
THE CARABOO TRAIL. 20th Century Fox, 1950. Randolph Scott. George ‘Gabby’ Haye, Bill Williams, Karin Booth. Victor Jory. Douglas Kennedy, Jim Davis, Dale Robertson. Screenplay: Frank Gruber. Director: Edwin L. Marin.
A relatively mediocre oater, The Cariboo Trail is a “northwestern” that is nominally about the founding and settling of British Columbia. Directed by Edwin L. Marin, the movie stars Randolph Scott as Jim Redfern, a Montana rancher who decides to relocate north in order to find a better place for raising cattle. Joining him in this bold endeavor are Mike Evans (Bill Williams), who is far more interested in prospecting for gold than in cattle, and Ling (Lee Tung Foo), a Chinese-American from San Francisco.
Among the challenges Redfern faces are hostile Indians and the machinations of Frank Walsh (Victor Jory) and his men, local ruffians hell bent on running the area purely for their own benefit. When Redfern’s former patner Mike decides to switch sides and work for Walsh, things get even more heated.
After watching The Cariboo Trail, I realized that I kind of enjoyed it. But while I was watching, I found Frank Gruber’s script somewhat dry and without a core. The last fifteen minutes or so, however, make up for some of the movie’s weaknesses. Altogether, not one of Scott’s best films – not by a long shot. But decent enough for a casual watch. Just don’t expect too much. This is not a Budd Boetticher/Randolph Scott collaboration by any means. Final note: this was apparently Gabby Hayes’s last movie.
April 8th, 2025 at 10:47 pm
It was a great success, if not a work of art, other than Scott’s work, which was, as always, brilliant. For the next three years he would be among the top ten money-making stars.
April 9th, 2025 at 12:33 am
I can see how that might happen. Scott’s very good in this film, and so’s the rest of the cast. I agree with Jon, though, that the movie itself is, well, not a work of art, as you say. Pedestrian, I might say. Ok, perhaps, but slow moving and somewhat sluggish.
I wondered why, at the time, since it was a long time favorite of mine, Frank Gruber, who wrote the screenplay.
April 9th, 2025 at 4:37 am
Up until he partnered with producer Harry Joe Brown, Randy generally played stalwart, rather dull types. His reformed outlaw in WESTERN UNION is a pleasing exception, but even his Bad Guy slugging it out with the Duke in THE SPOILERS seems more likely to bore you to death than shoot you.
April 9th, 2025 at 6:05 am
On one hand, it may be “relatively mediocre,” “pedestrian,” and dry, without a core; on the other hand, it’s Randolph Scott AND a Frank Gruber Script! I’d watch it in a heartbeat.
Although it was Gabby’s last film, he went on to a decent career in television as the host of a children’s television show (much like Andy Devine did) before retiring. Gabby also made it into the comic books, with over 125 issues of various titles.
April 10th, 2025 at 5:20 am
In those days, you hadn’t really made it till you had your own Comic Book!
April 10th, 2025 at 6:11 am
“In those days, you hadn’t really made it till you had your own Comic Book!” Yep, even Trigger and Champion were licensed. Can you imagine a Trigger comic book in today’s post-Frank Miller landscape of comics carnage?
April 12th, 2025 at 9:47 pm
This felt like a film from much earlier than 1950 when I saw it, maybe late thrities or early forties. Still it is a good mid-level Western of a type Scott made quite a few of and works as such. Not all his films are at the level of the Botticher films, and those wouldn’t be special if they were.
Some are just pretty good Westerns, which is nothing to sneeze at.