Mit Büchse und Colt

Can't help but think this version of 'The Oregon Trail' was put together hurriedly to cash in on the enormous popularity of the TV series 'Wagon Train' with Ward Bond? Having said that, it's always a pleasure to watch Fred MacMurray, one of the movies most versatile stars, his stock in trade was comedy, but he was equally effective in drama, or rugged outdoor films, like this was supposed to be, and at 6'3" and that great physique, I think he fits the bill! First time I'd seen that gorgeous blonde, Nina Shipman, can't help but think Fred should have finished up with her instead of the Indian maiden? Fun to see some of the screens great old character actors like Henry Hull and John Carradine, plus Elizabeth Patterson, who played the Mother of Fred and Bing Crosby in 1938's 'Sing You Sinners', she would have been in her 80's here, and still great! Not a great film by any means, but enjoyable enough if your a fan of the stars, and I am! Sadly William Bishop died the same year the film was released, 1959!

Any of you out there think Fred MacMurray wouldn't be convincing in a covered wagon pioneering the Oregon Trail? You're not the only one, which is why he doesn't play a cowboy in the movie. He plays a city reporter, on an assignment to write about the Oregon Trail, so he tags along with a wagon trail, led by the gruff and grizzly, racoon-cap wearing, gravely-voiced Henry Hull. The versatile character actor is real tough in this one, not at all like the softie he played in Boys Town. He stands up to Indians, mounts a horse with no difficulty, and knows how to tackle anything from a water shortage to rattlesnakes.

Fred is the lead, though, working undercover to find secret bad guys, wooing women, and learning how to cope with dust in his trousers and sleeping on the dirt. If you're a fan, you'll like seeing him in this City Slickers-esque movie. Keep in mind it's not a comedy, though. There are some tense situations, trigger-happy grumps, and violin strings playing whenever Granny Elizabeth Patterson says she knows she'll make it through the entire ride. John Carradine portrays Johnny Appleseed, and there's a particularly sad scene when his trees get attacked. Personally, I found this movie too sad to be enjoyable. You might want to try the Lewis and Clark biopic The Far Horizons instead.

It's fun to watch all the old westerns now. Looking back at my childhood viewing of this movie, I never noticed all the painted studio backdrops used in the movie. What seemed so real as a child, now seems so fake as an old man.

An anachronism is something that appears in the wrong time period. For example, if you see jet planes fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg...that would be a serious anachronism. However, sometimes these anachronisms aren't that obvious and make their way into movies. In the case of "The Oregon Trail", it is chock full of anachronisms...so many that you cannot believe that the writers did any research at all to make sure they were getting the facts right. And, for an ex-history teacher like me, it's really annoying!

Let's mention some of the many anachronisms in this film. The movie talks about the new 'Colt revolver' and show the soldiers using them in 1846. But Samuel Colt didn't make his prototype revolver in 1847 and didn't even open up his own company until 1855...so there would have been no Colt revolvers in 1846. The same goes for the repeating rifles you see in the movie...they didn't come out until about 1860 and were very rare even then....but the natives and soldiers all seem to have them! And, it's not just about weapons...at one point Fred MacMurray's character talks about sending a telegraph from out west to his employers on the East Coast. But the telegraph was never used until 1844 and telegraph wires didn't make it West until a decade later.

But anachronisms aren't the only problem in the film. President Polk had long hair and styled it in a mullet....but here he's nearly as bald as Kojak! And, often characters do things that simply make no sense...such as MacMurray's character defending a thief even when it's obvious the guy is stealing as well as his crazy fight with the guy with a whip early in the movie. The nasty guy is whipping the snot out of people and Fred is literally standing NEXT to the guy. But instead of socking him then, he backs up...thus allowing the whipper to whip him!! Who is THAT stupid??!! Fred....when you are standing NEXT to a guy with a whip, he cannot use it on you....get it?! Apparently not. Such is the care the writers and director took in making this film. And these little details are why I was not enthralled with this movie.

If you care, here is the plot: Fred plays Neal Harris, a reporter from back East. There's a rumor that President Polk is sending soldiers disguised as settlers into the disputed Oregon Territory. He heads there in a wagon train to determine if the rumor is true. Along the way, there's a lot of nonsense and really, really bombastic music!

Overall, this is a sloppy film and one I'd just as soon skip. There are far better westerns and far better Fred MacMurray films out there!

I was enjoyed to see this pretty little western again. Colourful, action packed, with interesting and deep searched characters. Real good picture indeed.

But there is one thing that petrified me literally.I was torn to pieces when the Indian girl, who was in love with Mac Murray and saved him from the Indian warrior, says that she disowns her own people - because of his ferocity, after the ending slaughter. SHAME ON HER !!!

I have never heard such a crap, sorry nonsense, in a western before; and I have already seen thousands of them since I was a kid !!!

I am an Indian lover, and proud of that. I am also sad and angry when I think about all that white people did to the Indian nation. They wiped them out. For their land only. They nearly killed them all with bullets, hunger, plagues, alcohol, misery in reservation - even now...

So, in short, when I hear that kind of nonsense from a character in a movie, particularly an Indian one, i prefer think about something else or switch my TV set off.

But, let's be fair, except for that, "Oregon trail" is nevertheless a good western.