La piste des caribous

Not without interest. You can see why "Cinecolor" was a Miserable Flop, You can see Gabby Hayes in His Last Movie (actually pretty good), and this Western does have some other Ingredients worth Noting.

It is Set in Canada (but does use some awful Studio Stuff for some outdoor Scenes), the Body Count is High, there's a Bitter One-Armed Gunslinger (Bill Williams), a Greasy, Slimy, Bespectacled Villain (Victory Jory), a couple of Tasty Women (Karen Booth, Mary Stuart), and a Mule Named Hannibal.

Not one of the Best Randolph Scott Westerns, but it Contains Enough Oddities to make it Worth a Watch for Western Fans. Sometimes Clunky and Awkward but Appealing in an Off-Handed kind of Way.

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.

An accomplished assembly-line Randolph Scott western shot in feverish Cinecolor hues and enhanced by second unit work by Arthur Rosson and a large and interesting supporting cast including a youthful Dale Robertson and Mary Stuart (both of whom went on to long careers on TV).

There is no such thing as an average Randolph Scott Western; they are all better than average. Gabby Hayes adds the humor, and Victor JOry is the bad guy you love to hate. He must have been killed 100 times in Westerns as a bad guy. One of the greatest bad guys of all time. Bill Williams is very good in this film as well. He went on to be a hero in television roles. He was good enough to ride horses in this one with one arm tied behind his back; literally. Good fun.

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.