Horizons lointains

The "river " movie-as opposed to road movie- was born with Huston (African queen,1950),then continued by Preminger's"River of no return"(1954)."The far horizons" is an entertaining adventure yarn,with a nice cinematography ,a good use of the cinemascope and a very fine cast.Donna Reed stands out,her portrayal of the Indian heroine is very modern,and the last sequence is totally unusual in this kind of movie.

The story is divided into a prologue ("civilization"),the main part (the expedition),and an epilogue (back to" civilization").The dialogue is wittier than in an average western.Some remarks about women's position in both societies are smart .

The "river movie" will reach its artistic peak during the seventies with Herzog's "Aguirre,der Zorn Gottes"(1972)(also an expedition!),the same year as John Boorman's "deliverance".In the nineties,it was still hip,as "the river wild" (1994)shows.

Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, US President Thomas Jefferson (Herbert Heyes) enlists Capt. Meriwether Lewis (Fred MacMurray) and Lt. William Clark (Charlton Heston) to lead a surveying expedition of the new territory with hopes of finding a route to the Pacific ocean. Things get off to a rocky start when Clark unknowingly steals Lewis' girlfriend Julia Hancock (Barbara Hale). The expedition later recruits Shoshone woman Sacajawea (Donna Reed) to act as their guide into unknown territory, and wouldn't you know it, Clark starts making time with her, too!

Most Hollywood history lessons play fast and loose with the facts, but this movie earned the distinction of once being named by a group of historians as the most historically inaccurate Hollywood movie ever. I can't vouch for that, but a lot of this is pretty silly and unbelievable. Chief among the movie's problems is the awkward and unnecessary romantic triangle (Heston, Hale & Reed), which would be bad enough as a sub-plot, but which by the end seems to be the prime focus of the film. MacMurray's Lewis takes a back seat to things once the romance between Clark and Sacajawea starts, and he's reduced to supporting status. Reed isn't terrible as Sacajawea, it's just that...well, she's Donna Reed! On the movie's plus side, there is some spectacular scenery and location cinematography. That's what raises it to a 5/10.

And Paramount put THIS on DVD but not the excellent and seldom seen "All the Way Home" from 1963. Go figure.

Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston portray Lewis and Clark, famed historians who explored the Louisianna Territory as per the instructions of President Thomas Jefferson. This plays very much like a cowboys and indians type of actioneer, but without actual cowboys. We also get a fabricated (so I've read) side love story between Clark (Heston) and lovely squaw Sacajawea (Donna Reed!!), the woman who helped lead the way during the discovery. In this story, MacMurray is the more laid back and serious leader while his partner Heston is - no surprise - rather cynical and the Wild Card of the two. Seems like Chuck played these parts constantly in the first half of this decade. It's always been odd for me to go backwards in time and see Fred MacMurray in straight films, as I grew up with him primarily as the dad from TV's sitcom MY THREE SONS. Here he shares screen time with William Demarest , who was also in the TV show as well. Demarest seemed miscast to me here though, cast as an 1800's sergeant. **1/2 out of ****

Turbulent adventure set against the rich ,romantic tapestry of early Louisiana state . United States has just acquired Louisiana from France . As President Thomas Jefferson (Herbert Heyes) assigns a risked expedition led by U.S. Army Captain Meriwether Lewis (Fred MacMurray) and Lt. William Clark (Charlton Heston) as second in command and they join forces other mountain men to enter virgin trapping territory but must contend with resentful traitors , savage Indians (Larry Pennell , Eduardo Noriega) and several other things . The expeditionary group is sent to survey the territory and go where no white man has gone before . They have to overcome the dangerous land with the help of Sacajawea (Donna Reed) .

Pioneer epic with great stars , gorgeous cinematography by Daniel L. Fapp and majestic landscapes filmed in spectacular scenarios . The movie is partially based on real events , narrating the story about the far country discovery , some explorers came to find the precious land through the dangerous ways , large plentiful rivers , violence and ambition that came with them . This colorful film contains beautiful scenery , tempestuous Indian attacks , war , lawless raids , a love story , intrepid men and women ; at last , in all its wild , brave magnificence , the picture of valiant scouts . Well paced , elegiac Western , including marvelous landscapes from Grand Teton National Park, Moose, Wyoming . Interesting historical/drama/Western is slightly marred by the heavily relationship between Heston and Donna Reed . This poetic film focuses the insertion of human being into nature and with the "Native Americans" . This is a lyric Western about conquerors , it's a homage to integration between human being and Nature . The whole piece of adventure teems with emotion , thrills , exotic atmosphere and being pretty entertaining . It's a medium budget film with good actors , technicians , production values and pleasing results . Charlton Heston gives a good acting as a rugged scout who falls in love for an Indian woman , Heston along with Donna Reed form a memorable couple . However , the lead roles , Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston , were originally offered to Gary Cooper and John Wayne, but Cooper vehemently rejected the offer . Sensitive as well as enjoyable musical score by Hans J. Salter . The motion picture was professionally directed by Rudolph Mate .

The real deeds were the followings : The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States, departing in May, 1804 from St. Louis on the Mississippi River, making their way westward through the continental divide to the Pacific coast. The expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, consisting of a select group of U.S. Army volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. Their perilous journey lasted from May 1804 to September 1806. The primary objective was to explore and map the newly acquired territory, find a practical route across the Western half of the continent, and establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it. The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and establish trade with local Indian tribes. With maps, sketches and journals in hand, the expedition returned to St. Louis to report their findings to Jefferson . Regarding Sacagawea character , she was a Shoshone Indian woman who arrived with her husband Toussaint Charbonneau on the expedition to the Pacific Ocean . Though she has been discussed in literature frequently, much of the information is exaggeration or fiction. Scholars say she did notice some geographical features, but "Sacagawea...was not the guide for the Expedition, she was important to them as an interpreter and in other ways. The sight of a woman and her infant son would have been reassuring to some indigenous nations, and she played an important role in diplomatic relations by talking to chiefs, easing tensions, and giving the impression of a peaceful mission.In his writings, Meriwether Lewis presented a somewhat negative view of her, though Clark had a higher regard for her, and provided some support for her children in subsequent years.

This is not a movie that is accurate historically. The great thing is seeing a well known cast in color making the thing entertaining. While Barbara Hale is best known as Della Street, Perry Mason's Secretary, she is a second banana here in her role as Julia. She appears in the early part of the film and at the end.

What is interesting is that Donna Reed, Fred MacMurray, & Charlton Heston all get equal billing at a time when women's rights really had not started. In fact, Reed is so good that I didn't even realize it was here until I checked the cast list. This is not the typical 1950's film to be sure.

Trouble is that the film really has no chance to get to the true story of Lewis & Clark as it is too busy with fictional relationships to have time. William Demerest (Uncle Charlie on My Three Sons) joins Fred here as he would later on TV. Considering how much fishing Fred is known to have done, I bet he got some in on breaks on this river location shooting.

The movie is entertainment, just not a classic. Paramounts Vista Vision hasn't hurt the quality of the film photography over the years either.