La grande carovana

I was unfortunate enough to see this last week. The book has long been a favorite of mine; the movie is a disaster.Garnet, Florinda, and Oliver were completely miscast---poor Gwen Bristow must still be whirling in her grave after seeing what Hollywood had done to her wonderful saga. Some of the minor roles (John Ives, the Handsome Brute) were adequate as were the sets and costumes. However,the main characters completely failed to resemble their literary counterparts, and their acting was wooden and totally unconvincing. The book is a wonderful story brimming with action and should have made an exciting and colorful movie. Instead, it is incredibly boring and tedious. What a shame!

I like this movie. The slow pace is an asset rather than a liability. Although the cast is not particularly well-known, there is a delightful mix of characters in this better-than-usual Western. The movie is rather faithfully based on Gwen Bristow's romantic novel about early California.

The interior sets are the real stars of this film. From 1845 New Orleans to pre-Mexican War Santa Fe and Los Angeles the sets are very colorful and lavish. Joan Leslie, Vera Ralston and the rest of the cast work hard to brighten up the sets.

There is an aura of pleasant reality about this film. The characters generally are dressed in period clothing and carry vintage weapons. There is a refreshing variety in the clothing worn by the male characters, particularly in the hats. The wardrobes of Leslie and Ralston are as lavish as the sets. The only disappointment is the standard backlot Western town set which pretends to be Los Angeles. This set has appeared in countless Westerns and it looks oddly inappropriate here.

Much of this film occurs indoors. There is also little action. However, the great sets and script more than compensate. The acting is generally very good and the cast does a wonderful job with the characterizations. Vera Ralston does justice to her role as Florinda, a woman with an awful memory in her past. Joan Leslie's performance as a woman stranded in California by the untimely death of her husband is also far above standard. Forrest Tucker's role as John Ives is uneven. In some scenes he speaks his lines with a whisper. However, he more than compensates by handling himself well in the film's action scenes. Jack Elam has a bit part as a bad guy. Although he says only three words, he exudes evil in his brief appearance.

Normally, a slow pace is the kiss of death for a Western, but in this case the glacial pace works in its favor. Rather than hoping that something will happen, the viewer may find himself or herself wishing it won't end. This is a film that seems longer than it really is, and I wish it had been a little longer. I'm always sorry to see the end credits.

Victor Young's score is rich and vibrant. Although far from his best work, songs like "Jubilee Trail" are very enjoyable. The music for this film is not as overpowering as the music in Westerns like "The Big Country" and "The Magnificent Seven". In one scene the haunting melody of "Jubilee Trail" is played with strings and is almost inaudible as the mule train crosses the desert toward California. The brief cue which heralds the arrival of the pack train from California in Santa Fe effectively communicates the excitement of the moment. The only really loud song is Vera Ralston's song in the Los Angeles saloon. In this case the loud song is appropriate, because they are celebrating the expected birth of Garnet's (Joan Leslie) baby. As Western scores go this one stands out because it is different.

This film is now available on video and is well worth watching. You might find yourself watching it over and over again as I do.

Republic pictures put out all the stops for them for this adaptation of the Gwen bistrow novel; class production values despite the backlot early Los Angeles set; good depiction of the friendship between Garnett and Floridan; their bond despite how opposite they are driven the story; Joan Leslie is very touching and sympathetic as Garnett; Vera ralston as Floridan isn't subtle or nuanced in her part but her flamboyance is lively and works well-too bad she didn't get more parts like this as she works well in such roles; I've a feeling a lot of the book was left out but the picture makes me want to read it; all in all a solid well produced and entertaining republic picture

If we can call this movie a western. Me, I hardly call it a western; nothing to do with THE SEARCHERS, BATTLE AT APACHE PASS, or any other real western. It takes place in the secOnd part of the nineteenth century and in America, that's all. But Republic pictures already gave us such items, music hall, burlesque "westerns" with a bit of intrigue, gun duel not far from the Mississippi river or on San Francisco harbor. Universal pictures also made such movies in the late forties, and not only: MISSISSIPPI GAMBLER for instance, or RAWIDE YEARS, which was however a bit tougher than this one. Not my favourite from Jospeh Kane, from wich I prefered BRIMSTONE, MAVERICK QUEEN...Real westerns this time.

JUBILEE TRAIL is close to a disaster, and it particularly distressing to see lovely and very talented JOAN LESLIE reduced to a namby-pamby secondary role to the awful Vera Ralston. Ralston, of course, was a stellar Olympic figure skating champion who arrived in Hollywood to skate her way into a couple of films for Republic Pictures' boss Herbert J. Yates (who fell in love with her, married her, and spent years and money on trying to convince the public that she could act.) Ralston's acting was poor but less annoying in those films in which she was surrounded by professionals (e.g. MURDER IN THE MUSIC HALL and ANGEL ON THE AMAZON). But Yates kept pushing the envelope, and Republic's expensive western JUBILEE TRAIL is one of the nadirs. Lots of money obviously spent on the film, but Ralston, as a 'dance hall' performer (hmmm) is all over the place with shrieky acting techniques, an overabundance of makeup, and a plump-ish body. It is truly one of the lowest acting exercises. Photography, though, is quite good, and Yates' money expenditures are obvious in other facets of the production. John Russell is the best in a large supporting cast. Joan Leslie remains the central character around whom the plot is moved along. She is beautiful and tries to do the best with some of the awful dialog. (She plays a nice newlywed who, for some unfathomable reason, befriends Ralston.). What a waste!!! If life were fair, Leslie, by this time, would have been an appreciated talent whose abilities were growing with her own maturity.