The Oregon Trail

By 1959, TV westerns had begun to replace the Hollywood B-western so there's the distinct feeling that "The Oregon Trail" -- despite its color and widescreen -- really isn't needed. Certainly there's no passion or style apparent in the film's making. It's more a case of everyone just going through the motions and collecting a paycheck.

Things begin unpromisingly with a scene involving President Polk in Washington D.C. This scene tries to give the story a historical context but it's on the dull and talky side. This is followed by another lax scene in which dapper, man-about-town reporter, Fred MacMurray, is assigned to go west on a wagon train and write a story for his newspaper. Finally, as MacMurray arrives in Westport, Missouri -- the eastern start of the Oregon Trail -- things begin rolling. They do so in a conventional way, however, and the entire trek west is filled with the usual situations: troubling encounters with Indians, dry water holes, tensions among the folk on the wagon train, an unexpected rain storm, a funeral service by the side of the trail, a settler protecting his apple-tree seedlings, etc. The use of stock shots and indoor sets hamper the effects of many of these scenes and there's no real villain to conflict with Fred MacMurray. There's also no tension about his mission since he makes no effort to hide it and the possible romantic- triangle involving him and William Bishop and Nina Shipman never takes form. Instead, MacMurray is implausibly paired with Gloria Talbott who appears fairly late in the proceedings.

Action builds toward a last-reel Indian attack which now seems quite "politically incorrect." (The "half-breed" Indian girl implausibly says: "It is because of this, I renounce my people.") Perhaps the only notable thing about "The Oregon Trail" is the scene in which Indians capture Fred MacMurray, strip off his shirt, and stake him out to die. (For a man in his early 50s, MacMurray looks pretty good bare-chested!) While TV westerns often staged these stake-outs, they're not all that common in the movies, and who'd believe one of them would "star" an actor about to get a career boost by playing in Disney comedies?!

Decent story, decent cast, but really can't stand movies that go back and forth between on location scenes and fake background studio scenes. Maybe they didn't look so fake back in the day but with 4K UHD, they look pretty ridiculous.

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!

Spectacular Western in medium budget focusing a Wagon Train of emigrants to Oregon. As the valiant emigrants epitomise the bravery of the early West , at least as Hollywood saw it .It is set in 1846, a New York Herald journalist , Fred MacMurray , joins an Oregon Trail wagon train to verify if is truth about undercover troops sent by President Polk posing as settlers in order to reclaim Oregon for US.

This American Western has a turbulent and mighty history , some of which is told in this story , along with some attractive Folk songs .Here is a panoramic view of the American West , concerning the dangerous travels, risked adventures, hazards, including Indian attacks , chavalry charges , Indian assaults on Fort Laramie and anything else .It is an epic movie photographed in Technicolor , but adding ridiculous Matte-painting .For the most part , it is a pretty ordinary drama about settling to the West , adding a brief intrigue about an uncovered Army official and a journalist played by Fred MacMurray .Particularly here stands out the motley group of actors, and special mention for a big main and support cast. Fred MacMurray plays a Newspaperman who falls for a beautiful Indian girl played by Gloria Hendry , while William Bishop falls for the attractive Nina Shipman, John Carradine as a settleman who spends the limited water by watering his plants , Henry Hull as the Wagonmaster Guide , John Dierkes as the nasty pro-Indian traitor , the elderly Elizabeth Patterson , James Bell, among others .

Aside from being predictable and regular story , the picture has a few pluses, such as Cinematography by Kay Norton , though being necessary a perfect remastering, as well as spectacular action scenes as Indians lay siege and attack Fort Laramie. Charming and catching musical score by Paul Dunlap , including wonderful songs as Ballad of the Oregon Trail, and , Never Alone composed by Paul Dunlap and Lyrics by Charles Devlan . The motion picture was regularly directed by Gene Fowler Jr. He was a prolífic producer , director and especially film editor . Directing some movies as Gang War , Showdown at Boot Hill , The Rebel Set , Here come the Jets ,I married a monster from Outer Space , I Was a Teenage Werewolf , and various episodes of famous TV series as Rawhide, The Waltons, Caliber 44 , Perry Mason , Assignment Underwater , Man with a Camara, Gunsmoke , among others. Rating 5/10 .Mediocre but passable .

The best thing about "The Oregon Trail" was that it prompted me to research the tensions between Britain and the States over Oregon in the early 1840s. Apart from that, the film was mediocre. Some of its deficiencies have already been mentioned in other reviews, not least the terrible backdrops early on and the anachronistic rifles (to which might be added the anachronistic army uniforms, notably hats).

Its initial premise was suspect: sending a reporter on a five-month journey to check out rumours that soldiers in civilian clothing were accompanying wagon-trains. Neal Harris had no reliable means of getting his dispatches back to his editor, and if they had been printed they would have been dated; as it happened, his objectives were overtaken by events.

I can't see McMurray as a great ladies' man, even when he displays a sweaty chest. His flirting with President Polk's secretary (did he have a female secretary, I wonder), didn't convince, nor did his instant rapport with Shona.

After days of water shortage and dust, Prudence Cooper's hair looked remarkably well-groomed and there was a terrible lack of continuity when a settler took an arrow in his chest, only for it to appear in his back a couple of seconds later.

Plus points for John Carradine as the eccentric settler with his apple trees and for John Dierkes as mountain man Gabe Hastings.