Harrison's Reports (1950)

106 HARRISON'S REPORTS July 8, 1950 "The Cariboo Trail" with Randolph Scott and George "Gabby" Hayes (20th Century-Fox, August; time, 81 min.) Those who like their westerns with plenty of action, cattle stampedes, Indians, fisticuffs and gun' fighting will find that "The Cariboo Trail" more than adequately fills the bill. Its story about a rugged cattleman who treks from his native Montana into the Canadian wilds to find good cattle country is made up of standard melodramatic situations and characterizations and is not particularly novel; nevertheless, it is a satisfying entertainment of its kind, for it is swift-paced and adventurous. Randolph Scott's performance as the hero is characteristically hardhitting and fearless, with audience sympathy on his side as he battles the lawless element and overcomes the many obstacles placed in his way. George "Gabby" Hayes, as a grizzled prospector, gives the proceedings some lighter moments with his humorous ways, and Karin Booth is properly attractive and winsome as the girl who comes to Scott's aid. Not the least of the picture's assets is the fine Cinecolor photography, which enhances the scenic values: — In quest of gold and seeking new cattle country, Scott, Bill Williams, his partner, Lee Tung Foo, their Chinese cook, and their small herd of cattle are stopped on the trail at a small toll bridge owned by Victor Jory, whose four henchmen guarding the bridge demand an outrageous fee for them to cross. Scott refuses to pay and, in the ensuing fight, stampedes his cattle across the bridge, destroying it. Gabby, a lone prospector, meets and joins up with Scott's party. That night, Jory's henchmen stampede the cattle and steal the herd. Williams' arm is so badly hurt in the stampede that Scott has to amputate it. Scott then brings Williams to Carson Creek, where he is taken in by a doctor. At the local saloon, Scott becomes friendly with Karin, the owner, much to the chagrin of Jory, who desired her for himself. Jory pretends to know nothing about the stampede. With Williams under a doctor's care, Scott, Gabby and the Chinese cook set out to pan gold. They locate a beautiful valley, which Scott terms a cattleman's paradise, where they are ambushed and taken prisoners by Indians. All escape but are separated, and while wandering alone Scott discovers a gold pocket. Meanwhile Williams, now recovered but grown bitter over the loss of his arm, for which he blames Scott, joins Jory as his chief gunman. When Scott returns to Carson Creek he is rebuffed by Williams and run out of town by the miners, who are led by Jory to believe that he is withholding information on his gold strike. Back on the trail, Scott meets Gabby with a herd of cattle owned by his widowed sister-in-law, and makes a deal to lead the cattle to the beautiful valley. Jory, to get the cattle for himself, arranges with the Indians to massacre Scott and his party. Williams turns against this plan and persuades the miners to rescue the party from the Indians. In the battle that follows, the Indians are beaten and Jory and Williams shoot it out, killing each other. But before Williams dies, he and Scott patch up their quarrel. It was produced by Nat Holt and directed by Edwin L. Marin from a screen play by Frank Gruber, based on a story by John Rhodes Sturdy. Suitable for the family. "Federal Man" with William Henry, Pamela Blake and Robert Shayne (Eagle-Lion, June; time, 67 min.) A run-of-the-mill low-budget program melodrama that should get by as a supporting feature in smalltown and neighborhood theatres. Revolving around the efforts of Federal Narcotic Bureau agents to track down and apprehend a gang of criminals smuggling drugs over the Mexican border, the plot is stereotyped in formula and in treatment, offering little that hasn't been done many times in better productions. The pursuit, however, offers enough excitement and suspense to satisfy the undiscriminating action fans. The scientific methods employed by the Federal agents, such as radar detection to trace the course of an automobile transporting the dope, helps to keep the proceedings interesting. The acting and direction are adequate, despite the loosely-written screen play. The story opens with the murder of Pamela Blake's husband, a narcotics agent, just as he leaves his home to report to Robert Shayne, his chief. Shayne assigns William Henry, another agent, to track down a ring of dope smugglers, whom he suspected of the murder of Pamela's husband. Having established that the criminals were smuggling dope across the Mexican border, Henry goes to that country and, with the aid of Mexican officials, discovers that the criminals carried on their activities by placing the narcotics in a box that was attached to the undercarriage of an automobile owned by an unsuspecting American tourist. The gang trailed the automobile back to the United States and removed the box without the owner becoming any wiser. Shayne, interested in learning the identity of the gang's leader and capturing him, orders Henry to permit a shipment of the drugs to cross the border and to trail it to its destination. In the events that follow, Henry, aided by Pamela, gets a line on the gang leader and sets a trap for him. But the plan backfires when the trap is discovered and Henry becomes the gang's captive. In the end, however, Shayne and the other agents trace Henry to the gang's hideout and, after a furious gun battle, Henry is rescued and the gang members either killed or captured. It was produced by Jack Schwartz and directed by Robert Tansey from an original screen play by Sam Neuman and Nat Tanchuck. Unobjectionable morally. "The Baron of Arizona" with Vincent Price and Ellen Drew (Lippert, March 4; time, 93 min.) Produced on a budget that is considerably higher than the usual allotment given most Lippert productions, "The Baron of Arizona" offers a fascinating though not always convincing tale about a swindler's fantastic attempt to steal the territory of Arizona in the 1870's. The plot, which purportedly is based on fact, stresses characterization more than movement, but it does have a fair share of excitement and suspense and manages to hold one's interest fairly well. Vincent Price, as the patient and ambitious swindler, makes the most of his part, but Ellen Drew, as the woman he marries and tricks into believing that she is heir to the whole of Arizona, fails to put much conviction into the role, and her love for Price, despite knowledge of his fraudulent ways, is unbelievable.