Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Fantastic!

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

With one rugged MGM newcomer (Howard Keel) narrating the story of how his father, rugged MGM veteran Clark Gable, ventured to Missouri to hunt beaver and ended up married to an Indian maiden (María Elena Marqués) who proved to be as brave (possibly even braver) than any of the white men who accompanied him. In the process, Gable makes enemies of a native American tribe (lead by Ricardo Montalban in a virtual wordless part) out to kill the white man "invading" their territory. The MGM mountains are obvious, even with gorgeous Technicolor and a snow sequence where Marqués is the most daring of all, willing to ride her horse through it just so the others can see how deep it is. Dressed in cowboy duds and speaking with a French/Canadian accent, veteran "Dapper Dan" Adolph Menjou takes on a Walter Brennan role, but his elegance shines through.Films like this have to be taken with a grain of salt because as movie history has shown, the relationship between the settlers and the natives has been told through the settler's (white man's) point of view. Even though through his narration, half white/half Indian Keel reveals that his father began to see the native Americans as human beings with emotions, ambitions, humor and passions, it is obvious that because they appeared to look like savages, that's how the movies were still going to portray them, no matter what was indicated in the screenplay. Yes, one of the tribes Gable encounters (the one Marqués belongs to) is very welcoming to him (even though he makes a definite rival in the very white looking Indian played by John Hodiak), but the other (lead by Montalban) is portrayed as total savage and nothing flattering is revealed about them.A final battle sequence leads to a riveting chase where the baby (who grows up to become the unseen Keel) is carried away by a running horse while Gable chases Montalban who is on chase after the horse carrying his baby. Realistically, there is the definite feeling that in this wilderness, anything can happen at any time, and it does, often with tragic results. So while the premise of good white people vs. savage Indians (although one vengeful white man does make a stupid move against the good Indians in a key sequence) is a bit jarring, the way MGM put this together with colorful style and its usual class makes this stand above the usual westerns that lacked in quality and in understanding. The inclusion of the French standard "Alouette" and the children's standard "Skip to My Lou" add some light-heartedness to the darker themes, which really don't take over until the second half of the film.

I've seen this several times and warm to it the more often I see it. The nostalgic narration is not too obtrusive and works well to knit everything together.Gable growls his way through a usual tough guy that melts gradually through the film, a fine vigorous performance as pioneer man, even singing and dancing (of sorts!). Montalban has an interesting role (virtually without dialogue) at the beginning of his career. Whitmore has a small part and looks every part the mountain man. Menjou is a revelation if you saw him in Paths of Glory, as a fine second fiddle who you would want as your friend. Hodiak is good as an impassive, proud and upright Indian. Napier (West's Batman's butler) as an aristocratic survivor of Waterloo! And Maria Marques a comely and well acted female lead.The music is sweeping and fits fine, the photography absolutely superb, the Technicolour very very very beautiful, the native Americans portrayed as human beings with a history. Some nice comedy moments at the marriage. A romance virtually a silent movie with man and wife not speaking each others languages. The savagery and danger of early life not skimped. The final showdown is thrilling and realistic.Old Hollywood showmanship but the ending brings a lump to my throat as the son describes his father's life and the wisdom he passed on.

I hadn't heard of this film until I saw it listed in the TV guide and as it was only an hour and a half long I thought I'd check it out. I'm pleased that I did as it is quite different to most westerns I'd seen. Set when much of what is now the United States was still controlled by the native population and any European heading into there territory had to make friends quickly or risk being killed. The story follows group of trappers led by Flint Mitchell who head into Blackfoot territory to hunt beavers and elk; in order to be welcome Mitchell buys and marries the Blackfoot chief's granddaughter who had been kidnapped by a Nez Perce chief and adopted as his daughter. His new wife Kamiah leads them into Blackfoot territory via a route that avoids the aggressive warrior Iron Shirt. Once there they set about trapping and hunting, they also make friends with the Blackfoot chief Bear Ghost. There are still dangers though and Iron Shirt's band poses a danger. When one of the trappers is killed his brother takes revenge by killing Grey Wolf, this leaves Iron Shirt as the new chief and the trappers are in real danger; a danger that many of them will not survive.At first I though this might be a comedy as the opening scenes contained such sights as a brawl involving all of the trappers and an Indian chief who was wearing a suit of armour and Mitchell's new wife throwing pots and pans at him when he enters her tepee in a drunken state! As the film progresses things get more serious though as the trappers get in real danger and several are killed frequently without warning. One of the deaths, I won't spoil it by saying whose, was one of the most surprising I've seen in any film. The acting was pretty solid; Clark Gable was good in the lead role as was María Elena Marqués as his wife Kamiah. Surprisingly much of the dialogue wasn't in English; some was in French and much was in the Indian's language, this wasn't subtitled which puts the viewer in the same position of not understanding that Mitchell was in; of course he had a native speaker in his group who could translate for him (and the audience). While I don't think this is a must see film I'd certainly recommend checking it out if you are a western fan and it is on television.

They were so close to having a good film here, but it is another case of a poor script destroying the quality work of all involved. Gable looks great...tan, fit, and masculine as hell. Speaking of masculine, Ricardo Montalban is the bare-chested Native American antagonist...this man has an over-powering charisma that makes it impossible to take your eyes off him. And another special mention must be made: Adolphe Menjou...he was absolutely fantastic as Gable's friend and translator. Truth be told, the whole cast is really wonderful, but as usual, the script gives them hokey garbage to utter to one another. And not just in English! The producers went to the trouble of having much of the script in French and various Native American languages, yet the script was dopey in all those languages. The storyline had great potential, but it wasn't realized well.The best part of the movie? The scenery. It was, by far, the most unbelievably gorgeous scenery ever put on film. Yes, there have been myriad other films with beautiful scenery, but they had beautiful SHOTS, whereas this movie has the scenery all the way through, behind every actor, in nearly every scene, and it is breathtaking. If this movie doesn't make you want to throw on a backpack and hiking boots and plan a trip to Colorado, then you need to make an appointment with a doctor...either an eye doctor, a psychiatrist, or both.There are a few nice moments throughout, but overall the film is pretty mediocre. The actors all look fantastic, and do the best with the script they've been given, but what speaks the loudest and makes the biggest impression is the scenery. They had all the parts, but couldn't make the whole...as they said on "Get Smart": "Missed it by THAT much!!"