What a waste of my time!!!

Fantastic!

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The best part of California is the costume design. Edith Head went all out in draping Barbara Stanwyck with breathtakingly beautiful gowns. Every time she came on the screen, I gasped and exclaimed, "Look at that one!" Fashion aficionados will want to rent this one, or at least look at still pictures. But what's the actual movie about? Ray Milland, also known as a poor man's James Stewart, stars as a wagon train leader across the vast Midwest to California. When Barbara Stanwyck is literally cast out into the street by her town, implying suspected or confirmed prostitution, Ray goes against his better judgement and lets her join the group going west. For some reason, Barbara falls for Ray even though he's not very nice to her and even slaps her after she tells him he's not going to "get what he wants". Sprinkled into the plot is the goldrush craze, as well as political disagreements about impending statehood, but-no offense to rival politicians Barry Fitzgerald and George Coulouris-that's part of the plot isn't nearly as interesting as Barbara's clothing. Keep an eye out for Anthony Quinn in a very, very small part. Basically, he just dances with Barbara Stanwyck and then gets drunk with Ray Mi-bland. Unfortunately, even though his dance costume is very tight and shows off his best assets, he's not on screen for very long. Just think in six short years, Anthony Quinn and Barbara Stanwyck would be reunited on the screen, this time playing husband and wife in Blowing Wild.I'm really not a Ray Mi-bland fan, so even though I love Barbara Stanwyck, I didn't really like this movie. There's a pretty cute song in the beginning, "California or Bust", but the rest of the movie feels like a subpar western. It won't hurt you, though, if you want to give it a try.

At first, it's a "How the West Was Won" journey of settlers heading to California (with a banjo on their knee), then it's about the gold rush. then a gambling hall, and finally a political squabble over statehood and impending civil war. And as much as it looks like a Cecil B. DeMille epic, it isn't, directed instead by John Farrow.But, oh, what a pleasure it is to look at, starting off with a travelogue like prologue with an E.Y. Harburg song. Barbara Stanwyck makes her entrance being tossed out of town by the proper ladies and gentlemen and reluctantly being picked up by the wagon train lead by Ray Milland. He doesn't want her on it, but feisty Barry Fitzgerald sympathizes with her and takes her along in his wagon. Then, news of gold breaks, everybody scrams, and Milland and Fitzgerald are left to themselves, surrounded by the junk yard of the journeyer's furniture left behind, the west coast's first garbage dump.It continues with an obviously dubbed Stanwyck singing a song in a gambling hall she's purchased, getting involved with ruthless Albert Dekker and alternately insulting and defending Milland while secretly supporting Fitzgerald for senator, Dekker's rival. It's the last segment that's the most interesting, a fictionalized vision of early California before swimming pools and movie stars, not to mention ski resorts, Hollywood signs, freeways and governators.Stanwyck gets to wear some bewitching gowns by Edith Head and is alternately tough, tender and tempestuous. Wasted in a tiny role, Anthony Quinn is nevertheless handsome in his brief dance with Stanwyck, historically important to see two legendary stars together. They would share more scenes in 1953's melodramatic "Blowing Wild". Milland is grizzled enough to take away the image of him in tailored suits from past movies (even though the same year he got his ear pierced by Marlene Dietrich in "Golden Earings") while Fitzgerald gives a performance filled with wisdom, heart, and humor.Colorfully filmed, this is still an interesting account of the settling of a land once wild, now overcrowded, yet still filled with beauty where cities have not yet risen.

The movie is a stab at an epic western that simply fails to gel. The best part is the "moving west" scenes of wagon trains convoying across the open southwestern terrain. These achieve an epic feel that the dramatics unfortunately fail to duplicate. The screenplay itself is pretty crowded, telling the story of California's becoming a state, no less. From settlers to gold rush to saloons to political intrigue, the story is traced out mainly through Milland, Stanwyck, and Coulouris, with Fitzgerald as a salt-of-the-earth anchor.Now, that might work, except director Farrow has little feel for the material. The various parts come across in rather limp, unexciting fashion. It's as if he's content to simply film the script without bringing its many conflicts to dramatic life. Thus, the drama is conveyed in words instead of characters. Then too, Oscar winner Milland appears either miscast or uninspired. His role really calls for a bigger personality than Milland's generally low-key wagon master. (He may have viewed a western as a comedown after his award winning role in The Lost Weekend.) Stanwyck is of course Stanwyck even though she's dolled-up to suit Technicolor filming and crowded around by the packed screenplay . Too bad the guy who could have enlivened the action remains in supporting background, namely, the commanding Albert Dekker (Pike).Anyway, I guess I now know why this epic western remains so obscure, despite its Paramount pedigree and marquee cast.

This film tries so hard to be a sprawling epic, and it ends up just sprawling. The hero barely registers as a blip on the radar, Barbara Stanwyck turns in a bad impression of a heterosexual heroine, the villain is a cardboard stereotype, and Barry Fitzgerald's character is too saintly to be believable with this thankless script. This western even features a stand-in horse: a photo mounted on cardboard (in one of the first scenes). It never really gets much better than that.