Best movie of this year hands down!

Very well executed

Blistering performances.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

There are some reviews for the film on this board written some time ago that bemoan the poor rendition of the film along with some fuzzy sound quality. The version I caught on Turner Classics the other night seems to have rectified that problem. In fact, there's a two screen opening sequence that describes the Cine Color restoration project that transformed the picture closer to it's original quality. Even so, the color palette is heavy on the blues, greens and browns, which isn't so bad considering the filming location in Alberta, Canada, and the story's emphasis on building a railroad through the Canadian Northwest passage.In a lot of respects, the story line borrows an element from many B Westerns of the Thirties and Forties. Railroad surveyor Tom Andrews (Randolph Scott) maps out a path through rugged, mountainous terrain, but a villain opposed to the railroad incites a local Indian tribe to make trouble for the construction crew. Victor Jory puts on his outlaw clothes for this one, and attempts to maintain his trade advantage with the local fur trappers by opposing potential business interests from becoming established in the territory. I could never actually understand that argument, simply for the fact that more people arriving in an area would mean more business for everybody.Andrews pursues and is pursued by two women in the story, a mountain gal that simply adores him from the get-go (Nancy Olson), and the settlement doctor (Jane Wyatt) who helps save his life by offering a blood transfusion following an attempt on Andrews' life. That's another story altogether, in as much as Andrews survived a dynamite blast that took out a wagon he was standing right next to. The reason he wasn't killed - get this - is because he was standing too close to it!?!? Another character even mentions that if he was further off, he would certainly have gotten killed! How does that work? Well it does all work out alright for Andrews to foil the bad guys and get the rail track on the way to completion. Randolph Scott once again manages his customary frequent outfit changes, but this time without resorting to the traditional all black he's known for. As for how his romantic entanglement gets worked out, you'll have to catch the picture.The theme of this picture gets reworked in a 1952 movie also starring Randolph Scott titled "Carson City". In that one, Scott portrays an engineer ramrodding a railroad project between Virginia City and Carson City, Nevada. It too has opposing forces for the construction of a rail line, but only one gal for Scott's character to win by the end of the story, and in that one, he wasn't even trying.

The first thing one has to accept is that the quality of the film broadcast over Turner Classic Movies is terribly degraded. One of the worst I have ever seen on that network. But, I still give the network kudos for recently bringing forth a lot of films that haven't been seen in years. I understand that this was an independent film distributed by 20th Century Fox, and if true, perhaps that is why it has not been preserved well. The sad thing is that much of the film was hotographed on location in the beautiful Canadian Rockies. But you can't see the beauty very well due to the degradation of the film. My other complaint is not about the film, but about Randolph Scott. Scott was a fine leading man in many pictures before he turned to Westerns. Perhaps had he known how out-of-favor Westerns would later become, he might not have concentrated on them so much in his later career. At least this is one of his better Westerns with a decent budget.The film starts out as more than the typical Randolph Scott western. Opening scenes are filmed in the valley north of Banff, Canada, and, if I'm not mistaken, at Takakkaw Falls. At any rate, I was excited to see several locations where I hooted, "Oh, I've been right there!" But, while this film had great potential, and might have been great under a better director (Edwin Marin -- over 50 films to his credit, but none that were first rate), after a while it sinks into rather predictable clichés found in so many other westerns.That's not to say the film doesn't have some notable features. Good performances by Randolpf Scott and the lovely Jane Wyatt (not long before she became the wife of "Father Knows Best" on television), for starters. And some character actors we don't see so often (including "Perry White" from t.v.'s "Superman"). On the other hand, I felt Nancy Olson's performance as the third member of the romantic triangle was a horrible performance. You'll recognize quite a few of the character actors in the film, although you'll likely not remember their names.The vivid scenery that is so stunning at the beginning of the film is no more after the opening minutes. For the rest of the film, the locations are on the prairie And some of the stage scenes cut into the scenery look so fake.On the one hand, it appears that most of the Indians in the film were real Indians. But, while the Indians are seen as the "good guys" in the first half of the film, later in the film they are made to appear gullible and murderous. Quite inconsistent.I've grown weary of the many westerns made in the late 40s and throughout the 1950s. But I will give this film credit for having high expectations, even if those expectations didn't quite pan out. It is worth watching, and I recommend it over most westerns.

A cowboy and Indian movie of a different type. The peoples of Canada have already fought the Indians and the winning spoils amount to land...lots of land. Tom Andrews(Randolph Scott) is the surveyor and "go to man" in case of troubles for the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Greedy locals try their best to stall the railroads completion by stealing dynamite. When they become more aggressive, they sell the explosives to the Indians and turn around blaming them for blowing up the rails. Maybe causing an Indian uprising will stop the railroad. Andrews gets blown up with a wagon full of explosives and is saved by a transfusion from Dr. Edith Cabot(Jane Wyatt), who will be vying for his affection with Nancy Olson playing the sister of one of the angry locals(Victor Jory).Filmed mostly on different Canadian National Parks and on Indian Reserve land, this movie was not exactly a box office smash; but Scott fans were satisfied and even put up with the lousy attempt at early color. Also starring are: J. Carrol Naish, John Parrish, Grandon Rhodes, Walter Sande and Don Haggerty.

The building of the Canadian Pacific railway was as much a milestone in the history of Canada as the transcontinental railroad in the United States of America. But the circumstances were so incredibly different the Canadians must have had a laugh and a half at this Hollywood story of one of the great events from their history.The great challenge of the railroad was getting it through just that last stretch of mountains in British Columbia. The track went through a mountain trail known as Kicking Horse Pass and it was quite the engineering feat. That was the main story with the building of the Canadian Pacific.But we have here is the plot of Union Pacific essentially brought under the Maple Leaf with villain Victor Jory stirring up the Indians to prevent the Canadian Pacific from getting through. Of course since he's up against chief engineer Randolph Scott, you know how this is going to come out.Randy as was the case in a lot of his westerns has two girls to choose from, railroad brat Nancy Olson and Quaker doctor Jane Wyatt. I really think Wyatt was a bit ridiculous pushing her pacifist beliefs in the middle of the Indian attack at the climax.On the plus side that Indian attack is one of the best I've ever seen in a western and you will be on the edge of your seat during the final shootout between Randolph Scott and Victor Jory. Also look for a good performance from the always dependable J. Carrol Naish as the locomotive engineer and Scott's sidekick. Also Dick Wessel as a murderous bartender is also quite good.Too bad that this particular episode in Canadian history got Americanized though.