Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Inspired by frontiersman Daniel Boone, brawny John Mack Brown (as Berk Jarvis) decides to lead a group of settlers from relatively civilized Virginia to the great wilderness of Kentucky. Before embarking, Mr. Brown takes attractive Eleanor Boardman (as Diony Hall) as his wife. The 1770s terrain is rough, but the bloodthirsty Native Americans "Injuns" are rougher. It seems like they scalp someone close to Brown. Ouch. Brown is off to seek justice and leaves Ms. Boardman without a man around the house..."The Great Meadow" would have looked much better as a "silent" movie, with sound effects and incidental dialogue. The director of several silent classics, Charles Brabin is clearly having trouble accommodating the changes in style necessitated by the new microphones. So is most of the cast. Brown, who had been fine in silent features, understandably moved from tenuous dramatic actor to "B" western movie star. Boardman, who had been exceptional in silent features, couldn't get a break and retired too early.**** The Great Meadow (1/24/31) Charles Brabin ~ Johnny Mack Brown, Eleanor Boardman, Gavin Gordon, Lucille LaVerne

One doesn't watch this movie for it's somewhat uninspired acting, especially by Johnny Mack Brown, who no matter what film he was in only seemed to have one acting style. However, the realistic portrayal of the hardships faced by early settlers in the 18th century is the real reason to view this film. Those problems included weather, terrain, American Indians, and internal disagreements.The only two failures of this verisimilitude are Eleanor Boardman's pristine complexion throughout the movie and the hero's decision to leave his family and the other settlers and single-handedly take revenge on the leader of the Indian tribe that had been attacking the fort and surrounding settlements.

Far from boring, the opening minutes of the film take the time to introduce us to the lives of Virginians in 1777. It helps establish how folks lived in an established colony. A base line. The film then covers the trials leading to a new country. This contrast is extreme. The climb of the mountain is one of the great sequences in film history. The idyll on the other side is rewarding but still packed with danger from both the Native Americans and the weather. I don't believe any other film quite captures how tenuous life was back then.The dialog is a bit ripe but the actors deliver it with such conviction that I accepted it as the way folks talked in the 1700s. I became invested in them, particularly Gavin Gordon and Elenor Boardman. John Mack Brown simply plays himself. The Great Meadow deserves to be much better known. Turner Classic Movies should show this in the 8 PM spot with commentary by Robert Osborn.

THE GREAT MEADOW is an early talkie "western" about settlers moving from Virginia, across the Appalachian Mountains into Kentucky. The film stars Johnny Mack Brown and Eleanor Boardman as a newly married couple who make the trek to "the great meadow" because of a speech given by Daniel Boone.This is a solid film with excellent production values that do not glorify or simplify frontier life in 18th century America. Life is rugged and tenuous with starvation, illness, and Indian attacks all a part of everyday life. Brown is solid as the impetuous settler who is up to any task of frontier life. He leads the band of settlers across the rugged mountains and keeps them moving despite the hardships. After his mother is killed by the Indians, he foolishly embarks on a journey of revenge. Boardman, who made only a handful of talkies, is quite good as the naïve young woman who trudges forth with her husband, only to be abandoned by him.The supporting cast includes solid work by Lucille LaVerne (the mother), Gavin Gordon as Brown's rival, Russell Simpson, Julie Haydon, Dale Fuller, Guinn Williams, Anita Louise, Virginia Sale, Sarah Padden, John Miljan, and Helen Jerome Eddy as the woman driven crazy by Indian attacks. Worth looking for.