The Covered Wagon (1923)

Two wagon caravans converge at what is now Kansas City, and combine for the westward push to Oregon. On their quest the pilgrims will experience desert heat, mountain snow, hunger, and ... See full summary »

Director:

James Cruze

Writers:

Emerson Hough (novel), Jack Cunningham (adaptation)

Stars:

J. Warren Kerrigan, Lois Wilson, Alan Hale

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
J. Warren Kerrigan	...	Will Banion
Lois Wilson	...	Molly Wingate
Alan Hale	...	Sam Woodhull
Ernest Torrence	...	William Jackson
Tully Marshall	...	Jim Bridger
Ethel Wales	...	Mrs. Wingate
Charles Ogle	...	Jesse Wingate
Guy Oliver	...	Kit Carson
Johnny Fox	...	Jed Wingate
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Cruze	...	Indian (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Two wagon caravans converge at what is now Kansas City, and combine for the westward push to Oregon. On their quest the pilgrims will experience desert heat, mountain snow, hunger, and indian attack. To complicate matters further, a love triangle develops, as pretty Molly must chose between Sam, a brute, and Will, the dashing captain of the other caravan. Can Will overcome the skeleton in his closet and win Molly's heart?

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Plot Keywords:

silent film | ménage à trois | partially lost film | based on novel

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Taglines:

The cowards never started: - The weak died on the way.

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Genres:

Adventure | Romance | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1924 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Caravana Gloriosa

Filming Locations:

Antelope Island, Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$782,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$3,800,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Silent De Forest Phonofilm

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although there are scenes that show huge buffalo herds with what looks like thousands of animals, large buffalo herds didn't exist at the time this film was made (1923). The buffalo had been hunted almost to extinction during the late 19th century, with millions of them being slaughtered, and its numbers hadn't yet increased enough to comprise large herds. Cameraman Karl Brown used small lead castings of various sizes of buffalo, placed the larger ones toward the camera and used diminishing sizes in the background for depth. All the castings were mounted on a series of moving chains, those in the rear moving very slowly while the rows of chains moved increasingly faster as they neared the foreground. The castings were hinged so that they moved with an undulating motion, which made them appear to be actual buffalo running. The chains were placed out of view and the mechanical buffalo were placed in front of a painted background containing distant buffalo. The result was a scene of "thousands" of buffalo, when in reality most of them were basically statues.

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Connections

Featured in Movie Memories #2 (1934)

User Reviews

A million dollar lawsuit.

Good accuracy on most of the equipment and clothing. The leading characters' make-up was almost clown-like and over-acting was running rampant, but that was the norm of the time and cannot really be criticized. What cannot be excused is the pathetically weak and insipid story line.

Jim Bridger's only surviving child, Virginia K. Bridger Wachsman Hahn, reacted violently after viewing Tully Marshall's portrayal of her father in the then newly-released `The Covered Wagon' in 1923. She instituted a $1,000,000 libel action against the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, charging that they wrongfully depicted her father as a drunkard and a man of questionable morals, defaming his character and casting a stain upon her birth.

Judge Albert L. Reeves, of the federal court at Kansas City, sustained a demurrer filed by the defendants on the grounds no one could recover damages for defamation of the character of an ancestor, setting the precendent for Hollywood's dismal record of accuracy in its portrayal of historic personages.