Wells Fargo (1937)

Director:

Frank Lloyd

Writers:

Paul Schofield (screen play), Gerald Geraghty (screen play),

Stars:

Joel McCrea, Bob Burns, Frances Dee

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joel McCrea	...	Ramsay MacKay
Bob Burns	...	Hank York - a Wanderer
Frances Dee	...	Justine Pryor
Lloyd Nolan	...	Dal Slade
Henry O'Neill	...	Henry Wells
Mary Nash	...	Mrs. Pryor
Ralph Morgan	...	Nicholas Pryor
Johnny Mack Brown	...	Talbot Carter (as John Mack Brown)
Porter Hall	...	James Oliver
Jack Clark	...	William Fargo
Clarence Kolb	...	John Butterfield
Robert Cummings	...	Dan Trimball - Prospector
Granville Bates	...	Bradford - Banker
Harry Davenport	...	Ingalls - Banker
Frank Conroy	...	Ward - Banker

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

stagecoach robbery | historical fiction | san francisco california | st. louis missouri | william fargo | 

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Taglines:

TOGETHER THEY BUILD A CONTINENT! He lives the magnificent adventure that saves a country and she shares the adventures of the man she loves!

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Genres:

History | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 December 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

An Empire Is Born

Filming Locations:

Angel's Camp, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 115 min (New York opening) (premiere)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

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Quotes

Hank York - a Wanderer: I've had no more luck than a duck with a doorknob.

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Soundtracks

"Where I Ain't Been Before"
(1937)
Music by Burton Lane
Lyrics by Ralph Freed
Sung by Bob Burns (uncredited) and played as part of the score

User Reviews

Disjointed

Fans of McCrea looking for a standard shoot-em-up should look elsewhere. That would be okay if the movie were as good as most McCrea westerns, but it's not. Too much time is spent trying to get Ramsay's (McCrea) love life straightened out. The trouble is this tends to crowd out the interesting other two themes— namely, opening highways to the West and action and adventure along the way.

Now, with so much going on, narrative transitions from one thread to the next become important. But, I agree with reviewer Maxwell-- this key element in the storyline is handled very clumsily. It's sometimes hard to follow developments because of muddy segues, plus a sloppy script that appears to want to do too much with too many marginal characters. On a different note, what's with IMDb listing Lloyd Nolan in the credits. If he's in the picture, I couldn't spot him, and he's not someone easy to miss. Maybe he got edited out.

On the plus side are actors McCrea, winsome wife Dee, and a fearsome Mary Nash, some good crowd scenes, and several edifying historical facts. Still, I too, was left wondering just what Wells-Fargo did as a day-to-day business, which seems an odd omission given the movie's title. Anyway, to me, the movie was a disappointment despite a bigger than average budget and an effort at historical sweep.