Jon Hall had played a minor part in a Republic B western with John Wayne, but this was his first starring role in an A-budget western after achieving success in John Ford's THE HURRICANE. He is well suited to tales that take place outdoors, and he would make many more pictures in this genre during the years that followed. Though he was not producer Edward Small's first choice to play KIT CARSON, he seems ideally cast.
When we first meet the handsome scout, he is riding the range with his buddy (Ward Bond) and dealing with Shoshones. They are surprised to see the natives have guns. After the brief skirmish ends, they head to a nearby fort where they meet a well-known army captain (Dana Andrews) and a man (Clayton Moore) leading a wagon train to California.
The people from the train are following the captain and his men. They have heard about Hall's exploits and want to hire him to lead them safely across the desert to the promised land.
In some ways this is similar to the set-up in Paramount's CALIFORNIA (1947) in which Ray Milland was asked to lead a group of pioneers to the coast. A key difference, however, is that the lead female character (Lynn Bari) is not a saloon girl; instead, she is the well-mannered daughter of a Monterey landowner. She is on her way to her father's hacienda, and her feminine charms indirectly cause Hall to accept the assignment from Moore even though he initially turned it down.
As they make their trek across hostile territory, Hall and Andrews butt heads more than once about strategies on dealing with the natives. A significant contrast here is that Andrews must answer to government officials back east, while Hall and Bond are free to make decisions without much deliberation. Hall's quick thinking is what keeps the travelers from harm when danger occurs.
And there is plenty of danger, when a rifle-wielding Shoshone attacks. The Shoshone warrior is captured and he admits that the guns were a gift from Mexican General Castro (C. Henry Gordon). Castro is using the natives to prevent white homesteaders from settling in California, since he wants the region to remain under his control. There is a gruesome death scene where Andrews orders his soldiers to execute the Shoshone warrior. The scene is meant to make Hall's title character more likable than Andrews' character, especially in Miss Bari's eyes.
The triangle that plays out between the three leads does not take a lot of screen time because the filmmakers are more interested in the action sequences. So after the warrior dies by firing squad, Andrews and his men quickly head off on another trail where they are ambushed by more natives.
Hall heroically saves them, of course, but not before Moore's character is sacrificed. Some of these outdoor battle scenes are spectacularly staged. You can imagine how much food must have been catered on this set so the main performers and hundreds of extras had plenty of energy to keep going!
After the big battle scene in the middle of the movie, we flash ahead to the wagon train arriving in California. Soon there is a festive party at the home of Bari's father. But Hall and Bond duck out, because Hall is restless and does not intend to settle down. They go north to check on some traps, but then come across a general (Lew Merrill) that is willing to betray Castro. He fills the men in on another raid that is about to happen.
This sets us up for another huge action sequence, one depicting the fight for California's independence from Mexico and the establishment of California as its own republic. During the scenes that unfold in this sequence, Bond's character dies by blowing himself up with dynamite to ward off the Mexicans...allowing Andrews' men and Hall to claim victory. Again the battle scenes are effectively staged. Bond's death scene is shocking and perhaps the most memorable scene in the whole film.
Afterward, the survivors celebrate California's freedom from Mexican tyranny. It seems like we are headed for a happy ending, but there is still the unresolved aspect of the main triangle. Bari is unable to marry Andrews whom she does not love, and Andrews convinces Hall to pursue his feelings with Bari. Once this is settled, Hall and Andrews are off on another military adventure. What else would you expect?
When we first meet the handsome scout, he is riding the range with his buddy (Ward Bond) and dealing with Shoshones. They are surprised to see the natives have guns. After the brief skirmish ends, they head to a nearby fort where they meet a well-known army captain (Dana Andrews) and a man (Clayton Moore) leading a wagon train to California.
The people from the train are following the captain and his men. They have heard about Hall's exploits and want to hire him to lead them safely across the desert to the promised land.
In some ways this is similar to the set-up in Paramount's CALIFORNIA (1947) in which Ray Milland was asked to lead a group of pioneers to the coast. A key difference, however, is that the lead female character (Lynn Bari) is not a saloon girl; instead, she is the well-mannered daughter of a Monterey landowner. She is on her way to her father's hacienda, and her feminine charms indirectly cause Hall to accept the assignment from Moore even though he initially turned it down.
As they make their trek across hostile territory, Hall and Andrews butt heads more than once about strategies on dealing with the natives. A significant contrast here is that Andrews must answer to government officials back east, while Hall and Bond are free to make decisions without much deliberation. Hall's quick thinking is what keeps the travelers from harm when danger occurs.
And there is plenty of danger, when a rifle-wielding Shoshone attacks. The Shoshone warrior is captured and he admits that the guns were a gift from Mexican General Castro (C. Henry Gordon). Castro is using the natives to prevent white homesteaders from settling in California, since he wants the region to remain under his control. There is a gruesome death scene where Andrews orders his soldiers to execute the Shoshone warrior. The scene is meant to make Hall's title character more likable than Andrews' character, especially in Miss Bari's eyes.
The triangle that plays out between the three leads does not take a lot of screen time because the filmmakers are more interested in the action sequences. So after the warrior dies by firing squad, Andrews and his men quickly head off on another trail where they are ambushed by more natives.
Hall heroically saves them, of course, but not before Moore's character is sacrificed. Some of these outdoor battle scenes are spectacularly staged. You can imagine how much food must have been catered on this set so the main performers and hundreds of extras had plenty of energy to keep going!
After the big battle scene in the middle of the movie, we flash ahead to the wagon train arriving in California. Soon there is a festive party at the home of Bari's father. But Hall and Bond duck out, because Hall is restless and does not intend to settle down. They go north to check on some traps, but then come across a general (Lew Merrill) that is willing to betray Castro. He fills the men in on another raid that is about to happen.
This sets us up for another huge action sequence, one depicting the fight for California's independence from Mexico and the establishment of California as its own republic. During the scenes that unfold in this sequence, Bond's character dies by blowing himself up with dynamite to ward off the Mexicans...allowing Andrews' men and Hall to claim victory. Again the battle scenes are effectively staged. Bond's death scene is shocking and perhaps the most memorable scene in the whole film.
Afterward, the survivors celebrate California's freedom from Mexican tyranny. It seems like we are headed for a happy ending, but there is still the unresolved aspect of the main triangle. Bari is unable to marry Andrews whom she does not love, and Andrews convinces Hall to pursue his feelings with Bari. Once this is settled, Hall and Andrews are off on another military adventure. What else would you expect?