Rudolph Maté, a director known for beautiful cinematography and for extracting solid performances from his thespians, does not disappoint in THE FAR HORIZONS. Fred McMurray delivers one of his finest hours, to add to his unforgettable parts in DOUBLE INDEMNITY, THE APPARTMENT, FOLLOW ME BOYS!, to name but a few. He conveys the power, determination, and savvy of the United States in seeking territorial expansion to the West, and he portrays realistically cartographer Lewis, entrusted by President Jefferson with telling Indian tribes that their land now belongs to the big chief in Washington, the pill sweetened with a few artifacts and goodwill messages from Jefferson.
The beautiful Donna Reed also makes the most of her role as an Indian woman utterly in love with a white man she cannot have because of the social strictures of the time - she portrays the Shoshone female with incredible dignity, down to her ultimate realization that she does not belong in white man's society. As other reviewers indicate, she should have worked on her accent to add credibility to Sacajawea... but Reed obsviously was no Meryl Streep when it came to accents!
Heston does not compromise but he does not seem comfortable in his part. Splendid cinematography by Daniel Fapp, pleasant musical background by Hans Salter. The script is OK, despite a few goofs and credibility holes. 7/10.
The beautiful Donna Reed also makes the most of her role as an Indian woman utterly in love with a white man she cannot have because of the social strictures of the time - she portrays the Shoshone female with incredible dignity, down to her ultimate realization that she does not belong in white man's society. As other reviewers indicate, she should have worked on her accent to add credibility to Sacajawea... but Reed obsviously was no Meryl Streep when it came to accents!
Heston does not compromise but he does not seem comfortable in his part. Splendid cinematography by Daniel Fapp, pleasant musical background by Hans Salter. The script is OK, despite a few goofs and credibility holes. 7/10.