User Reviews

In Missouri, during the Civil War, "high, wide, and handsome" Gary Cooper (as Clint Belmet) gets a little jail cell shut-eye. Awakening, he moseys over to the local saloon, where he is held at gunpoint by the town's drunken sheriff. Mr. Cooper's guardians, Ernest Torrence (as Bill Jackson) and Tully Marshall (as Jim Bridger), secure his release by convincing French lass Lili Damita (as Felice) to pretend she is Cooper's wife. Then, the quartet join a caravan to California. A real romance begins to bloom between Ms. Damita; but, Mr. Torrence and Mr. Tully want Cooper's bachelorhood preserved. Along the way, Indians (Native Americans) lurk…

Old pros Torrence and Marshall are "Fighting Caravans" main attraction. They were responsible for many memorable character roles (mostly) in silent films (mostly); and they are in excellent form, reprising their "Covered Wagon" roles. Cooper obviously enjoys working with them. Ms. Damita is cute and effective. The production levels are relatively high, leading to the obligatory ending battle; but, the performances make it entertaining. Unnecessarily re-made as "Wagon Wheels" (1934), with stock footage and Randolph Scott.

******* Fighting Caravans (2/1/31) Otto Brower, David Burton ~ Gary Cooper, Ernest Torrence, Tully Marshall

This film, Originally titled BLAZING ARROWS, is the first of several based upon a Zane Grey novel published only two years prior, and the version that is most faithful to the book, while being one of the largest budgeted Westerns of the early sound era, with the viewer advised to remember that the period of the narrative (1862) antedated its audience only to the extent that the Great Depression does to spectators today. The story tells of a caravan of freight wagons journeying from Independence, Missouri, to the West Coast during a pre-railroad time, with settlers accompanying, and the procession's four month struggle with hostile Indians, very harsh winter weather, forbidding terrain and renegade betrayal, and is particularly full of interesting detail as to the methods of the freightmen and their metier. Gary Cooper portrays Clint Belmet, a Missouri guide who has been reared and trained as a member of a successive generation of scouts and trappers by two veterans of the breed, Bill Jackson (Ernest Torrence) and Jim Bridger (Tully Marshall), who are unaware that their way of life is to be ended by an advancing intracontinental rail system, only temporarily slowed by the War Between the States. Because of plot circumstances, Belmet must pretend to be married to a lone traveller, Felice (Lily Damita), and their seesaw relationship provides one of the main themes of a wideranging scenario, with Belmet and his mentors trumpeting of the glories of their fading way of life while Felice seeks to inculcate within her swain a sense of domestic virtue. The cinematography of Lee Garmes is very effective with its images of the travails of the wagon train and his work is not compromised by the editing which is crisp and appropriate for a film as episodic as is this one. The work's most serious failing is a lack of a consistent point of view, as it is essentially a comedy, due largely to a highly effectual performance from Torrence, here permitted to utilize his native Scottish burr to its fullest, and is somewhat reduced in impact during scenes of action and romance as a result of only cursory emphasis upon each.

In the early days of sound Paramount purchased a number of Zene Grey stories to be filmed, mostly as B picture attractions and done by their rising new B picture cowboy, Randolph Scott. Fighting Caravans however got the A picture treatment and starred Gary Cooper.

Cooper plays a young hell raising scout who's been taught the ways of the woods by two grizzled old timers, Ernest Torrence and Tully Marshall. All three of them sign on to guide a wagon train in the 1860s west. Adding to the attraction for Cooper is pretty young Lily Damita who earlier on pretended to be his wife to get him out of trouble with a sheriff.

A lot of the same ground was covered by Twentieth Century Fox the year before with The Big Trail and its new star John Wayne. The Big Trail however failed to find its audience, but Fighting Caravans with proved box office star Cooper showed a respectable profit for Paramount-Publix as the white mountain studio was called at that time. Of course both films owe plenty to James Cruze's silent classic, The Covered Wagon.

Like in The Big Trail the villain here is a renegade white man, stirring up the Indians. The very rousing attack on the wagon train during the climax had elements of it borrowed over 20 years later in the James Stewart western, Bend of the River.

A whole lot of Gary Cooper's early sound films for some reason are never shown. Possible that prints no longer exist. Though Fighting Caravans is not a great film, it's an entertaining one. In fact a few years later it was remade by Randolph Scott in Wagon Wheels where that film used all kinds of stock footage from this one.

Quick and amusing dialogue, fun characters, great location shooting, and high production values for the time, I was very happy to stumble upon this wonderful old film. I found it thoroughly entertaining.

Seeing the charismatic glow of a skinny young Gary Cooper makes me regret that he adopted such a dull and wooden persona later in his career.

A lot of the negative critiques of this film here seem to be based on superficial criticisms of the look and pacing of movies of this era, and not with the movie itself. If a movie is engaging, one soon gets used to the shortcomings of the time when early talkies were still finding their way with dialogue delivery and pacing. In fact, I thought they did a pretty good job here. While it is somewhat episodic, the performances are sensitive, and it does give us a rich and convincing glimpse of the wagon train era, even with the white man's simplistic perspective of Native American culture.

..and directors Otto Brower and David Burton, very loosely based on a Zane Grey novel. Gary Cooper stars as scout Clint Belmet, a hard-drinking troublemaker who nonetheless gets hired to escort a large wagon train west to California. Along with his crusty pals Bill (Ernest Torrence) and Jim (Tully Marshall), he finds the safest path through the hills, and away from "wild Injuns". He also makes time with solo pioneer woman Felice (Lili Damita).

Paramount hoped to make this a real epic, but it gets bogged down in cliches, pointless character digressions, and some miscasting. Damita has trouble with her English, while Cooper looks too clean and neat to be hanging around with the sloppy likes of Torrence and Marshall: where does he keep getting his clothes laundered, and why aren't his pals using the same service? There's a big barroom brawl scene played for laughs, and the inevitable Indian attack, but the outcome of this is obvious from the opening credits. Speaking of which, one of the few stylistic touches I liked was having Native Americans in costume walking toward the camera during the credits, obscuring words and even blacking out the screen.

"The old time west is passing," says one of the characters in "Fighting Caravans." This early 'talkie' is also one of the earliest 'big budget' westerns from what I read. Unfortunately, this is a B Movie all the way, and not that entertaining either. A young Gary Cooper plays a scout of some sort who is working for a wagon train caravan carrying freight from Missouri to Sacramento, California in the 1860's during the civil war and right before the railroads had been built throughout the west. There is hardship, danger, Indians, romance and cornball humor in this vintage western. Somehow, when you mix them all up together, the recipe isn't all that tasty. The humor is obnoxious at times and the acting, even Gary Cooper's, is noticeably weak during some scenes. This movie tries to be several different types of movies all rolled in to one and it doesn't pull it off. Interestingly enough, there are moments in the film where it is evident that the style of acting and camera work from silent films is still being used. It is a bit fascinating to see how an early 1930's filmmaker portrayed the 1860's. I'd say pass on this movie unless you are a Gary Cooper fan or a hard core fan of early westerns. 61/100.

"Fighting Caravans", while an "A" picture in presentation, is a "B" picture in spirit. Even allowing for the fact that talkies had only been around for a few years when this film came out in 1931, it's still very much rooted in silent-era melodrama, even though some comedy scenes between veterans Ernest Torrance and Tully Marshall are injected in an attempt to lighten things up. Gary Cooper is effective, if still a bit hesitant in delivering his lines, and his love interest Lili Damita is pretty and sexy but wildly miscast and not up to the job. The film had two directors, and it's painfully obvious which one did what--David Burton, a Russian émigré brought out from the Broadway stage, directed the non-action scenes and his background shows in the unimaginative staging (this was only his third film as a director) and overexaggerated acting. Co-director Otto Brower was an action specialist and second-unit director, and while he did some excellent work later in his career (he worked on 1946's "Duel in the Sun", 1944's "Buffalo Bill" and 1939's "Jesse James", among dozens of others), the climactic Indian attack in this film is actually pretty ineptly staged; although there are a lot of Indians riding around, whooping and getting shot off their horses, it's not particularly exciting or even involving and, in addition, is very poorly edited.

If Paramount meant this picture to be its answer to "The Big Trail", "The Iron Horse" or "The Covered Wagon", it fails badly. It has its moments (there's a good bar brawl about halfway through the picture) and Torrance and Marshall work well together, but all in all, it's just a "B" picture in everything but budget, and not as good as many others that cost far less. Worth a watch once, maybe, but not more than that.

"Fighting Caravans" is an early sound movie with Gary Cooper who easily made the switch from silent to sound pictures. And, it shows the crude quality of movie production that was still evident in the very first years of talking pictures. Even compared to a couple years later, when equipment and techniques had improved immeasurably, this film is quite rough. Along with Cooper, the film has prominent actors from the silent era and some who were transitioning nicely to sound and would be in many films yet over the next few decades. The latter include Eugene Pallette as Seth, Charles Winninger as Marshall, and Irving Bacon as a barfly.

Two old hands from the silent era who have major roles are Ernest Torrence as Bill Jackson and Tully Marshall as Jim Bridger. Marshall had 196 film credits in his career, which ended in 1943 at age 78. The female lead is Felice, played by Lili Damita, a French-born actress who moved to the States in the 1920s. In 1935 she married Errol Flynn, and in 1938 her acting career ended.

Besides the crude film, camera work and editing, the acting is quite hammy at times, and somewhat wooden at other times. The plot is a simple one, and has some humor. Overall, it's just a fair movie. But the historical value of this film is significant. It has very good scenes of the wagon train crossing the prairie, climbing hills and descending steep hills and fording a river. Considerable work went into showing this as an arduous trek, and Paramount succeeded in that very well. The film uses many wagons - both Conestoga and prairie schooners.

Some scenes show 10-mule and 12-mule teams pulling the larger Conestoga wagons. Most of the smaller schooners are pulled by four-horse teams. And for the steep descents, besides the braking of the wagons, teams of men, six to 10, hold ropes and slide on their boots down the hill to slow the wagons.

Prairie schooner was another name for a covered wagon. These were the smaller of the wagons that carried families across the Great Plaines, Rocky Mountains and high desert country to Oregon and California. They usually had four horse or oxen to pull them, but lighter ones could get by with a two-animal team.

The covered wagons were more common and used on the Oregon, Mormon and California Trails. They had boxes that were eight by four feet with side boards just two feet high. They could handle loads up to 2,500 pounds; and could turn in shorter circles and maneuver much easier. They were the most suitable for steep grades in crossing the mountains.

The Conestoga wagon was a much larger transport and it would take a six-to-ten team of horses, mules or oxen to pull. The wheels on these larger wagons were higher than a tall man. The latter were used more for carrying freight. Because there were larger and heavier, they were more difficult to handle.

Conestogas could carry two or more families and their essential belongings - cooking and dishware, clothing, etc. The average size of these larger wagons was 10 feet long by four-foot wide box, with side boards three to four feet high They could carry six tons of cargo and people. The large metal wheels were four-inches wide which allowed them to cross desert country and sandy trails. These wagons were used mostly on the flatter terrain Southern trails across the country - Santa Fe, California and Old Spanish trails.

This film probably wouldn't have much of an audience in the 21st century. Movie buffs of old films, younger people who may still like old Westerns, and those interesting in the history of the Old West, may enjoy "Fighting Caravans."

This was a pretty boring very old movie with some odd comic relief characters who are like drunk hillbillies. Interesting for big fans of Gary Cooper but ultimately a pretty forgettable movie. Better than some, worse than some.

During the Civil War, FIGHTING CARAVANS of freight wagons make their way West, crossing hostile Indian country.

This sturdy Zane Grey Western, largely forgotten over the decades, offers some fine entertainment with its good performances and vivid location filming. The number of wagons, livestock and extras used show that Paramount Studios paid out a fair few pennies for decent production values. The dramatic struggles across the wilderness and a rousing Indian attack help punch up the action considerably.

Laconic Gary Cooper stars as the trail guide helping to lead the teamsters and settlers through dangerous territory. Hot-tempered Lili Damita plays a solitary French maiden driving her wagon West. Their intermittent romance is completely predictable, but the two young performers make it all very watchable.

Stealing their every scene are a pair of old pros from the Silent days: Ernest Torrence & Tully Marshall. Playing a couple of grizzled, drunken, women-hating trail guides--as well as Coop's best buddies--they are very amusing in their attempts to break-up the budding romance between their protégé and the troubling Miss Damita.

Rotund Eugene Palette is on hand as a lovelorn member of the wagon train. Charles Winninger enlivens the film's opening minutes as the blustery Marshal of Independence, Missouri.

Movie mavens will recognize sweet Jane Darwell as a pioneer and Iron Eyes Cody as a Fort Indian in search of firewater, both uncredited.

The motion picture was, in all likelihood, made in the year 1930 and released in 1931. I would surmise that talking motion pictures had great difficulty in making the transition from the silent era. Nevertheless, this particular Zane Grey plot appears to be very weak. Also, Gary Cooper was probably just learning to act. The result is something that would not be acceptable by today's standards. For 1931, maybe. For 2004, not acceptable. Some of the actors performed well. Sadly, the Indians always get the short end in these early westerns. They were living on the land long before the white man came, but according to twisted history, they had no right to defend themselves.

Now that that's over I can get on with life in the 21st century. Falling in love and fighting Native Americans, what could be better?

Anything. Everything.

I'd rather listen to Roseanne Barr sing the national anthem while watching Elaine from "Seinfeld" dance. I wasn't going to like this movie in any case once it was about good white Christians crossing the frontier and being attacked by savage "Injuns"--you can miss me with that narrative--but it was so much worse with Gary Cooper. He was such a stiff. I liked him in "The Pride of the Yankees" and "City Streets" and that's about it.

In "Fighting Caravans," Clint Belmet (Cooper) falls in love with Felice (Lily Damita) while heading west. She was a French woman who wanted to domesticate him while his pseudo parents, Bill (Ernest Torrence) and Jim (Tully Marshall), wanted him to stay wild and free. That was the main theme, which was digestible.

The secondary theme was their caravan having to fight off Comanches and Hiawathas. That was indigestible. Clint, Bill, and Jim were professional "Indian trackers" which is as bad a job title as it sounds. I don't even have to go into how despicable such a thing was, and it looks like in 1931 we, as a country, were still proud of such "heroics" as they called it. If you ever weren't sure about American sentiment towards Native Americans, just watch this movie and you'll know..

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let's weigh the merits of this film: (1) a strikingly handsome (and tall), youthful Gary Cooper -- this is the opportunity to see a giant screen legend when he was a vibrant young newcomer! This alone merits seeing this movie. (2) The dialogue is witty, pithy and fun -- in fact, give me the screenwriter from 1931 over most of today's movies!. (3) There is a lot of fast-paced and exciting western action (and the stuntwork is just plain fun to watch). Yes, this was relatively early movie making, and in some ways it shows, but that also provides tremendous enjoyment for the film buff. Watch it with a light heart, but with reverence for the old films, and I think you can't help but enjoy it.

Good performances all around. A simple story told well. And a captivating female lead.

You have to be a bit tone-deaf to miss the obvious here -- this film is an historical artifact of the first order. It suffers from a lack of "modernity" but IS THAT A BAD THING? Are we such nitwits that we always crave the comforting drone of familiarity? This old film comes to us straight out of The West. Not OF The West. IN IT. Every aspect is as "real" as it gets, for a movie. Modern, half-baked quasi-history looks pale and stupid by comparison to anybody who isn't pale and stupid themselves.

The wagons are real. The animals pulling them are MULES, not horses. The Western shirts are torn and greasy. The language is hard to understand and it's tough luck if you have trouble interpreting a thick "accent." THIS IS REAL STUFF. The whole thing was shot on location. Real snow in the real Sierra Nevadas. Real redwood forests. Amazing. Just amazing.

...and the "pre-code" sensibility is there in fine detail. The language is not course but the sentiments often are... the situations are strangely "adult" while the stunts and special effects look weird and "off" to our eyes. Look, dear, it's just your eyes haven't adjusted to the lower lighting. Try it now.

When you see a film like this, with its strange mix of "silent era" ideas and "talkie" reality you see the living, beating heart of Hollywood history and you SHOULD see into your own prejudice and lack of awareness. How could anybody just sit there like Mr. Magoo and fail to see? Will you kindly just SEE?