THE COVERED WAGON was based on the novel of the same name by the now forgotten writer Emerson Hough and recounts the 1848 trek of a wagon train from Kansas City to Oregon. It remains a landmark film in many ways. Originally planned as just another Western programmer, it was expanded by director James Cruze into the TITANIC of its day.
Cruze, the son of Mormon parents, grew up in Utah and could still remember the Old West as it really was. He saw this film as the opportunity for him to advance beyond the programmers and Fatty Arbuckle features that he had been doing at Paramount up until then. He demanded total authenticity which included not only the original locations, but also a cast of 3000 (including real Native Americans) and over a hundred genuine Conestoga wagons. Despite the enormous expense and the prolonged shooting schedule, the film was one of the biggest successes of the Silent Era and Cruze was on his way to becoming one of the top directors of the 1920’s (another of his epic films OLD IRONSIDES is also available on video).
The acting is restrained by the standards of the time which helps the film to play well with modern audiences. J.Warren Kerrigan and Lois Wilson are fine as the lovers but the film belongs to character actors Alan Hale Sr.(the father of GILLIGAN’S ISLAND’s Skipper), Tully Marshall, and Ernest Torrence. Watching the film is like having history come to life before your eyes. The print used for the video is of high quality with a colorful score by Gaylord Carter, one of the last great practitioners of silent film organ playing. Many thanks to Paramount for making this landmark epic along with several other silents available for home viewing and at a reasonable price too.
The Capsule Critic 