Clint Belmet (Gary Cooper) is a scout on the frontier during the Civil War. He is something of a hellion and the sheriff of Independence, Missouri plans to put him in jail for a month. His mentors, Bill Jackson and Jim Bridger, spin a yarn about how he was just married and it would be wrong to jail him now that he is reforming his wild ways. They trick Felice (Lili Damita), a French woman bound for Sacramento, to pose as his new wife. The sheriff relents and Clint escapes Independence with Bill, Jim, and Felice. No sooner has the caravan left for California than Clint and Felice breakup when the trick played on her is exposed. Throughout the long journey, Clint and Felice are repeatedly drawn together and then split. Bill and Jim engineer most of the breakups, fearing that they might lose their young apprentice to a domestic life. Added to the stresses of the trail, it is clear that a combined band of Kiowa and Comanche are trailing the caravan and will certainly attack at some point. This is especially threatening because most of the US Cavalry stationed in the West has been recalled for service in the Civil War.
Adapted from a Zane Grey novel, the story is by the numbers and rather predictable. Ernest Torrence is a standout as Bill Jackson, the grizzled scout with a gift for gab. Tully Marshall as Jim Bridger fades into the background, though he has the more stereotypical mountain man appearance. There is a famous Jim Bridger who was a mountain man and scout, but he was in military service during the Civil War. The best thing about the movie are the scenes of the caravan crossing vast prairies, snowy mountains, and wide rivers. The setting is far more impressive than the story.
Good popcorn fun.
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