''The Oregon Trail'' is a 1959 American

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

and colour

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Gene Fowler Jr. and starring

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

, William Bishop and

Nina Shipman Nina Shipman (born August 15, 1938) is a retired American film and television actress. Shipman is a member of the Shipman show business family. Early years Shipman is the daughter of screenwriter Barry Shipman and dancer and film actress Gwyn ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

s John B. Mansbridge and Lyle R. Wheeler.

Plot

In the midst of the

Oregon boundary dispute The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in ...

, the President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

is secretly sending military agents, disguised as pioneers, west on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

so that they may protect American settlers in the event of war with

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

. Rumors of this conspiracy reach James Gordon Bennett Sr. at the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

''. He assigns one of his reporters, Neal Harris, to go on the Oregon Trail himself and find out the truth. On the trail, Harris befriends the eccentric Zachariah Garrison, who is bringing

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

trees to Oregon. Harris clashes with Capt. George Wayne, the leader of Polk's agents, and they become involved in a

love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...

over a young pioneer woman named Prudence Cooper. After they survive various hardships on the trail, Harris discovers who Wayne really is and declares that he will expose the military buildup in Oregon. Wayne tries to have Harris arrested, but he escapes. Upon arriving at

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers. They joined ...

, Wayne discovers that their mission has become moot with the signing of the

Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to t ...

and the commencement of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. Not realizing this, Harris goes with a

mountain man A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s (with a peak population in the early 1840s). They were instrumental in opening up ...

named Gabe Hastings to hide with the

Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...

. It turns out that Hastings and the Arapaho are hostile to the pioneers, but Harris escapes with the help of Hastings' half-Arapaho daughter Shona. They warn Fort Laramie in time, and the film concludes with a climactic battle against the Arapaho. Fort Laramie is successfully defended, but Garrison is killed. Harris resigns from being a reporter, so that he may continue on to Oregon with Garrison's apple trees. Shona renounces her people and joins Harris. Prudence ends up with Wayne, who is now heading off to join the war against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Cast

Production

The film was shot in May 1959. It was financed by Robert L. Lippert who made B films for Fox; ''The Oregon Trail'' was more expensive than most of his films, being budgeted at around $300,000. Lippert said the film "won't lose" but could "have used another $100,000." Gene Fowler had made a number of Westerns for Lippert. He remembered ''The Oregon Trail'' as being "a son of a bitch – Lippert really screwed that one up. He made a bet with

Spyros Skouras Spyros Panagiotis Skouras (; gr, Σπύρος Σκούρας; March 28, 1893 – August 16, 1971) was a Greek-American motion picture pioneer and film executive who was the president of 20th Century-Fox from 1942 to 1962. He resigned June 27, 19 ...

that he could make a big outdoor Western without ever leaving the Fox lot and like an idiot I agreed to direct it."

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called the film "below standard".

References

Bibliography

* Pitts, Michael R. ''Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films''. McFarland, 2012.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oregon Trail 1959 films 1959 Western (genre) films 1950s historical films American historical films American Western (genre) films Films directed by Gene Fowler Jr. 20th Century Fox films CinemaScope films Films set in the 1840s Films set in Oregon Films scored by Paul Dunlap 1950s English-language films 1950s American films