Clark Gable plays "Flint Mitchell", a fur trapper living out west on the edge of Blackfoot territory. After discovering that an Indian maiden named "Kamiah" (played Marie Elena Marques) is the granddaughter of Blackfoot chief "Bear Ghost" (Jack Holt), he decides to acquire her in a trade from the Nez Pierce chief, "Looking Glass" (J. Carrol Naish) who stole her from the Blackfoot and raised her as his own daughter. The only way this will happen though is if Flint Mitchell decides to marry her. So, since Blackfoot territory has an abundance of beaver, he decides to take her as his wife. Love between them eventually develops. Even so, the relationship between the white fur trappers and the Blackfoot remains somewhat hostile. As a result, a group of fur trappers decide to take a secret route into Blackfoot territory and set up a fort. Bear Ghost is delighted to see his granddaughter but another Blackfoot warrior named "Ironshirt" (Ricardo Montalban) has no intention of making peace. Trouble results and both sides suffer tragedy. Anyway, filmed in color in 1951, this picture does a decent job of capturing the cold (but beautiful) wilderness the fur trappers had to endure. And while the language barrier between Flint Mitchell and Kamiah was annoying at times, I suppose it added to the realism. Most of the acting was adequate but I thought Clark Gable stood out with an excellent performance. In short, this was a pretty good movie which was probably well-received in its time.
Review of Across the Wide Missouri
