This fIlm is definitely not nearly as good as the 1939 classic. All the anachronisms and continuity goofs don't help.
Ann-Margret tries a Southern accent for the first ten minutes of the film, then abandons it; she slips in and out of her accent for the rest of the film. Sydney Guilaroff gets a separate credit for her hairstyles, which look more like complicated 1960's hairdos than 1870's. Crosby is relaxed and underplays his role. He comes off best among the cast. As a thief, Cummings overacts so irritatingly I wanted to see him eliminated first; no such luck. Van Heflin is reassuringly sturdy and in there working to keep the movie watchable.
Nobody is as irritating in this thing as Slim Pickens. His howling and yowling about Indians getting them before the stagecoach reaches its destination was like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard. When an Indian bullet hit him, he finally shuts up.
There are two continuity goofs/anachronisms. First, one annoying character takes an arrow through the heart, then recovers in five minutes to join in shooting at the Indians. His bandage disappears through the rest of the film, only to reappear at the end with a red spot on it. The second is that In one of their overnight stops, a wok is used for cooking.
Norman Rockwell did the portraits of the cast in the end credits. Jerry Goldsmith contributed a good musical score, although the song over the closing credits is unfortunate.
Ann-Margret tries a Southern accent for the first ten minutes of the film, then abandons it; she slips in and out of her accent for the rest of the film. Sydney Guilaroff gets a separate credit for her hairstyles, which look more like complicated 1960's hairdos than 1870's. Crosby is relaxed and underplays his role. He comes off best among the cast. As a thief, Cummings overacts so irritatingly I wanted to see him eliminated first; no such luck. Van Heflin is reassuringly sturdy and in there working to keep the movie watchable.
Nobody is as irritating in this thing as Slim Pickens. His howling and yowling about Indians getting them before the stagecoach reaches its destination was like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard. When an Indian bullet hit him, he finally shuts up.
There are two continuity goofs/anachronisms. First, one annoying character takes an arrow through the heart, then recovers in five minutes to join in shooting at the Indians. His bandage disappears through the rest of the film, only to reappear at the end with a red spot on it. The second is that In one of their overnight stops, a wok is used for cooking.
Norman Rockwell did the portraits of the cast in the end credits. Jerry Goldsmith contributed a good musical score, although the song over the closing credits is unfortunate.