THE COVERED WAGON is an ordinary programmer western dressed up with epic scenes of wagon trains and sudden ambushes. The spectacle is incredible, but it's barely enough to keep interest. The cast is at the very least enlivened by the presence of several wonderful character actors, like Tully Marshall and Ernest Torrance. I really love Torrance-- I wish he was the main character instead. They really make the movie. Otherwise, it's just very generic and it's hard to see what made it such a massive hit back in 1923. Maybe there was an ardent desire for footage of wagon trains moving back and forth?
Review of The Covered Wagon
