The Covered Wagon
| The Covered Wagon | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | James Cruze |
| Written by | Alan Crosland |
| Starring | J. Warren Kerrigan Lois Wilson |
| Music by | Josiah Zuro Hugo Riesenfeld |
| Cinematography | Karl Brown |
| Editing by | Dorothy Arzner |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 16, 1923 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent English intertitles |
The Covered Wagon (1923) is an American silent Western film released by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by James Cruze based on a novel by Emerson Hough about a group of pioneers traveling through the old West from Kansas to Oregon. J. Warren Kerrigan starred as Will Banion and Lois Wilson as Molly Wingate.
This movie was a major production for its time, with an estimate budget of $782,000 which made it a very expensive film in 1923.[1] It required a large cast and film crew and many extras.[2] It was filmed in various locations, including several places in Nevada and Utah. [3] The dramatic buffalo hunt and buffalo stampede scenes were filmed on Antelope Island, Great Salt Lake, Utah.
The Covered Wagon is considered by many to be the first great Western epic, and established some of the cliches which later became so well known, such as the circling of the wagons in preparation for an "Indian Attack".
The film premiered in New York City on 16 March 1923 and ran 98 minutes. All or part of this film had a music track recorded in the short-lived DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, but was only shown this way at the premiere at the Rivoli Theater in New York City.[4] Paramount reportly also released Bella Donna on 1 April 1923 with a Phonofilm soundtrack, also only at the premiere at the Rivoli.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
- J. Warren Kerrigan as Will Banion
- Lois Wilson as Molly Wingate
- Alan Hale as Sam Woodhull
- Ernest Torrence as William Jackson
- Tully Marshall as Jim Bridger
- Ethel Wales as Mrs. Wingate
- Charles Ogle as Jesse Wingate
- Guy Oliver as Kit Carson
- Johnny Fox as Jed Wingate
Tim McCoy, as Technical Advisor, recruited the Indians who appeared in this movie.
[edit] Parodies
Will Rogers wrote a 1924 parody of the film and played two roles based on Banion and Jackson in Two Wagons Both Covered.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- The Covered Wagon at the Internet Movie Database
- Image of DeForest Phonofilm Corporation stock certificate and section of film from The Covered Wagon showing soundtrack
- The Covered Wagon at SilentEra database
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