Kit Carson

This 1940 Western stars athletic B-movie leading man Jon Hall (famed for his later Technicolor sword-and-sandal films) as famous scout Kit Carson, with Dana Andrews as Capt. John C. Fremont—a stiff, cultured cavalry officer and Carson's rival for the affections of spirited settler Dolores Murphy (Lynn Bari). The classic tale portrays Carson as a freedom-loving explorer and trapper, traveling through the wide-open frontier with Ape (Ward Bond), his buddy (and conscience), who pushes Carson to help the pioneers, and draws the loner into considering the idea of marriage and social living. While Carson is drafted into aiding Fremont and his troops in guiding a wagon train to California, the Mexican government (which controlled the territory at the time) sends guns to the plains Indians to declare war on the migrating Americans. The script is unadventurous and episodic, while the racial politics are era-specific primitive: the Mexican officials are corrupt schemers and the Native Americans are bloodthirsty savages. But George B. Seitz, a studio vet who helmed almost every Andy Hardy movie, is a decent action director who makes effective use of Monument Valley locations to give the film an epic scope. Despite historical inaccuracies, this is ultimately a solid piece of filmmaking that should satisfy genre fans, making it a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)