One of about twenty Zane Grey novels filmed by Paramount from 1930-1940, WAGON WHEELS is a remake of FIGHTING CARAVAN, a movie about the Oregon Trail. It's definitely a B movie, with its running time under an hour, plenty of library footage to give it some size, Charles Barton sitting in the director's chair for the first time and singing to eke it out -- Even Randolph Scott warbles a couple of lines of the title song.It's worth seeing for Scott in an early western. His first appearance in one had been a bit part in THE VIRGINIAN, but since his success in WILD HORSE MESA and THE THUNDERING HERD, Paramount had been giving him one or two oaters a year, in between the usual assortment of comedies, dramas and even lending him to other studios for musicals. He's solid here, opposite Gail Patrick, with some good support from Raymond Hatton as an old Mountain Man. However, it's still an okay B movie, even if he would do great things in the genre over the next three decades.

A wagon train rolling from Missouri to Oregon or CA was, of course, a popular theme for a number of early westerns, including the ponderous John Wayne -starring "The Big Trail"(1930) extravaganza. You may prefer this later(1934), more modest, more musically inclined, version, in which Randolph Scott takes Wayne's place as the young wagon master and scout. Like Wayne, Randy has two grizzled mountain men to help him keep things rolling and, like Wayne, he has a cryptic criminal element to deal with. Finally, like Wayne, he has a young single woman who is initially at odds with him, but we know they will eventually end up together. Unlike Wayne, Randy also has 4 y.o. Billy Lee to lighten things up from time to time. Spanky MacFarland had nothing over Billy in terms of charisma and cuteness. Neither would make the transition to teen and adult actor. We first see Billy peeking out of a wicker chest where his mother, Nancy(Gail Parick) has hidden him, having stolen him from her parents. Later, Randy discovers him wandering the camp and is led to Nancy. When Randy inquires about Nancy's husband and motive for joining the train, Billy contradicts her verbal responses with body language. Billy and Randy have taken a liking to each other, which helps change the the relationship between Randy and Nancy from antagonistic to friendly to romantic. Billy later makes mischief with his sling shot, but zaps a couple of murderous 'Indians' with it. He makes a secret wish before blowing out his birthday candles, with a wink at Randy, and dominates the last film scene, having helped achieve his secret wish.Gail PatricK had a substantial film career, mostly as a supporting actress. Relatively tall and thin,well educated, forceful and southern-bred, she made an excellent match for tall, well-educated, aristocratic, southern-bred Randy...., Jan Duggan and Leila Bennett played a pair of eccentric old spinster sisters. Jan played Abby, the bookish one who writes a history of the journey and renders a high brow song around the camp. Uncredited Loraine Bridges, with a strong resemblance to Gail, rendered a more pleasant song at the camp. Of course, the standard "Wagon Train" was sung by groups several times. Raymond Hatton and Olin Howland served as Randy's sidekicks. Both had long careers in bit parts. Monte Blue, playing the chief adversary of Randy, also had a substantial film career as a character actor, often a villain. Here, he serves as scout for fur trapping and 'Indian' interests, who don't want settlers arriving to claim presently free for all lands. Actually, even the Oregon Territory had been pretty well denuded of beaver by this time. The relatively primitive filming technology and acting sophistication, the B&W filming, the often aged-looking films and shabby buildings and clothes of actors tend to give westerns of the '30s and often '40s a more authentic feel than later westerns. That's certainly true of this film, with stock film of long shots from the prior "Fighting Caravans" contributing to the authentic look. The inclusion of occasional music numbers, either sung by the people, or as familiar background music, also helps lighten the atmosphere from drudgery and problems. Presently, this film is available as part of a cheap DVD package of some of Scott's lesser known westerns.There were a few obvious technological anachronisms, such as the firearms and perhaps their modern-looking water pump for putting out fires! Perhaps the most glaring one was their wagon load of kerosene, presumably for lanterns and perhaps cooking stoves. Kerosene, initially distilled from coal, would become available in some areas a decade or so later, but was expensive. Thus, this should not have been available in scaring off an 'Indian' war party. In contrast to actual wagon trains, I saw no oxen teams, which were the most popular draft animals for this journey. I did see quite a few mule teams, which were the second most popular animal for pulling the wagons.

I was surprised during the opening credits to see that this picture was based on the Zane Grey Western story 'Fighting Caravans'. A film with that title appeared in 1931 starring a young Gary Cooper with much of the same story line. This time the destination is Oregon, while in the earlier movie, the wagon train was heading to Sacramento. The principal character, wagon-master Clint Belmet is portrayed by Randolph Scott, and he has a couple of sidekicks, Bill O'Leary (Olin Howland) and Jim Burch (Ray Hatton) who help out with the wagon teams. Belmet has this thing against 'lily white women going across the Rockies', but after a while, he begins to take a liking to Nan Wellington (Gail Patrick), and the feeling appears mutual. Nan's four year old boy Sonny (Billy Lee) provides some of the picture's comic relief in his relationship with Belmet, and manages to fire off a few well placed slingshot rounds during the Indian attack that closes out the story.I have to say, the wagon train itself was quite an impressive affair, and a lot more rustic looking than you got with your classic TV Westerns. Watching them make their way across deep rivers and through rugged mountain passes covered with snow made you wonder how rugged those folks had to be to even contemplate such a journey.Surprisingly to me, the film offered more than a handful of songs provided by various characters, including the title tune done a couple of times by cowboys round the campfire and again by rugged gal Hetty Masters (Leila Bennett). The action in the story was provided by a couple of Indian attacks against the pioneers, instigated by villain Murdock (Monte Blue) who was hired by fur traders to prevent them from reaching their destination. With Randolph Scott on hand however, the settlers prevail to continue on their journey to a better life than the one they left.

In 1931 Paramount filmed Zane Grey's Fighting Caravans and turned it into an A picture western with Gary Cooper. It was the mentality of the studio bosses back then, why waste good stock footage. So a shorter version of this same story was done three years later with Randolph Scott playing the leading role of Clint Belmet.Having both versions, I could compare them side by side. Same footage involving the wagon train going west and of the Indian attack climax. Just juxtapose close-ups of the current cast and you got yourself another movie on the cheap.Since this version is only 56 minutes it was part of Paramount's B unit and played second on double bills.Like in the first Fighting Caravans, Wagon Wheels has one young scout and two old ones leading the wagon train west. Gail Patrick gets one of her first and only leads. Usually Patrick is cast as the other woman. Maybe her best know role was as Carole Lombard's sister in My Man Godfrey. Gary Cooper was an A list star, but Randolph Scott was on the way up and would get to not quite the top of the heap soon. He acquits himself well here.Great stuff for the Saturday matinée crowd.