Richard Dix plays Roger Standish; Ann Harding his wife, Caroline. When they first start their romance, Roger is a meager bank teller, far too lowly to marry Caroline, according to her dad. Then comes an economic decline that leaves her family destitute.
Penniless, the two head West to make their fortune, only to fall prey to river pirates. They’re taken in by hotel owner Matilda Blake and her husband Daniel, a doctor and a drunk. After Roger is nursed back to health, he and Caroline open a bank and make a fortune, go broke, then make another.
Along the way, they watch one son die in a tragic buggy accident, and a son-in-law commit suicide over a stock market crash. But their daughter’s son becomes a World War I hero and takes over the family business, only to face an economic crisis of his own.
Review:
This tale of two pioneers, who persevere through the hardships to forge their own triumphs was the followup to Dix’s immensely popular “Cimarron,” which won best picture honors in 1931. Like Cimarron, it covers lots of ground, from the 1870s through the stock market crash which proceeded the film’s release.
It’s surprisingly good, with some excellent and stirring scenes, including a mass hanging and the aforementioned buggy mishap, in which the good doctor and a young boy are hit by a passing train.
The film ends on a note of optimism, with Roger Standish comparing America to a young boy who keeps bursting his britches.
Directed by:
William Wellman
Cast:
Richard Dix … Roger Standish
Ann Harding … Caroline Standish
Edna May Oliver … Matilda Blake
Guy Kibbee … Dr. Daniel Blake
Julie Haydon … Frances Lennox
Donald Cook … Warren Lennox
Wally Albright … Roger Standish Jr.
Walter Walker … Mr. Ogden
Harry Holman … Stubby
Jason Robards Sr. … Lane
E.H. Calvert … The doctor
aka:
Pioneer Builders
Runtime: 86 min.
Memorable lines:
Caroline, flirting with Roger, who’s just kissed her: “It just isn’t safe in the house with father in the living room, and you here.” She dashes outside, knowing Roger will follow.
Roger Standish: “What happens to people like us, who want to get married and haven’t got a job or any money? What do they do?”
Caroline, watching his walk from right to left in front of a map of the United States: “Just what you’re doing now: They go West.”
Roger, as Caroline snuggles close during a keel boat trip: “I warn you to keep my mind and your mind on our work. One false move would send this worthy craft crashing right into the mud.”
Caroline: “Ooh, captain, that would be so squishy.”
Caroline, after Roger has been wounded: “Doctor, has he got a chance?”
Dr. Blake: “He’ll be a new man in a week. Unless he dies.”
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