Anyone who has seen the 1940 "Kit Carson" will soon discover that the screenplay for the present film is virtually identical, other than the fact that its run time is nearly 30 min. shorter, making it a 'B' film. That's not necessarily bad, as sometimes 'B' films cut the extraneous 'fat' to a minimum. One striking feature of this film is that, in 1961, it was shot in B&W: the same as the original. I suspect, in part, this was because they wanted to use some stock film from the original. For example, in certain scenes, it's clear that Monument Valley is in the background. These scenes were shot in Monument Valley in the 1940 version. Whereas the names of some of the key characters in the 1940 version were the same as historical personages, that's not true if the present film, where Jim Bridger is mutated to Charlie Bridger, for example. Both the actors who played Carson were over 6' tall, whereas the real Carson was 5'5". Many of the mountain men are shown wearing coonskin caps in summer, which is not advisable.....After losing their furs in an altercation with some Shoshone, trappers Stockton, Beaver, and Lopez head for Ft. Bridger, in SW Wyoming. , There, they meet a wagon train heading for California. Included is one Consuela Montalvo, on her way home from several years in Spain. They decide to sign on as trail guides and trouble shooters. They also meet Lt. Kirkpatrick and his charge, who are on their way to Oregon. They volunteer to escort the wagon train until the Oregon Trail splits off from the California Trail. But, at this junction, the Shoshone, supplied with Mexican rifles, attack the wagons, while the cavalry is bottled up in a canyon where the Shoshone have rolled some big boulders down across the exit. They also exchange gunfire with the troopers. Stockton saves the day both for the troopers and the wagon train, with some very risky heroics. Find out how....While journeying, Consuela flirts with both Stockton and the Lt.. To her displeasure, Stockton says he prefers a Native American wife, for several reasons. This makes Consuela classify him as a barbarian, until his later heroics makes her change her attitude. At the end, she feels she must choose between Stockton and the Lt. It's a gentlemanly affair, staged with some initial ambiguity. The real Kit Carson had 2 Native American wives, before settling on a Mexican girl.....There's plenty of action, as well as talk. Just before the Lt. is about to leave the wagon train, a Mexican captive brings news that the US and Mexico are at war with each other. This induces the Lt. to alter his plans and continue with the wagon train to California, at Stockton's insistence. They meet Consuela's father on the trail. He considers himself a Californian first, and Spanish second, thus is not well trusted by either side. He plays a role in evacuating the fort at Monterey, and rounding up civilian backers of the Republic to fight the Mexican army. Unfortunately, the final battle is truncated compared to the 1940 version. Despite lacking the various secondary stars of the 1940 version, this version is not greatly inferior to it. It does have some feasibility problems, as does the 1940 version.
Both films are presently available at You Tube. You choose.
