The Covered Wagon
Encyclopedia
The Covered Wagon 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. It required a large cast and film crew and many extras. It was filmed in various locations, including several places in Nevada
and Utah
. 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.
Tim McCoy
, as Technical Advisor, recruited the Indians who appeared in this movie.
wrote a 1924
parody of the film and played two roles based on Banion and Jackson in Two Wagons Both Covered.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. The film was directed by James Cruze
James Cruze
James Cruze was a silent film actor and film director.-Life:Cruze was born as Jens Vera Cruz Bosen. The Vera Cruz middle name came from the battle of Vera Cruz. He was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but did not practice the religion after his teenage years...
based on a novel by Emerson Hough
Emerson Hough
Emerson Hough was an American author best known for writing western stories and historical novels.-Career:Hough was born in Newton, Iowa on June 28, 1857. He was in Newton High School's first graduating class of three in 1875. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor's degree in...
about a group of pioneers traveling through the old West from Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
to Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. J. Warren Kerrigan
J. Warren Kerrigan
George Jack Warren Kerrigan was an American silent film actor and film director.-Early life and career:Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Kerrigan worked as a warehouse clerk in his teens until a chance arrived to appear in a vaudeville production...
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. It required a large cast and film crew and many extras. It was filmed in various locations, including several places in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. The dramatic buffalo hunt and buffalo stampede scenes were filmed on Antelope Island
Antelope Island
Antelope Island, with an area of , is the largest island of 10 islands located within the Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States. The island lies in the southeastern portion of the lake, near Salt Lake City and Davis County, and becomes a peninsula when the lake is at extremely low levels. Antelope...
, Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
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
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
process, but was only shown this way at the premiere at the Rivoli Theater in New York City.
Cast
- J. Warren KerriganJ. Warren KerriganGeorge Jack Warren Kerrigan was an American silent film actor and film director.-Early life and career:Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Kerrigan worked as a warehouse clerk in his teens until a chance arrived to appear in a vaudeville production...
as Will Banion - Lois Wilson as Molly Wingate
- Alan HaleAlan Hale, Sr.Alan Hale, Sr. was an American movie actor and director, most widely remembered for his many supporting character roles, in particular as frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. His wife of over thirty years was Gretchen Hartman , a child actress and silent film player and mother of their three children...
as Sam Woodhull - Ernest TorrenceErnest TorrenceErnest Torrence was a Scottish born film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including Broken Chains with Colleen Moore,Mantrap with Clara Bow, and Fighting Caravans with Gary Cooper and Lili Damita...
as William Jackson - Tully MarshallTully MarshallWilliam Phillips was an American character actor known as Tully Marshall, with nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience behind before he made his first film appearance in 1914.-Career:...
as Jim Bridger - Ethel WalesEthel WalesEthel Wales was a Passaic, New Jersey-born American actress, who appeared in 130 films between the years 1920 and 1950. She had one son named Wellington Charles Wales.- Selected filmography :* Miss Lulu Bett * Manslaughter...
as Mrs. Wingate - Charles OgleCharles Stanton OgleCharles Stanton Ogle was an American silent film actor.-Biography:Born in Steubenville, Ohio, Ogle first performed in live theatre, making his first appearance on Broadway in 1905. He embarked on a career in film with Edison Studios in The Bronx, New York in 1908, appearing in The Boston Tea Party...
as Jesse Wingate - Guy OliverGuy OliverGeorge Guy Oliver was an American actor. He appeared in at least 189 silent era motion pictures and 27 talkies in character roles between 1911 and 1931. His obituary gives him credit for at least 600. He directed three movies in 1915.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Oliver began his career as a...
as Kit Carson - Johnny Fox as Jed Wingate
Tim McCoy
Tim McCoy
Col. Tim McCoy was an American actor, military officer, and expert on American Indian life and customs.-Early years:...
, as Technical Advisor, recruited the Indians who appeared in this movie.
Parodies
Will RogersWill Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
wrote a 1924
1924 in film
-Events:* Entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
parody of the film and played two roles based on Banion and Jackson in Two Wagons Both Covered.