Review of The Far Horizons (1955) by Megan . — 07 May 2010

Cheese, cheese, cheese!

To be fair, after doing some research... there are a lot of things about this film that ARE historically correct. On the other hand, there is one thing about this film that is NOT historically correct and it accounts for a huge flaw in the film that many cease to dismiss- to this day. Let us talk about Sacajawea. Sacajawea was pretty darn important in Lewis and Clark's expedition. She was a guide and an interpretor (her interpreting skills were hugely valuable and saw much use); and a very strong woman. If it had not been for her presence, Lewis and Clark would not have made it past the first tribe of Natives they encountered at all- and with her help, she was able to garner extra guides for them and provide for them many things they needed on their journey. In this film, she is portrayed as less of that which is discussed above, and more so as a lovesick woman, having a romance with Charlton Heston's " William Clark" in the film. William Clark and Sacajawea never had a romantic relationship.

And to account for the "cheese, cheese, cheese!" at the top of the review, the fact that Charlton Heston was a big hunk in Hollywood at the time is highly accentuated by cheesy poses at points throughout the film- which viewers may or may not notice- and by the fact that they focus on his character a little more, in many ways. Combine that with the romance between him and Sacajawea, and it gets a little corny at times!

On top of that, I feel that this film was much less exciting than it could have been, considering what an exciting journey, and event in history, this must have been for Lewis and Clark- and the rest of America! Geez. I guess this wasn't really on the studio's "big budget" list of productions.