Many Rivers to Cross is a 1955 western comedy film directed by Roy Rowland. The film stars Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker, and it is based on Steve Frazee’s story Many Rivers to Cross (1951).
Director: Roy Rowland
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Cast: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, Victor McLaglen, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, James Arness
US Box Office: $5,210,000 ($103,900,000 adjusted for inflation)
Film Format: Eastmancolor (shot in CinemaScope)
Genre: Western, Comedy, Adventure
Release Date: February 4, 1955
Plot Summary: In early American Kentucky, frontiersman Bushrod Gentry (Robert Taylor) is ambushed by a group of Shawnee natives, but he is saved by a young woman named Mary Stuart Cherne (Eleanor Parker). Mary takes Bushrod back to her home where she lives with her family, including her father Cadmus (Victor McLaglen). Mary quickly falls in love with Bushrod and wants to marry him, but Bushrod just wants to be left alone. Unfortunately for Bushrod, fate brings to two together!
Production: In late 1953 MGM producer Jack Cummings began working on a western comedy film based on Many Rivers to Cross (1951), a story written by Steve Frazee and published in the magazine Argosy. Cummings hired Harry Brown and Guy Trosper to write the write the screenplay for Many Rivers to Cross. Roy Rowland was chosen to direct the film. Rowland had recently directed the color western films The Outriders (1950) and Bugles in the Afternoon (1952).
Robert Taylor was cast as the leading character frontiersman Bushrod Gentry. Taylor had been in a contract with MGM since the 1930s. He had recently appeared in several of the studio’s bid-budget adventure films including Quo Vadis (1951) and Knights of the Round Table (1953). Actress Eleanor Parker was cast as frontierswoman Mary Stuart Cherne. Janet Leigh was originally considered for the part, but she was later replaced with Parker. Many Rivers to Cross was the last of three films to star Taylor and Parker, the other two were Above and Beyond (1952) and Valley of the Kings (1954).
Many Rivers to Cross was shot in Eastman Color and in the widescreen CinemaScope format. Rowland began filming in May of 1954 and wrapped up in June. Portions of Many Rivers to Cross were shot on location at Cloverdale and along the Russian River, both in Sonoma County, California. Midway through filming Robert Taylor married German actress Ursula Thiess in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; so several scenes were also shot in Wyoming to accommodate Taylor’s wedding. Interior scenes were shot back at MGM Studios.
Fun Facts and Trivia: Russell Johnson (Banks) and Alan Hale Jr. (Luke Radford) would later famously star together in the comedy television series Gilligan’s Island (1964-1967). Jeff Richards (Fremont) and Russ Tamblyn (Shields) play brothers in Many Rivers to Cross. The two had previously played brothers in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). Many Rivers to Cross was Marjorie Wood’s (Mrs. Emmett) last film. She died in November of 1955. Cyril J. Mockridge’s score for Many Rivers to Cross was conducted by Hungarian-American film composer Miklós Rózsa, who would later be best known for composing the score for Ben-Hur (1959).
Reception: Many Rivers to Cross had its premiere on February 4, 1955. The film was a financial success and made a profit for MGM. Many Rivers to Cross was likely popular with audiences due to its humor and because it was was shot in color and in the CinemaScope format. Despite, its financial success, Many Rivers to Cross has received generally negative reviews from critics. The New York Times was heavily critical of the film’s acting, directing, and humor. Many modern critics have also given Many Rivers to Cross negative reviews: including Dennis Schwartz, Jeff Arnold, and Jamie S. Rich of DVDTalk. However, Mike Perry of Mike’s Take on the Movies gave the film a positive review.
Why You Should See It: Many Rivers to Cross is a pretty good comedy western film. The film features plenty of funny and likeable moments. Eleanor Parker is good as Mary and Victor McLaglen is memorable as her father Cadmus. Most comedy westerns (such as John Wayne’s McLintock! [1963]) are set in the Southwest, but Many Rivers to Cross is set in early Kentucky which makes it unique. Many Rivers to Cross does feature some rapid tone shifts that hurt the film, but it is generally good on the whole.