Readers of the Purple Sage Bookstore
The Oregon Trail
[1840-1870]
 | short history |
"The passage on the Oregon Trail, 2,000 miles of dusty sagebrush plains, rugged mountains, and dangerous river crossings,
was a daunting endeavor for the men and women who hung their future on the hopes of a green, fertile land known as
the Oregon Territory." — from the B.L.M. Teachers Guide
"Game over. You have died of dysentery." — 'Oregon Trail' video game
Early trappers in the West chose the route of the Oregon Trail, first as a foot path, then as a wagon track. 'Kit' Carson hired on as guide for John C. Fremont's First Expedition; Fremont's report to Congress was a sensation, and traffic westward increased dramatically. The Oregon Emigrating Company began commercial use of the route in 1843, adding thousands of disparate Americans to the westward migration toward fertile new lands that they could settle and make their own. Fremont's report to Congress of his Second Expedition was published in 1845 and again increased both his & Carson's reputations. During its twenty-five year history, the Oregon Trail essentially changed every year. The rough beginnings grew into an organized route, and by 1846 ferries serviced most of the major river crossings.
During the summers of 1849 & 1850, over 100,000 gold-hungry miners followed the Oregon Trail and branched off west of South Pass to the California gold fields. By the 1850s, Mormons in Utah were supplying emigrants with food & equipment, along with other fully-stocked supply depots along the route. So much livestock was herded west that the trail became a mile-wide swath of trampled ground, providing an easy road with less need for a guide.
As the railroad extended its rails ever westward, many people took a train as far as they could go before buying wagons & equipment & supplies and continuing westward along the Trail. The Oregon Trail and its various tributaries became obsolete in May 1869 with the completion of the Transcontinental Railway.
An estimated 400,000 people travelled the western migration trails between 1840 and 1860; about ten percent (40,000 people) died along the way, very few of them from hostile Indian attacks.
L i n k s
Oregon Trail entry at Wikipedia
search books on keywords 'oregon trail' {returns over 1,000 titles!} at Amazon
search on keywords 'oregon trail' at Internet Movie Database
www.oregontrailcenter.org
http://www.nps.gov/oreg/index.htm
http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/oregon_national_historic.html
The Oregon Trail and the Lewis & Clark Expedition www.oregontravelcenter.com -
http://www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail/files/TBKS_opt.pdf
Oregon Trail = www.OR.BLM.gov/NHOTIC/
Oregon Trail Mountain Spring Water
Oregon Trail Brewery [est. 1987], 341 SW Second Street in Corvallis, Oregon
Lewis & Clark Expedition [1804-06] Page at 'Readers of the Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
Bill Buck's "National Trails Guide" booksite
Route of The Oregon Trail
PRE-START at St. Louis, Missouri {railroad hub from 1851}
TRAIL BEGINS at Independence, Missouri
National Frontier Trails Museum [est. 1989] at Independence, Missouri
TRAIL BEGINS at Council Bluffs, Iowa
route merges at Grand Island, Nebraska
Rock Creek Station [est. 1857] in SE Nebraska
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Creek_Station
Courthouse Rock
Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Nebraska
Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska
Fort Laramie (Wyoming)
South Pass in Wyoming
Independence Rock National Historic Landmark, Wyoming
Fort Bridger (Wyoming)
the Mormon Trail to Salt Lake City (Deseret) splits off
Soda Springs (Idaho)
Fort Hall, Idaho
the California Trail splits off
Three Island Crossing State Park, Idaho
Rock Creek Station [est. 1864] in Idaho
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Creek_Station_and_Stricker_Homesite
"Rock Creek Station" [7/2010] 35-minute documentary short /tt1766050/
Fort Boise (Idaho)
Whitman Mission
Baker City, Oregon
Pendleton, Oregon
The Dallas, Oregon
TRAIL ENDS at Oregon City, Oregon
Ft. Vancouver National Historic Site, Washington State
Books About The Oregon Trail
search books on keywords 'oregon trail' {returns 95,000 titles!} at Amazon
Fiction Books
 | "The Covered Wagon" [1922 novel] by Emerson Hough
Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [5/2012] for FREE Kessinger Publng 9x6 pb [9/2010] for $24.44 Pocket Books mass pb [1946 & 1954] out of print/used Grosset & Dunlap 7x5 hardcover [1922] out of print/used available as free online etexts at Project Gutenberg |
 | "On To Oregon" [ages 8 & up; 1928 novel] by Honoré W. Morrow The epic journey of the Sager children by covered wagon from Missouri to Oregon in 1848, with help from 'Kit' Carson. HarperCollins illustrated 7½x5¼ pb [4/91] out of print/used HarperCollins illustrated hardcover [1946] out of print/used |
 | "Children of The Covered Wagon: A Story of The Old Oregon Trail" [1934 novel] by Mary Jane Carr – some editions illustrated by Bob Kuhn; book was basis for Disney 1956 movie & 1961 TV 2-parter "Westward Ho The Wagons!" {see below} Xian Liberty Press 8¼x5½ pb [3/2007] out of print/used Thomas Y. Crowell Co. 8x5 hardcover [6/43] out of print/used |
 | "The Lost Wagon: A Pioneer Family On The Oregon Trail" [1955] by Jim Kjelgaard [1910-59] Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [3/2011] for FREE {sic} Literary Licensing, LLC 9x6 pb [7/2012] for $32.36 Literary Licensing, LLC 9x6 hardcover [7/2012] for $44.83 Dodd, Mead and Co. Book Club Edition 8x5¾ hardcover [1955] out of print/used Dodd, Mead and Co. 8x5½ hardcover [1955] out of print/used GLC's Jim Kjelgaard fansite |
 | "The Oregon Trail (Trail Drive Series Book #9)" [2000 novel] by Ralph Compton About the only things left in Texas after the Civil War were out-of-work cowboys and five million ornery longhorn cattle. Lou & Dill and their crew have delivered a herd to Independence, Missouri. They sell half to a wagon train going to Oregon Territory, then sign on for the trail drive West . . . Kindle Edition from St. Martin's/Macmillan [2007 edition] for $5.98 St. Martin's mass pb [11/2010] for $6.29 |
 | "Oregon Country: The Story of the 1843 Oregon Trail Migration" [2006] by T.J. Hanson Thoroughly researched and well-written tale of a woman who joins the 1843 Oregon Emigrating Company trek to Oregon Territory. Kindle Edition from Inkwater Press [2006 edition] for 99¢ {sic} Inkwater Press 9x6 pb [10/2006] for $29.06 |
Non-Fiction Books
  | "The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life" [1849] by Francis Parkman, Jr. [1823-93] Edited with Introduction & Notes by Bernard Rosenthal (1996) Tales of Parkman's summer tour of Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas (not the actual Trail); originally serialized in twenty-one installments in Knickerbocker's Magazine in 1847–49, then published as a book in 1849. • book entry at Wikipedia Kindle Edition from Oxford Univ Press [10/2008] for $7.55 Oxford Univ Press 7½x5 pb [10/2008] for $11.18 "The Oregon Trail" [1849] Edited by Mason Wade, Illustrated by Maynard Dixon Heritage Press 10x6½ hardcover [1971] out of print/many used "The Oregon Trail" [1849] Illustrated by Thomas Hart Benton Intl. Collectors Library 8¼x5¾ hardcover [1945] out of print/used |
 | "Across The Plains In 1844 by Catherine Sager" for Kindle
The Sager children were orphaned on the Trail and then survived the Whitman Massacre; resourceful Catherine lived to a ripe old age. 39-page Kindle Edition from Waxkeep Publng [5/2013] for 99¢ {sic} version below edited by Michael J. Trinklein 54-page Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [12/2012] for 99¢ {sic} |
 | "A History of The Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, and Other Trails" [1955] by Jacob Ray Gregg [1871-1955] Literary Licensing, LLC 9x6 pb [10/2011] for $33.56 Literary Licensing, LLC 9x6 hardcover [5/2011] for $50.95 Binfords & Mort, Publrs hardcover [1955] out of print/used |
 | "The Oregon Trail: A Photographic Journey [1985] by Bill & Jan Moeller Mountain Press Publng 8¾x8 pb [9/2001] for $16.20 Beautiful America Publng Co. 12x11¾ 2nd edition hardcover [1987] out of print/used |
 | "Powerful Rockey: The Blue Mountains and The Oregon Trail" [1991] by John W. 'Jack' Evans Author uses pioneer diaries as source material and adds descriptions of the route of the Oregon Trail through the Blue Mountains area of northeastern Oregon, from Farewell Bend to the Umatilla River. Pika Press 8½x5¾ pb [2/91] out of print/used Pika Press hardcover [2/91] out of print/used |
 | "The Oregon Trail Cookbook: A Historical View of Cooking, Traveling and Surviving On The Trail" [1993] by Scott Morris
self-publd 8½x6 spiral-bound [6/93] out of print/used |
 | "Wagon Wheel Kitchens: Food On The Oregon Trail" [1993] by Jacqueline Williams, Foreword by Sam'l P. Arnold Univ Press of Kansas 8½x5¼ pb [8/93] for $13.32 Univ Press of Kansas 8¾x5¾ hardcover [8/93] out of print/used |
 | "Fantastic Facts About The Oregon Trail" [1995] by Michael J. Trinklein 50-page Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [4/2011] for 99¢ {sic} self-publd 50-page mass pb [6/95] for $2.72 {sic} |
 | "Oregon Trail Cooking: Exploring History Through Simple Recipes" [ages 8 & up; 1999] by Mary Gunderson Blue Earth Books 8¼x10¼ library hardcover [9/99] out of print/used |
 | "Songs and Dances of the Oregon Trail and Early Pioneer Communities" [2007] Researched by Phillip L. & Vivian T. Williams Sixty songs and dance tunes from the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails in standard music notation, with suggested chords; includes history of the tunes, quotes about the music & dancing on the Trail from pioneer journals and accounts, and instructions for seventeen dances and play party games; written, edited & typeset in the SCORE music engraving program by the authors. 11x8&frac pb available only from the publisher for $25.00 + s/h |
 | "The Oregon Trail" for Kindle [2011] by Michael J. Trinklein 59-page Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [4/2011] for 99¢ {sic} |
 | "The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey" [2015] by Rinker Buck "An epic account of traveling the length of the Oregon Trail the old-fashioned way – in a covered wagon with a team of mules, an audacious journey that hasn’t been attempted in a century – which also tells the rich history of the trail, [of] the people who made the migration, and [of] its significance to the country." Kindle Edition from Simon & Schuster Digital Sales [6/2015] for $14.99 Simon & Schuster hardcover [6/2015] for $20.52 |
Movies & TV About The Oregon Trail
search on keywords 'oregon trail' at Internet Movie Database
"The Covered Wagon" silent feature
[Famous Players-Lasky/Paramount March 1923]
 | Filmed in Utah, Oregon, Nevada & California; two wagon trains leave Kansas together bound for Oregon Territory; the leader of one train falls for a girl in the other train, who is promised to her train's brutal leader. Directed by James Cruze; adapted by Jack Cunningham, from Emerson Hough's 1922 novel {above}; starring J. Warren Kerrigan, Lois Wilson, Alan Hale, Ernest Torrence, Tully Marshall {as Jim Bridger}, Ethel Wales, Charles Ogle, Guy Oliver {as Kit Carson} & Johnny Fox; future star Tim McCoy worked as 'Indians liaison'
DVD/Blu-ray not available • Paramount b&w silent VHS [1/95] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • BC's "The Covered Wagon" fanpage |
"The Oregon Trail" 18-chapter silent serial
[Universal Pictures March-July 1923]
 | Filmed at Big Bear near Los Angeles; plot details unknown; Chapter Titles: 1. Westward Ho!; 2. White Treachery; 3. Across The Continent; 4. Message of Death; 5. Wagon of Doom; 6. Secret Foes; 7. A Man of God; 8. Seeds of Civilization; 9. Justice; 10. The New Era; 11. A Game of Nations; 12. To Save An Empire; 13. Trail of Death; 14. On To Washington; 15. Santa Fe; 16. Fate of A Nation; 17. For High Stakes; and 18. Victory Directed by Edward Laemmle; starring Art Acord, Louise Lorraine, Duke R. Lee, Jim Corey, Burton Law, Sidney De Gray, Ruth Royce, Grace McLean, Dick Carter, Walter Bytell, William Ryno, Frederick Peters & Rex the Wonder Dog
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
"The Old Oregon Trail" silent featurette [indep 1928]
 | Location filming in Condon and John Day River, Oregon; film runs 39-40 minutes; settlers in Oregon are attacked by a gang who steals their horses, but three cowboys chase down the thieves and return the horses; years later, the same three cowboys rescue the family from rebellious farmworkers.
Produced & directed by Victor Adamson (as Denver Dixon); starring Victor Adamson (credited as Art Mix), F.C. Rose, Dolores Booth (Mrs. Adamson), Art Seales, Grace Underwood, Sid Seales Sinister Cinema b&w DVD-R [11/2008] for $8.37 Alpha Home Ent. double feature DVD [9/2010] for $6.24 with "Revenge On The Range" [1925] credits at IMDb |
"The Big Trail" [Fox Oct 1930]
 | "The Most Important Picture Ever Produced" Filmed on location at Grand Canyon, Sequoia, Yellowstone & Zion National Parks, and in Arizona, California, Montana, Oregon, Utah & Wyoming; a handsome young scout leads a large wagon train across America to Oregon Territory while romancing one of the women on the train. Directed by Raoul Walsh & Louis R. Loeffler; first leading role of John Wayne; also starring Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel, Tully Marshall, Tyrone Power Sr., David Rollins, Frederick Burton, Ian Keith, Charles Stevens, Louise Carver, Chief John Big Tree, Ward Bond, Iron Eyes Cody; listed on National Film Registry (2006); an example of Simultaneous Bilingual Film Production: the movie was shot in five versions: Fox Grandeur 70mm; standard 35mm; and (with different casts) in Spanish, German & French
Fox widescreen color Blu-ray [11/2012] 2 disks for $10.99 Blu-ray includes 70mm & 35mm & 70mm-as-full-screen versions, plus commentary & 4 featurettes Fox 122-min widescreen color DVD [5/2008] 2 disks for $10.99 Fox panned & scanned 110-min color DVD [5/2003] for $8.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"The Making of The Big Trail" 13-minute documentary [Fox 2008]
Co-produced & co-directed by John Cork & Lisa Van Eyssen • credits at IMDb
"Wagon Wheels" [Paramount Sept 1934]
 | Three veteran scouts lead a wagon train to the Oregon Territory; fur trader Murdoch fears that an influx of settlers will end his empire of exploitation, so he has his henchmen dress as Indians and attack the wagon train . . . Directed by Charles Barton; based on the 1929 novel "Fighting Caravans" by Zane Grey; starring Randolph Scott, Gail Patrick, Raymond Hatton, Olin Howlin, Monte Blue, Billy Lee, Jan Duggan, Leila Bennett, Julian Madison & Alfred Delcambre
Lionsgate b&w DVD [9/2005] for $6.99 Bridgestone b&w VHS [3/95] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 |
"Westward Ho" [Republic Pictures Aug 1935]
 | Filmed near Lone Pine, California; bandits attack a wagon train and kill all but two boys, capturing one; the other becomes leader of a post-Civil War vigilante group who ride down bandits - a confrontation between the two brothers is inevitable. Directed by Robert N. Bradbury; written by Robert Emmett Tansey, Lindsley Parsons & Harry Friedman; starring John Wayne, Sheila Bromley, Frank McGlynn Jr., Jim Farley, Jack Curtis, Bradley Metcalfe, Dickie Jones, Mary MacLaren, Yakima Canutt, Hank Bell & Glenn Strange
Olive Films b&w Blu-ray [3/2013] for $19.99 
Olive Films b&w DVD [3/2013] for $14.99
Republic Pictures b&w DVD [5/2004] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"The Oregon Trail" [Republic Pictures Jan 1936]
  | An Army captain asks for leave to locate his missing father; the bad guys have gone to Oregon, so he hires on as leader of a wagon train; location filming near Lone Pine, California. Directed by Scott Pembroke; written by Jack Natteford, Lindsley Parsons & Robert Emmett Tansey; starring John Wayne, Ann Rutherford, Joseph W. Girard, Yakima Canutt (also stunts), Frank Rice, E.H. Calvert, Ben Hendricks Jr., Harry Harvey, Fern Emmett, Jack Rutherford, Marian Ferrell, Roland Ray, Gino Corrado, Edward LeSaint & Octavio Giraud
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available {this film is considered lost} full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"The Oregon Trail" 15-chapter serial [Universal July 1939]
| Filmed in Kernville & Lone Pine, California; re-released in 1948; after several wagon trains are attacked, the Army sends Jeff Scott to investigate; he quickly figures out that 'Bull' Bragg is the leader of the gang, but some-one keeps helping him escape. Chapter Titles: 1. The Renegade's Revenge, 2. The Flaming Forest, 3. The Brink of Disaster, 4. Thundering Doom, 5. Stampede, 6. Indian Vengeance, 7. Trail of Treachery, 8. Redskin's Revenge, 9. The Avalanche of Doom, 10. The Plunge of Peril, 11. Trapped In The Flames, 12. The Baited Trap, 13. Crashing Timbers, 14. Death In The Night, and 15. The End of The Trail Directed by Ford Beebe & Saul A. Goodkind; starring Johnny Mack Brown, Louise Stanley, Fuzzy Knight, Jack C. Smith, Bill Cody Jr., Edward LeSaint, James Blaine, Charles Stevens, Roy Barcroft, Charles Murphy, Jim Toney, Chief John Big Tree, Iron Eyes Cody, Helen Gibson & Chief Many Treaties
V.C.I. Video 296-minute b&w DVD [1/2006] for $24.99 V.C.I./F.F.I. Video 280-minute b&w VHS [10/95] 2 tapes for $11.00 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
more info on movie serials on the Silent & Sound Movie Serials Pages
at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
"Roll Wagons Roll" [Monogram Pictures Aug 1940]
 | Fur trader barons in Oregon don't want an influx of settlers, so they incite the Indians to attack the wagon trains; filmed around Kanab, Utah. Directed by Albert Herman; starring Tex Ritter, Nelson McDowell, Muriel Evans, Nolan Willis, Steve Clark, Tom London, Reed Howes, Frank Ellis, Kenne Duncan, Frank LaRue, Chick Hannan & White Flash the Horse
Alpha Home Ent. Double Feature b&w DVD [12/2006] for $7.98 with "Riders of The Frontier" [1939] full credits at IMDb |
"Kit Carson" [United Artists Aug 1940]
 | Mountain man 'Kit' Carson and two pals join U.S. Army Capt. John C. Frémont's force (the story combines Fremont's Third Expedition of 1845 and the Fourth Expedition of 1846); along the Oregon Trail and then the California Trail, they battle Mexican military forces; upon reaching Monterey, they stir up the creation of the Bear Flag Republic; filmed at Iverson Ranch and at Monument Valley in Utah & Arizona. Directed by George B. Seitz; starring Jon Hall {as Kit Carson}, Lynn Bari, Dana Andrews {as Frémont}, Harold Huber, Ward Bond, Renie Riano, Clayton Moore, Rowena Cook, Raymond Hatton {as Jim Bridger}, Harry Strang, C. Henry Gordon, Lew Merrill, Stanley Andrews, Edwin Maxwell {as John Sutter}, George Lynn, Charles Stevens & William Farnum
Henstooth Video b&w DVD [1/2013] for $16.98 Anchor Bay colorized VHS [7/89] for $21.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Oregon Trail" [Republic Pictures July 1945]
 | Plot has nothing to do with the Oregon Trail; Carson goes undercover to find a shipment of gold bullion stolen from the railroad; filmed at Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, California. Directed by Thomas Carr; written by Betty Burbridge, based on a novel by Frank Gruber; SFX by Howard & Theodore Lydecker; starring Sunset Carson, Peggy Stewart, Frank Jaquet, John Merton, Mary Carr, Si 'Rawhide' Jenks, Lee Shumway, Earle Hodgins, Tom London, Monte Hale & Rex Lease
available only on "Sunset Carson 20 Western Collection" DVD Box Set [2010] indep DVD set [10/2010] 7 disks for $47.99 + s/h via Amazon third party full credits at IMDb |
"Along The Oregon Trail" [Republic Pictures Aug 1947]
 | Monte Hale and 'Kit' Carson are hired to guide John C. Fremont's expedition to California, but nasty land baron Thurston is inciting Indians with liquor and rifles to keep settlers out while he builds his empire; filmed in TruColor™ in California • Directed by R.G. Springsteen; written by Earle Snell & Royal K. Cole; starring Monte Hale, Lorna Gray/Adrian Booth, Clayton Moore, Roy Barcroft, Max Terhune, Will Wright {as Jim Bridger}, Wade Crosby, LeRoy Mason (as John Fremont}, Tom London, Forrest Taylor {as Kit Carson} & Kermit Maynard, with music by Foy Willing and The Riders of The Purple Sage
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb |
"Oregon Trail Scouts" [Republic Pictures May 1947]
 | Red Ryder battles a fur thief named Hunter, who kidnaps Little Beaver, the grandson of Chief Running Fox; movie is essentially an 'origin myth' for the Red Ryder comic strip [1938-64] {Connection in title to Oregon Trail is uncertain.} • Directed by R.G. Springsteen; written by Earle Snell; starring Allan Lane (as Red Ryder}, Robert Blake {as Little Beaver}, Martha Wentworth {as The Duchess}, Roy Barcroft, Emmett Lynn, Edmund Cobb, Earle Hodgins, Ed Cassidy, Frank Lackteen, Billy Cummings, Jack Kirk & Thunder the Horse
DVD/Blu-ray not available • V.C.I. Video b&w VHS [2/2004] out of prodn/scarce full credits at IMDb |
"Wagons West" [1952] /tt0045306/ starring Rod Cameron, Noah Beery Jr.
"Along The Oregon Trail" episode of the "Disneyland" TV show
[ABC-TV Nov 1956]
 |
Hour-long b&w program; plot details uncertain; not available on video
Directed by William Beaudine; hosted by Walt Disney; starring Fess Parker, Jeff York, Sebastian Cabot, Iron Eyes Cody, Kathleen Crowley, Phyllis Coates, Morgan Woodward, Roy Gordon, Leslie Bradley, David Stollery, Karen Pendleton & Paul Petersen episode credits at IMDb |
"Westward Ho The Wagons!" [Disney Dec 1956] /tt0049945/ starring Jeff York, Fess Parker, Kathleen Crowley
based on the novel "Children of The Covered Wagon" [] by Mary Jane Carr
http://www.amazon.com/Westward-Wagons-Wonderful-World-Disney/dp/B004UO62RM/
http://www.amazon.com/Westward-Ho-VHS-Fess-Parker/dp/6301708016/
http://www.amazon.com/walt-disneys-westward-ho-wagons/dp/B000E4RKIW/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westward_Ho_the_Wagons!
broadcast as two 60-minute panned & scanned episodes on "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color"
Episode 1 [Feb 1961] & Episode 2 [Feb 1961]
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1954) (TV Series) /tt0046593/
"The Oregon Trail" [A.P.I./Fox Sept 1959]
 | A New York reporter joins an 1846 wagon train bound for Oregon Territory to discover whether President Polk is secretly sending U.S. Army troops there to strengthen U.S. plans for statehood; filmed in Cinemascope & Color by Deluxe. Co-written & directed by Gene Fowler Jr.; co-written by Louis Vittes; starring Fred MacMurray, William Bishop, Nina Shipman, Gloria Talbott, Henry Hull, John Carradine, John Dierkes, Roxene Wells, Elizabeth Patterson, Gene N. Fowler, James Bell, John Slosser, Ralph Sanford, Sherry Spalding, Tex Terry, Ollie O'Toole, Arvo Ojala & Ed Wright
Fox Cinema Archives widescreen color DVD [9/2012] for $19.98 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia {empty} |
"The Way West" [United Artists May 1967]
 | A former U.S. Senator leads a pioneer wagon train from Independence, Missouri to Oregon; his autocratic methods soon lead to mutiny by the settlers; filmed in Panavision at Old Tucson in Arizona and at Bend, Crooked River Gorge, Eugene, Mt. Bachelor, and Willamertte Valley in Oregon; known for its breathtaking photography of the Western expanse (by William H. Clothier). Produced by Harold Hecht; directed by Andrew V. McLaglen; screenplay by Ben Maddow & Mitch Lindemann, based on a novel by A.B. Guthrie, Jr.; starring Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark, Lola Albright, Sally Field, Katherine Justice, Jack Elam, Stubby Kaye, Michael McGreevey, Harry Carey Jr., Connie Sawyer, Michael Witney, William Lundigan, Elisabeth Fraser, John Mitchum, Patric Knowles, Hal Lynch, Timothy Scott, Roy Glenn, Paul Lukather, Stefan Arngrim, Roy Barcroft, Eve McVeagh, Peggy Stewart & Eddie Little Sky
United Artists 122-minute widescreen color DVD [5/2008] for $44.97 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | "The Way West" [William Sloane Assocs. 1949] by A.B. Guthrie, Jr. [1901-91]
Sequel to Guthrie's "The Big Sky", second in the six-book series; book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; former mountain man-now-farmer Dick Summers is persuaded to help Senator Tadlock lead a wagon train to Oregon. there is no Kindle Edition of this book Bantam Books mass pb [6/82] out of print/used Mariner Books 9¼x5½ pb [1/2002] for $11.24 Wm. Sloane 8½x5¾ hardcover [1949] out of print/used |
"Seven Alone" (1974) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073686/
"The Oregon Trail" TV series [1976] starring Rod Taylor www.tvacres.com /tt0075552/
http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Trail-DVD-Set/dp/B003BNCMTA/
"Herstory: Women's Diaries From The Oregon Trail" [indep Sept 1993]
 | Filmed in Warrenton, Oregon; author/historian LaRee Johnson reads from the journals of three courageous women: Lucy Ann Bailey, Mary Esther West Riddle, and Elizabeth Dixon Smith Geer Produced & adapted by and starring LaRee Johnson; directed by Michael Alderman 50-minute color DVD-R [11/2011] for $12.95 bare credits at IMDb |
"The Oregon Trail" TV movie [PBS-TV June 1993]
 | Filmed in Oregon; co-produced & directed by Steve Boettcher; co-produced & writtten by Mike Trinklein; narrated by Steve King
Topics Ent. 120-minute color DVD [1/2011] for $10.95 110-minute indep color DVD [8/2002] for $19.95 120-minute indep color VHS [1995] 2 tapes - out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • official movie site companion book? "The Oregon Trail" for Kindle [2011] by Michael J. Trinklein 59-page Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [4/2011] for 99¢ {sic} |
"Wagons East!" comedy Western [Carolco/TriStar Aug 1994]
 | "They came. They saw. They changed their minds." Filmed in Durango, Mexico; a broken-down wagon-master leads a group of unhappy pioneers from the Oregon Territory back to civilization; the railroads try to stop them to prevent bad publicity, and the Indians help because they are glad to see the whites leaving. Directed by Peter Markle; written by Jerry Abrahamson & Matthew Carlson; starring John Candy {his last film}, Ellen Greene, Richard Lewis, John C. McGinley, Abraham Benrubi, Jill Boyd, Melinda Culea, Ryan Cutrona, Bud Davis, Billy Daydoge, Thomas F. Duffy, David Dunard, Roger Eschbacher, Rodney A. Grant, Stuart Proud Eagle Grant, Chad Hamilton, Don Lake, Ed Lauter, Marvin J. McIntyre, Robin McKee, Russell Means, Joel McKinnon Miller, Lochlyn Munro & Ingrid Nuernberg
Lionsgate color DVD [6/2002] for $6.67 Live / Artisan color VHS [5/99] for $2.95 {sic} Avid Home Ent. color VHS [7/95] for $5.94 full credits at IMDb |
"In Search of The Oregon Trail: A Two-Part Documentary That Challenges The Myths and Relives The Actual Experience" [1995]
http://www.amazon.com/Search-Oregon-Trail-Documentary-Challenges/dp/B000NEA5NK/
"Death On The Oregon Trail" [1995]
http://www.amazon.com/Death-Oregon-Trail-VHS/dp/6303952615/
"Emigrant Road: An Oregon Trail Adventure (1998) (Video) /tt0940510/
http://www.amazon.com/Emigrant-Road-Oregon-Trail-Adventure/dp/B001D9NJ50/
"The Oregon Trail" (2010) (Short) /tt1959580/
"Meek's Cutoff" (2010) /tt1518812/
Settlers traveling through the Oregon desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.
"Scape" [2010] /tt1665762/ based on the short story 'The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes' by Rudyard Kipling [1865-1936]
"Save South Pass" (2011) =Wyoming /tt2297634/
"The Pony Express" and "The History of The Oregon Trail" - two programs on 1 DVD (2009)
http://www.amazon.com/History-Oregon-Trail-Pony-Express/dp/B002LMJTMA/
 | "The Story of The Oregon Trail: Official Product [of the] Oregon Trail Celebration" [June 1993] "The story of one of history's most amazing migrations"; two-hour P.B.S. documentary; co-produced & directed by Steve Boettcher; co-produced & written by Mike Trinklein; narrated by Steve King Boettcher/Trinklein 60-minute color VHS [1996] for $18.50 Boettcher/Trinklein 66-minute color VHS [1996] for $19.80 bare credits at IMDb • official movie site • producers official website |
 | "Oregon Trail" video release [Educational Video Network 1994] 44-minute documentary, other details unknown • not listed at IMDb E.V.N. color DVD [4/2004] for $29.95 E.V.N. color VHS [9/94] 2 tapes for $29.95 |
 |
"A Story of The Oregon Trail" [2003] 55-minute video, other details unknown • not listed at IMDb Good Times Video color VHS [9/2003] for $5.50 |
Stageplays, Games, Other Media
  | "The Oregon Trail Video Game: 40th Anniversary Edition" [2011] features include 18 playable Cartoon Network characters, 21 Battle Arenas, and 32 timed levels Red Wagon Games video game for Nintendo 3DS platform [12/2011] for $12.78 Red Wagon Games video game for Nintendo Wii platform [12/2011] out of prodn/used "The Oregon Trail Video Game: 5th Edition" [2008] The Learning Co. video game for Windows 7 & Vista & XP platforms [2/2011] for $6.99 The Learning Co. video game for Windows XP & Vista platforms [6/2009] for $7.97 The Learning Co. video game for Windows 98 & Me & 95, and Mac platforms [2008] for $5.95 "The Oregon Trail Video Game: 4th Edition" [2007] The Learning Co. video game for Windows platform [2/2007] for $13.88 "The Oregon Trail II Video Game" [2005] The Learning Co. video game for Windows 3.x & 95 and Mac platforms [2/2005] for $8.95 bare credits at IMDb • official game site |
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"The Oregon Trail: Quest For The West!" musical stageplay
July 2011 review
stageplay homepage at No. 11 Productions (based in Brooklyn, NYC)
Image Gallery
![Albert Bierstadt [1830-1902] painting 'Oregon Trail (Campfire)', 1863](art/ABierstadt-OregonTrailCampfire-1863.jpg "Albert Bierstadt [1830-1902] painting 'Oregon Trail (Campfire)', 1863")
![Albert Bierstadt [1830-1902] painting 'The Oregon Trail', 1869](art/ABierstadt-OregonTrail-1869.jpg "Albert Bierstadt [1830-1902] painting 'The Oregon Trail', 1869")
![William Henry Jackson [1843-1942] painting 'Sand Hills on The Platte River', 1932](art/WHJackson-SandHillsPlatteRiver-1932.jpg "William Henry Jackson [1843-1942] painting 'Sand Hills on The Platte River', 1932")
![William Henry Jackson [1843-1942] painting 'Independence Rock', 1936](art/WHJackson-IndependenceRock-1936.jpg "William Henry Jackson [1843-1942] painting 'Independence Rock', 1936")
![Nick Eggenhofer [1897-1985] painting 'Wagons West', 1966](art/WagonsWest-byNickEggenhofer.jpg "Nick Eggenhofer [1897-1985] painting 'Wagons West', 1966")
![Nick Eggenhofer [1897-1985] painting 'Wagon Boss', 1966](art/WagonBoss-byNickEggenhofer.jpg "Nick Eggenhofer [1897-1985] painting 'Wagon Boss', 1966")
here on The Oregon Trail Page at 'Readers of the Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
top of page • short history • links • route of The Oregon Trail • books about The Oregon Trail • movies & TV about The Oregon Trail • other media • image gallery
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