Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Spikeopath The Forty-Niners is directed by Thomas Carr and written by Dan Ullman. It stars Wild Bill Elliott, Harry Morgan, Virginia Grey, John Doucette and Lane Bradford. Music is by Raoul Kraushaar and cinematography by Ernest Miller. 1849. There was gold in California. According to the Eastern newspapers the mountains and streams were full of it. People from all over the country came here by the thousands, and were called The Forty Niners. Some of them worked hard for their golden dreams - - others robbed, plundered and killed for the gold. The entire burden of law enforcement had to be done by a handful of men - - the few United States Marshals the Federal Government could spare to protect its citizens…Wild Bill Elliott goes under cover to find out the identity of some dastard killers in this pleasant mystery based black and white Oater. Backed by an Elliot voice narration throughout, it's obvious that Carr and Ullman are firmly tuning into a Dragnet for the Western crowd vibe, and it actually works. With Elliott proving to be a likable lead man and Morgan enjoying himself as a shifty card cheat and blackmailer, the material on the page is delivered with entertaining gravitas. The pace is brisk, the action plenty and there's enough twists in Ullman's screenplay to keep you guessing. Yes for sure the ending is never in doubt, this is classic "B" Western territory after all, but a good time to be had here for the discerning Western fan. 6.5/10

dougdoepke Elliott, a US Marshal, goes undercover to catch three killers. In the process, he befriends one of them, Morgan, and finds out his job is not as morally easy as he thought.I was expecting a matinée western with the usual formula plot and stock characters. But this is not a formula matinée. Two of the chief characters—Morgan and Bradford—are morally ambiguous. That is, they are as capable of high deeds as well as low, sort of like real people. Also, Morgan, I believe, has more screen time than ostensible hero Elliott. I'm not sure why, maybe because Elliott is a middle-age 50, and wants to slow down. Also, it's Morgan who attracts the good-looking woman, while Elliott is all business.I suspect the 70-minutes departs from the standard since it comes at the end of the matinée era. Instead, TV was taking over the cheap western. Anyway, the film is better than its lowly pedigree indicates, and can stand on its own as a slice of sagebrush entertainment. And, oh yes, shouldn't leave off without paying tribute to Wild Bill, this being his final western. He was one of the few matinée cowboys who could act tough and make you believe it. I think it was the narrow eyes and resonant voice. Anyway, he sure gave me a lot of entertainment over the years. Good luck, Bill, wherever you are-- you went out on a pretty good little western.

boblipton Wild Bill Elliott stars in one of his last westerns for Allied Artists -- basically Monogram with a budget -- in this story about a marshal hunting for someone who is killing miners for their claims during the California Gold Rush.The story is compressed a bit by having Elliott narrate the beginning of the story. However, with his low-affect acting style and the overly full writing of the narration, it comes off like a long episode of TV's DRAGNET on horseback. Add in Harry Morgan, who spent the end of the 1960s as the second lead on the current version of the show -- well, from this distance it looks like a burlesque of Jack Webb's. In reality, it was probably simply an attempt to add some up-to-date techniques to the oldest film genre.It didn't work. Elliott would retire from the cowboy B movies -- he would switch to mysteries -- and the B westerns themselves would migrate to the television screen and then would die. The mythology of the West was no longer the myth of the country. Science Fiction was already moving in.

Robert W. Anderson This western was enjoyable to watch and well acted by a cast of good actors. There's a good story line that doesn't just exist as a frame work for a lot of gun fights. The story is fairly well written. The problems start with the setting. This is supposed to be set in 1849 California. Westerns have always has problems with authenticity; but this one is way off the mark. It becomes distracting at times; and takes away from an otherwise good story, and good acting. The environment of the story is almost completely wrong. 1849 California was fairly primitive with many hardships. The town in this story looks like something out of a western set in 1870's Kansas. The wardrobe is wrong for the time. The inside of buildings are wrong for 1849 California. The fire arms are way off; and many other things. But with all that being said; I'd still have to recommend seeing this film It has a certain charm. Henry Morgan and Virginia Grey turn in their usual good performances. Bill Elliott is a little stiff; but is the kind of star that made westerns of this era fun. So inspire of the problems i outlined I still enjoyed this film. I would have given it a lower ranking if it hadn't been for Harry Morgan and Virginia Grey; they were great.