The Trail of '98

This silent epic of the Canadian gold rush deploys the airport novel technique, picking up its large cast of characters in different parts of the United States and following them on the trek to their assorted destinies in the frozen north. What most impresses is the scale of the production, with masses of extras crammed into steamships, toiling up the Chilkoot Pass and milling around Dawson City, while back at Metro, where most of the cast evidently remained, the sets are big and carefully detailed. Dramatically, by contrast, it's negligible, with nothing unexpected happening and much tedious comic relief. Badly needed colour is added by Carey as an affable villain and Marshall as Salvation Jim the preacher, sparkling like nuggets in a pan. (From a book by Robert W Service, bard of the Klondike.) BBa.