The Conquerors Reviews

A Depression-era movie made to inspire audiences at a time when all the economic news was dire. Dix and Harding head the family that the film traces from the 1870s to the present (1931 or so). The family is beset by hard times but always manages to survive and become stronger and, most important at the time, richer, as they build a banking dynasty. Harding and Dix leave New York after the financial collapse of 1873. Their riverboat is assaulted by criminals, and Dix is wounded but then nursed to health by kindly Oliver, a hotel owner in Nebraska. Dix starts a bank and overcomes three panicky periods. The segments are short and interesting and we watch Dix and Harding age, win some, lose some, and, in the end, prove that love and fortitude will conquer all. Well, it didn't conquer the audience apathy as this picture wound up losing money despite the stars and the presence of top-flight director Wellman. (Dix doubles as his own grandson, joining the Lafayette Escadrille during WW I; this was undoubtedly a pleasurable sequence for Wellman to film since he served in that distinguished French flying squadron.) The best person in the film is Kibbee as Oliver's drunken doctor husband. Kibbee was a truly funny man and knew how to wring every last smile out of his lines. He actually began his career as a performer on Mississippi riverboats, so the riverboat sequence in this film was like old home week for him. This was his thirteenth film after just two years of working in Hollywood. He was 50 at the time. A poor take-off of CIMARRON.