MovieChat Forums > The Man from Laramie (1955) Discussion > The Wagon on the Mountain (possible spoi...

The Wagon on the Mountain (possible spoilers)

posted 16 years ago by befred8
7 replies | jump to latest

Several things puzzle me:

How did Dave and Vic ever get that wagon up that steep slope? If there was an easier way up there, why didn't any of the characters ever use it?

The Apaches are supposed to have been expert trackers. Why hadn't they followed the white men earlier, found the guns and taken them? Couldn't they have figured out the source of the smoke signal and discovered the wagon only a few feet from it?

Would it really have done any good pushing the wagon over the cliff? Wouldn't the guns have been relatively undamaged and retrievable from among the wreckage?

I'm also curious that the wagon seemed to explode on the way down. Could rifle ammunition have caused that?

[–] roamer-3 15 years ago

My question is how Apache Indians, whose native territory in Arizona with small area of NM, and UT, get to Wyoming. That is a 2+ day drive on freeways from AZ.

[–] turtletommy 15 years ago

Supposedly the story takes place in "Apache Country" which would have been in the SW not Wyoming. I can't recall but maybe the story began in Wyoming hence the title but moved to the SW where the Apaches were. Hell, it wouldn't be surprising if the film had Apaches in Wyoming since Hollywood moved Indian tribes all over the map for their purposes.

[–] rdoyle29 15 years ago

The movie is set in New Mexico.

[–] gribfritz2 13 years ago

The MAN'S from Laramie. The Apache aren't.

[–] BKinzeys 15 years ago

They didn't, the art department got it up there. You are correct, that's never explained.

If the wagon was full of rifles then it shouldn't have exploded. Even if there was ammo for the rifles it wouldn't have exploded. There wasn't a logical reason why the wagon exploded.

Pushing the wagon off the cliff wouldn't have destroyed all the rifles and certainly many could have been repaired. It was a very weak scene.

In addition how the rifles were packed in the crate was a very poor job. Certainly if that was how they were packed to make a trip from New Orleans.

It was just a very poorly handled part of the movie.

[–] turtletommy 15 years ago

Yes a poorly handled part of the movie.. But having some kind of big bang payoff seemed almost essential to movie-makers and audiences. So explosions/fireballs trumped logic. It wasn't until the last 20-30 years or so that every darn vehicle crash on film or TV had to end with the vehicle bursting into flames. lol

[–] bradford-1 15 years ago

I was never sure why Vic and Dave sold the rifles in the first place. I can see Vic needing extra money, but I would think Dave had more cash than he could ever spend. And it had to be Vic's idea, but why would he bring in a volatile knucklehead like Dave?