Synopsis
The film "Lewis and Clark" chronicles the historic expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, beginning with their departure from St. Louis to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. The story details their journey up the Mississippi River, through encounters with various Native American tribes, including their significant winter stay with the Mandan people in North Dakota. Here, they meet Charbonneau and his Shoshone wife, Sacajawea, who plays a crucial role as a guide and interpreter. The film follows their challenging trek through the Rockies and down the Columbia River, highlighting their scientific discoveries, including observations of natural resources, plants, animals, and topography. The expedition’s struggles and achievements underscore the spirit of exploration, culminating in their successful reach to the Pacific Coast. The film portrays their legacy as pioneers in opening the American West.
Synopsis from TMDb
Details
- Studio
- Emerson Film Corporation, Encyclopædia Britannica Films
- Released
- 1950-01-01
- Running time
- 16 minutes
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Prelinger Archives
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- U.S. History: Westward expansion
Reviews on the Internet Archive
★★★★★ · The Romance of History · Glen Hills · 2011-02-18
Who knew Mr. Thomas Jefferson had a bone for his secretary, Mr. M. Lewis?
★★★ · Decent, But Beware · Film Fan · 2004-06-06
A pretty good retelling of the Lewis and Clark expedition. There is some mild stereotyping, but the treatment of Sacajawea makes me cringe. The two principal actors are good; some of the others in the ensemble are not. The actor who (briefly, thank goodness) plays "Paddy" is particularly bad. Mention has been made that the black character is stereotyped. I disagree. The actor appears very briefly and delivers his one, innocuous line rather poorly making him look bad. The treatment of Sacajawea is another story. Her abuse may be accurate and occurs offscreen, but it is disturbing nonetheless.…
★★★ · (does not star Dean Cain) · Spuzz · 2003-09-25
A somewhat interesting document of Lewis and Clark's journey out west. Egged on by Thomas Jefferson, the 2 discovered and mapped out the west, helping to shape the United States. Good acting by the two leads, but will turn people off by the very odd stereotyping of indians and blacks (yeah yeah, you say, but indians were treated as such during that time. Well, then, were blacks acting like that too?) Other then that point, quite historical for people who just thought Lewis And Clark was a TV show about Superman in the 1990's.