Across the Wide Missouri

Relations between Native Americans and white settlers in early-19th-century America provide the dramatic focus of this William Wellman Western. The time is 1829, and trapper Flint Mitchell (Clark Gable) heads into the wilderness in search of valuable beaver pelts. In order to get a foothold in the hostile Blackfoot Indian territory, Mitchell marries a Blackfoot woman named Kamiah (Maria Elena Marques) whom he slowly begins to truly love. Accompanied by a band of intrepid trappers, the newlyweds press deep into the untamed land despite persistent aggression from its angry native inhabitants. The area in which they trek is beaver country, controlled by Kamiah's grandfather. An unseen man (Howard Keel) effectively narrates the story--he is identified as the Kamiah and Flint's son. (official distributor synopsis)