The Trail of '98

"SEE It all vividly re-enacted before your eyes...The Klondike Gold Rush...Chilcoot Pass...The gigantic Snow Slide...The White Horse Rapids...The Burning of Dawson...and a Thousand Spectacular Visions of the Century's Greatest Adventure"

May 8 1929 Passed 1h 27m
Action, Adventure, Drama

Fortune hunters from all over the country rushing to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.

Plot

The Klondike gold strike of 1897 inspires fortune-seekers to head for Alaska. Joe and Jim, brothers from South Carolina; Lars, escaping a shrewish wife in Michigan; a poor farmer from Kansas; weathered prospectors from Nevada; and countless others leave San Francisco by ship. The Bulkys head north to open a restaurant, bringing a poor relative, Berna, along to help. On board Berna meets Larry and falls in love. The overland route to Dawson City is hazardous and arduous. Each person must carry their own food, a ton of it. That means traveling 80 miles back and forth to advance one mile, carrying 50 pounds a trip. The Chilkoot Pass is one of the worst sections of the trail. In the spring the trekkers take to the rivers, swollen by melting ice. Whitehorse Rapids proves the last and biggest obstacle to reaching the gold fields. But that's not the end of the hardships. Claim jumping, blizzards, fires, and Berna's honor at stake are to be faced before striking it rich.

Written by

Robert W. Service, Benjamin Glazer, Joseph Farnham

Directed by

Clarence Brown

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Languages

English

Awards

1 win

Scores
# of Votes
505
Average Rating
7 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA