ma-cortes A spectacular and mighty adventure in the early 1860s when America's destiny rode in the saddle bags of the Pony Express . As the Pony Express was a mail service delivering messages , newspapers , mail, and small packages from St. Joseph, Missouri, across the Great Plains, over the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada to Sacramento, California, by horseback, using a series of relay stations . During its 19 months of operation, it reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about 10 days . When replaced by the telegraph, the Pony Express quickly became romanticized and became part of the lore of the American West . Its reliance on the ability and endurance of individual young, hardy riders and fast horses was seen as evidence of rugged American individualism of the Frontier times . Pony Express logo was used by stagecoach and freight company Wells Fargo, which provided secure mail service . Buffalo Bill (Charlton Heston) and Wild Bill Hickock (Forrest Tucker) work to establish the short-lived Pony Express and fight Indians along with stagecoach station owners and California Separatists who seek to destroy it . Meanwhile , they fall in love for two beautiful damsels , Evelyn Hastings (Rhonda Fleming) and Denny Russell (Jan Sterling) , Calamity Jane lookalike role .This traditional Western of the founding of mail routes westward contains thrills , rousing nice action , shootouts , Sioux Indian attacks and exuberant outdoors . Dealing with the glamorous Pony Express mail route between Saint Joseph , Missouri, and Sacramento , California during ten days , in which brave riders battling hostile Indians , cutthroats attempting on robbing , bad weather , astute bandits and many other things . As Pony Express became from April 3, 1860, to October 1861, the West's most direct means of east–west communication before the telegraph was established and was vital for tying the new state of California with the rest of the United States . The main protagonists result to be two Western legends , both of them historical figures , Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickock , and it doesn't check every fact . Although , the real Buffalo Bill , William F. Cody, and Wild Bill Hickock claimed to have won their spurs as young Pony Express riders, there is no evidence that they ever worked for the company ; in fact , concerning great adventures , bigger than they were in life , as the real Buffalo Bill was only 14 when the Pony Express was established . The film displays a colorful cinematography by veteran cameraman Ray Rennahan . In addition , thrilling and evocative musical score by Paul Sawtell. The motion picture produced by Nat Holt was decently directed by Jerry Hopper , but with no enthusiasm . Hopper firstly worked for Paramount , them he crossed to Universal and immediately proved himself on more intimate subjects , particularly those with veins of comedy or sentiment . Hopper directed all kind of genres such as Western : ¨Madron¨, ¨The Bull of the West¨ ; gritty Thriller : ¨Naked alibi¨ , ¨The Atomic City¨ , ¨The square jungle¨ ; Comedy : ¨The private war of Major Benson¨with Charlton Heston ; Adventures : ¨Alaska seas¨ , ¨The Sharkfighters¨ , ¨The secret of Incas¨ and ¨The Missouri traveler¨, it was the best of Hopper's later movies before he became entrenched in television . As Jerry Hooper also filmed a great quantity of TV episodes such as ¨Voyage to the bottom of the sea¨ , ¨The fugitive¨ , ¨Perry Mason¨ , ¨Shenandoah¨ , ¨Adams family¨ , ¨Caravan¨ and ¨Gunsmoke¨.

James Hitchcock Although the Pony Express, a mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California, only operated for 18 months between April 1860 and October 1861, it has become part of the legend of the American West. Previous mail services had relied upon the stagecoach, but the Pony Express used relays of horse riders which made it during the brief period of its operation, before it was replaced by the telegraph, the fastest means of communication between California and the eastern states.The film, set in 1860, tells a highly fictionalised, historically inaccurate, account of the origins of the Pony Express. It credits the formation of the service to "Buffalo Bill" Cody and Wild Bill Hickok, two real-life western heroes. In reality, although both men (at least by their own accounts) rode for the Pony Express, neither of them played any part in its creation, and both were considerably younger than the characters portrayed here; Cody would only have been fourteen in 1860. Cody, Hickok and their men have to battle not only hostile Indians but also separatists who are promoting California's secession from the United States and who try to sabotage the mail service in order to achieve this end. There is also a love-triangle involving Cody, his girlfriend Denny Russell, and Evelyn Hastings, the beautiful sister of one of the separatist leaders.This was one of Charlton Heston's early films, made at a time when he had not yet established himself as a major star, and it is far from being one of his best. Although there are some decent action sequences, "Pony Express" never really rises above the level of the average Western. One reviewer describes Charles Marquis Warren as one of the worst western scriptwriters. I will not comment on the general truth of that allegation, as I have only seen two films for which he is credited as writer, but I must say that both of those films are mediocre ones. (The other was "Only the Valiant"). The script for "Pony Express" is a poor one; the story, especially towards the end, is difficult to follow and the sudden tragic ending to a romantic action/adventure film strikes a jarring note. As was common (although not universal) in Westerns from this period, "Only he Valiant" being another example, the Indians are cast as villains with no attempt to understand their point of view, and the importance of the Pony Express is perhaps over-emphasised; it is hard to credit, as we are asked to accept here, that California could have been persuaded to take the momentous step of seceding from the Union by the late arrival of a mail delivery. 5/10

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) The story of the Pony Express is one of the most interesting and fascinating stories of the west. California at that time was totally isolated, and would get the news from the government many months later, thus many people would be for secession, because they did not believe they could be governed like that. There was no telegraph, so they decided to pick those skinny guys, the equivalent of today's jockeys, and make them alternate, also switching horses, so in ten days the express mail would get from St Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento. Now you might ask what Buffalo Bill (Charlton Heston), Wild Bill Hicock (Forrest Tucker) and a sort of Calamity Jane named Denny (Jan Sterling) fit into this and the answer will be marketing. Famous western names would please the crowds. I would have wished for a more serious film, but I can't deny the film is entertaining, fast paced, colorful and with a lot of action, The scenes where the pony express is shown are very good. I just was hoping for a more historical and serious film, but who knows, one day they will make it.

dbdumonteil Charles Marquis Warren is one of the worst western scriptwriters.Responsible(also for directing it) for the very mediocre -and a bit racist- "Arrowshead"-which featured Heston as well,he wrote an even more dreadful story here.Will Cody must be turning in his grave! The story is incoherent,every sequence seems to be the beginning of the film,there's the de rigueur (check "Arrowshead") Heston/Indian fight,and Jan Sterling's part is so thin it's a wonder she can do something with it(This actress found her best role in Wilder's masterpiece "the big carnival").Only the last sequences of the mail might redeem that,but the "writer" wanted a "moving" ending so he spoils everything .You'll always be better off with Cecil B.De Mille's "the plainsman"(1936)with Gary Cooper ,Jean Arthur and James Ellison,as far as Buffalo Bill is concerned.Hickock 's character is also featured,and on top of that ,Calamity Jane in the flesh.