California Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

California Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 22, 2026

John Farrow's "California" (1947) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. There are no bonus features on the release. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

California or bust

On September 9, 1850, California officially became the 31st state. It was right before the Gold Rush peaked, which was a notoriously tumultuous period, defined by harsh contrasts, many of them properly documented, and many of them greatly exaggerated.

John Farrow’s film recreates a portion of this period and some of the contrasts, and one does not need an extensive knowledge of California’s history to quickly conclude that a lot of the material it works with is carefully embellished. To be clear, this material is not embellished to sell an unorthodox version of the events that led to California’s admission into the Union. Rather, it is penned in a way to emphasize impressive acts and dynamic relationships that effectively demote California’s admission into the Union to a secondary development. In other words, Farrow’s film is not about historic events and legitimate figures that participated in them.

Ray Milland is Jonathan Trumbo, a calvary deserter-turned-trail guide who has been hired to lead a large caravan of newly arrived European settlers to California. In an unnamed Western town, Trumbo meets Lily Bishop (Barbara Stanwyck), a saloon girl, who has just been banished by the local residents, and against his wish agrees to let her join the caravan. The man who changes Trumbo’s mind is Michael Fabian (Barry Fitzgerald), an old-timer with a big heart, a believer that everyone deserves a second chance, who naturally demands and gets respect from all members of the caravan. Soon after, Trumbo and Bishop make it impossible to hide that they are equally drawn to each other, but both find good reasons to reject a romantic relationship.

As the caravan approaches California, news breaks about a big gold rush, and most of the settlers abandon their belongings to join other prospectors searching for their fortunes. Because his service is no longer needed, Trumbo also rides away.

Sometime later, in the fictional Californian town of Pharaoh City, Trumbo again bumps into Bishop, who now owns and runs a large saloon, shielded by the most powerful man in the area, Captain Pharoh Coffin (George Coulouris), a former slave trader. When Trumbo wins the saloon in a game of cards, Bishop chooses to leave, but it is not long before she realizes that Coffin, who intends to marry her and make her wealthy again, is not right for her.

As Trumbo officially takes ownership of the saloon and begins making changes that would affect other businesses in town, Coffin recognizes his potential and asks him to join his efforts to take over California. But Trumbo turns him down, and soon after, while California’s fate is decided, the two clash, with Bishop stuck between them.

Despite Farrow’s strong, confident direction and predictably solid performances by the leads, California is only a decent western, and it should have been a spectacular one. The reason for this development is an uneven screenplay, demanding that California impresses with several music acts and bloated romantic melodrama, both of which struggle to fit into the historical drama. Needless to say, the fate of the Golden State feels like a ruse, not the central piece in it.

The best material is the one where Milland clashes with his opponents and gets hurt but finds a way to dominate and Stanwyck does not interfere. It is here that it is rightfully made clear that strong, fearless men, good and bad, risked everything, including their lives, to pursue a future they believed in. This is the material that the screenplay should have expanded and linked to authentic historic events.

The supporting cast includes a young Anthony Quinn, Albert Dekker, James Burke, Gavin Muir, Frank Faylen, and Roman Bohnen.

California Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, California arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master, supplied by Universal. I would describe the overall quality of this master as practically identical to the one that the major supplied for Kino Lorber's release of Bend of the River in 2019. It is not plagued by any compromising corrections, and the majority of the visuals it produces have a fine, even good organic appearance. However, it is also a dated organic appearance, with obvious registration issues, most of which impact clarity and depth. Indeed, if properly restored in 4K, or even 2K, California can have a pretty striking Technicolor appearance, boasting sharp visuals with rich, beautifully balanced primaries and supporting nuances. The current presentation has some mostly good primaries, and a small range of acceptable nuances, but they are mixed up with the previously mentioned registration issues, which tend to exacerbate other limitations of the current master. Image stability is very good. Also, the entire film is surprisingly healthy. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

California Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very good. While it is practically guaranteed that if California is restored in 4K it will be revisited, I suspect that the fully remastered lossless track will not be all that different from the current lossless track. Most likely, it will be rebalanced, and its middle and upper registers optimized to make all sound appear fuller and better rounded. I do not think that dynamic intensity can be improved in any meaningful way, but I could be wrong. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

California Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer Reel - a collection of trailers for other westerns from Kino Lorber's catalog.

California Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

California is the only feature film Ray Milland and Barbara Stanwyck made together, which is unfortunate, to say the least. It is a fine western, and both stars look good in it, but with John Farrow behind the camera, and considering the potent material it works with, it should have been a spectacular one. Regardless, I think that loyal fans of its stars should consider acquiring a copy of Kino Lorber's release, which is sourced from an old but mostly pleasing master, supplied by Universal Pictures. RECOMMENDED.