John L. Fell, in his volume A History of Film chronicles, "'THe Covered Wagon', directed by James Cruze in 1923, proved even more successful than 'The Iron Horse'. It was epic in conception, weak in plot, and impressively photographed." The cinematographer to the film had been Karl Brown.
Allan Eyles notes that "The Covered Wagon" (Cruze, 1923), made in the United States at a time when film criticism was giving more than a cursoy glance to the work of Swedish silent film director Victor Seastrom who had only just then arrived in America with Mauritz Stiller to bring a close to the Golden Age of Swedish Silent, was remarkable for its depicting the relationships of the characters within narrative to the enviornment in which the story takes place, its plotline built around the interaction of its three primary characters.
After mentioning "The Covered Wagon" as having been a western differing in genre from the comedies directed by James Cruze, author Gary Carey, Museum of Modern Art, in his volume Lost Films, as early as 1970, writes of the comedy "Beggar on Horseback", directed by Cruze during 1925 having been once considered lost before copies of it had resurfaced. Gary Carey includes the comedy 'Merton of the Movies" (eight reels), which featured the cameos of fifty silent film actors and actresses, directed by Cruze during 1923 as having been a Lost Silent Film during 1970 while overlooking a second satire on tinseltown titled "Hollywood" (eight reels), also presently considered lost, starring Viola Dana and directed by James Cruze during 1923. The film "Ruggles of Red Gap" (eight reels), directed by James Cruze in 1923 and starring actress Lois Wilson, is also presently considered a lost silent film.
James Cruze had again used cinematographer Karl Brown to film while directing the films "Hollywood", "Merton of the Movies" and "Ruggles of Red Gap".
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