Americas 250th Birthday Cinemathon #18: How the West Was Won (1962)

 

How the West Was Won is an epic multi-generational western filmed in the rarely used Cinerama. Cinerama was even wider than widescreen, and required a special set-up to show. While this made for a grand viewing in theaters, the image is so stretched that no TV can show the full images without black screens. On the blue-ray I watched almost half the screen was the black bars on the top and bottom.

The original plan, believe it or not, was even more epic, with six segments and more historical characters coming in and out. The final product was only five segments and only the middle has any real historical figures, but was still grand with wonderful cinematography and a slew of major stars and character actors, not to mention three directors dividing the segments (John Ford among them). The casting is mostly great, the problem being a couple actors who are too old for their role. The worst case is James Stewart, a middle-aged man playing someone who’s supposed to be young. They didn’t even bother dyeing his hair! The segments themselves are not terribly original in their storylines, but do have aspects that make them somewhat fresh, whether it be original stunts or, in the case of “The Plains”, switching out the usual squeaky clean heroes for a gambler and a showgirl.

There’s not a central plot, but the movie does follow a family through 50 years of western history. There are two characters that can be said to have leading roles. Debbie Reynolds is the one who goes coast-to-coast, starting as one of the two daughters of the Prescott family (Lilith Prescott) and becoming a cool old lady at the end. I’d say she’s my favorite. George Peppard doesn’t appear until “The Civil War”, but becomes the male action lead for the rest of the movie, being a soldier and then a lawman. Linking all the segments together is the narrating voice of Spencer Tracy.

Before launching into the five segments and the stars that show up, I should address the music. The movie is a borderline musical, with a wide collection of real-life 19^th Century songs. Litlith Prescott herself is a singer and gives out a few numbers in “The Plains.” One is performed to the tune of “Greensleeves” and serves as one of the primary themes. Alfred Newman arranged the music, and composed a couple original tunes himself. There’s the official How the West was Won theme, which gets both powerful vocal and instrumental performances.

The Prescott Family and some of their fellow migrants. Lilith sings one of her songs whilst playing the accordion. Debbie Reynolds is noticeably old for a teenage daughter, but it works out in the next segment.

“The Rivers” is set at the end of the 1830s. Zebulon Prescott (Karl Malden) leads his wife and three children west along the Erie Canal and Ohio River in search of a new life. I think it’s a great decision to not start in what is commonly seen as the West. Midwest America was at one time the frontier, so we watch the movie progress from east to west. Along the way the y meet mountain man Linus Rawlings (James Stewart). Eve (Carroll Baker) is smitten with this adventurous man. Thanks to Stewart’s age the romance looks a bit goofy. Linus and the Prescotts fall afoul of river pirates (led by Walter Brennan; also, Lee Van Cleef was not credited for his role which is a shame. His leading man years in spaghetti westerns were ahead of him, but he was still a regular fixture of B-movies). Once they get the pirates out of the way, they hit the rapids and tragedy. Eve and Lilith go their separate ways, with Eve marrying Linus and Lilith seeking a career in entertainment.

“The Plains” picks up over 10 years later and is my favorite. It’s your typical set-up of a wagon train heading west. Lilith learns that one of her admirers left a California gold mine to her in his will and joins in. Gambler Cleve van Valen (Gregory Peck) tags along both to escape his debts and woo Lilith. Straight-laced wagonmaster Roger Morgan (Richard Preston) also falls for Lilith, but she chooses Cleve when he turns out to actually be a good-hearted brave man. What makes this segment my favorite are the two leads, who provide a lot of color, and the big Cheyenne attack, which has lots of great stunts.

William Sherman (John Wayne)
and U.S. Grant (Harry Morgan)

“The Civil War” goes back east and sees Rawlings boy Zeb join the Union Army. I took special attention to this segment because I am of course a Civil War buff. It’s the only part of the movie to feature real historical figures. Raymond Massey silently reprises his role as Abraham Lincoln as Spencer Tracy gives context. The story moves to the Battle of Shiloh, in particular the night of April 6, 1862. This was a shockingly bloody battle for the time and one of the more well-known of the Western Theater, hence its inclusion. The atmosphere is dark and eerie as the characters navigate a crowded hospital and corpse-strewn terrain. Generals Ulysses Grant and William Sherman appear, with Zeb listening in. Grant (Harry Morgan) is feeling the sting of harsh criticism for how the battle has went. In reality news wouldn’t have circulated so fast, so this moment actually happened days later. Still, it’s a neat scene for history buffs. Surprisingly, this is the only movie on my current watchlist where John Wayne appears despite his ubiquitous presence in western and war films. He does alright as Sherman, though it helps that he only has a few minutes of screentime.

“The Railroad” sees Zeb continue his military career, which was rare for volunteer soldiers of the Civil War. He leads a cavalry unit protecting the Union Pacific Railroad as the Transcontinental Railroad race goes underway. Unfortunately the fictional railroad official Mike King (Richard Windmark) is an uncaring asshole who drives his employees like slaves and disregards the concerns of the Native Americans, the Arapahos in particular. Henry Fonda also appears as buffalo hunter and mountain man Jethro Stuart. This segment is very sympathetic to the American Indians, and Zeb quits in disgust when he’s practically forced to violate his promises by the Union Pacific. The cinematic highlight is an engineered buffalo stampede against the railroad. I’m guessing this would have been hard to pull off in real life since I’ve never heard of such an even happening (see my Hell on Wheels review for a fun fictionalized version of the Transcontinental Railroad).

Gant and his gang head for the train of gold (https://obscuretrainmovies.wordpress.com/2017/08/02/how-the-west-was-won-1962/).

“The Outlaws” is set near the end of the Old West. Zeb is now a marshal who was helped take down most of the major outlaws. The two lines of the Prescott daughters finally meet as Zeb and his family go to Gold City, Arizona to live with the still-living Lilith. Their plans for a peaceful life on a ranch is interrupted by gang leader Charlie Gant, played by Eli Wallach between his two more famous outlaw roles in The Magnificent Seven and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Zeb is sure Gant and his gang (including a pre-famous Harry Dean Stanton) are going for a gold shipment on a train. The ensuing train fight is great, with lots of harrowing stunts (watch here if you're willing to be spoiled on the action cliamx)

How the West was Won is well served by its spectacle and star power, overcoming a few clichés with grand cinematic moments and a few fun characters. It’s a neat, entertaining way to view the march of history over 50 years, and touches all the familiar tropes.

Rating: 8/10