Union Pacific (1939)

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Ernest Haycox (story)
Jack Cunningham (adaptation)

Release Date:

5 May 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

"Union Pacific" is coming!

Plot:

One of the last bills signed by President Lincoln authorizes pushing the Union Pacific Railroad across the wilderness to California...

Plot Keywords:

Railroad | Troubleshooter | Union Pacific Railroad | Romantic Rivalry | Train Crash

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Barbara Stanwyck	...	Mollie Monahan
Joel McCrea	...	Capt. Jeff Butler
Akim Tamiroff	...	Fiesta
Robert Preston	...	Dick Allen
Lynne Overman	...	Leach Overmile
Brian Donlevy	...	Sid Campeau
Robert Barrat	...	Duke Ring (Campeau henchman)
Anthony Quinn	...	Jack Cordray (Campeau henchman)
Stanley Ridges	...	Gen. Casement
Henry Kolker	...	Asa M. Barrows (banker)
Francis McDonald	...	Gen. Grenville M. Dodge
Willard Robertson	...	Oakes Ames
Harold Goodwin	...	E.E. Calvin (telegrapher)
Evelyn Keyes	...	Mrs. Calvin
Richard Lane	...	Sam Reed

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #4831)

Filming Locations:

Cache, Oklahoma, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Dick Allen (Robert Preston) asks, "Where does he keep his 'Rule G'?", meaning a bottle of whiskey. This is a reference to Rule G: "The use of intoxicants or narcotics is prohibited", one of twelve 12 rules in standard code adopted by the Association of American Railroads.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The chase sequence after the train robbery is shown in mountainous terrain. The robbery supposedly takes place between Cheyenne and Pine Bluffs Wyoming (from geographic references to the train's location in the telegrapher's office). There are no mountains in this area.

Quotes:

Fiesta: I look around and pretty soon I marry my wife in Santa Fe. Ah, the best woodchopper in the country. You bet you my life, the best. But one day she gets bite by a rattlesnake.
Mollie Monahan: She did? Did the doctor get there in time?
Fiesta: No, she's already dead.
Mollie Monahan: Your wife?
Fiesta: My wife? No, no, the snake.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Living Steam: Virginia and Truckee Then and Now at the Nevada State Railroad Museum (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

I've Been Working on the Railroad

Extraordinary film

They don't make 'em like this anymore. Everything you could want in a film: romance, wit, drama, action. Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea make an incredible on-screen duo. The train wreck scene at the end is especially impressive. Kudos to Cecil B. Demille for this work of art. I wish I could give this movie more than 10 stars! :)