Westward the Women (1951)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Charles Schnee (screenplay)
Frank Capra (story)

Release Date:

31 December 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Drama

Plot:

In a time when "The West" pretty much ends in Texas and only California is slowly being populated by the white men...

Plot Keywords:

California | Rocky Mountains | Gender Reassignment | Wagon Train | Native American Attack

Cast

Robert Taylor	...	Buck Wyatt
Denise Darcel	...	Fifi Danon
Hope Emerson	...	Patience Hawley
John McIntire	...	Roy E. Whitman
Julie Bishop	...	Laurie Smith
Lenore Lonergan	...	Maggie O'Malley
Henry Nakamura	...	Ito
Marilyn Erskine	...	Jean Johnson
Beverly Dennis	...	Rose Meyers
Renata Vanni	...	Mrs. Moroni

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

French | English | Japanese | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Denise Darcel's French-language dialog includes a few words which prove that no one in the 1950's version of the Hays Office understood French. Some of the terms she used while angry at "Buck Wyatt" would never have gotten past the censors in English.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the very end, when the women are riding in the wagons going to meet their husbands, the Italian woman is seen in two different places on the same wagon.

Quotes:

Patience Hawley: [to the awaiting bridegrooms] You can look us over, but don't think you're going to do the choosing! All the way from Independence, I've been staring at two things: one was this picture and the other was the rump of a mule... and don't ask me which was prettier!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Challenge the Wilderness (1951)

Soundtrack:

To The West! To The West!

remarkable for its time

This film has a lot of aspects that are quite refreshing and remarkable considering when it was made. The main supporting role is a Japanese cowboy! His character is not a typical stereotype either. Though he is comic relief, he is also given a role as a wise friend to Taylor's character. The unglamourous but brave and capable women in this film are also a nice surprise. They shoot, ride, lift and pull and do all the jobs usually done by men on this trip without complaint. One of the most touching scenes is right after an Indian raid as the women call out the names of the dead and the camera pans down to their lifeless bodies. It's a simple and unsentimental memorial to the sacrifices made.