Westward the Women (1951)

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:

Native American Attack | Gender Reassignment | Gender Roles | Survival | Birth

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. Maroni

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:

Anachronisms: In the movie, which was supposed to be set in 1851, Buck is using, what appears to be, a Colt 45 Peacemaker. Only problem is, this type of revolver was not invented until the 1870's.

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!

My only problem with this movie is ...

that it isn't out on DVD yet! I'd buy this movie in an instant, but knowing that I would watch it over and over again, the tape would soon wear out. So I am hopefully waiting for it to come out on DVD.

This movie is great! It's funny. It's touching. It's warm. It's violent. It's campy. It's everything you'd expect from the time period it was made in except for its portrayal of so many strong women. But my guess is that the women who made those journeys were in fact very strong in character.

In any case, I highly recommend it. It's a genuine "feel good" movie, even though it is riddled with many sad and turbulent scenes.