Westbound (1959)

In 1864 Capt. John Hayes goes to Colorado to take over the stagecoach line and keep the flow of Western gold flowing and help the North win the Civil War.

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writers:

Berne Giler (screenplay), Berne Giler (story),

Stars:

Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo, Karen Steele

Cast

Cast overview:
Randolph Scott	...	Capt. John Hayes
Virginia Mayo	...	Norma Putnam
Karen Steele	...	Jeanie Miller
Michael Dante	...	Rod Miller
Andrew Duggan	...	Clay Putnam
Michael Pate	...	Mace
Wally Brown	...	Stubby
John Daheim	...	Russ (as John Day)
Walter Barnes	...	Willis - Stage Depot Cook

Storyline

In 1864 Cavalry Captain John Hayes reluctantly follows orders to become the civilian boss of the Overland Stage Line, which keeps the flow of Western gold to the Union and will help it win the Civil War. Headquarters for the stage line is a small Colorado town with Southern sympathizers who will do anything they can to sabotage his mission. Resistance to his efforts is led by former friend ad colleague Clay Putnam, who has taken advantage of Hayes' absence and married his former sweetheart.

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Plot Keywords:

stage line | colorado | civil war | opening action scene | sidekick | 

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Taglines:

Hellbound for Vengeance for the Flaming Redhead Who Betrayed Him!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Messer an der Kehle

Filming Locations:

Laramie Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$565,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Karen Steele was romantically involved with director Boetticher over a long period of time. Besides "Westbound" she made several other films with the cult director.

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Goofs

While Christy is reminiscing about the Overland Stage with Hayes, he reminds him that they worked together on the line for twenty years. Before that, he says, he worked for the Pony Express. As the year is 1864, that would push his Pony Express experience to 1844 or earlier if you subtract Hayes' Civil War service. The actual Pony Express only was in operation for one year, from 1860 to 1861.

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Quotes

Rod Miller: [going into the stage stop] Well, they tell me they got a good man runnin' this place.
Capt. John Hayes: [laconically] Let you know after I drink his coffee.

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Connections

Referenced in Breathless (1960)

User Reviews

72 min western,worth your time

As a fan of Virginia Mayo,I was disappointed :she has three or four scenes and that's it ;the real female lead is Karen Steele ,an OK actress but without her colleague's appeal.

"Westbound" is a very short western ,without a dull moment;some characters -not Mayo's ,too predictable- are interesting particularly the one-armed ex-soldier who keeps on repeating he is only the half of the man he used to be .Randolph Scott is good as usual as the loyal hero on a mission to send gold to the Yankees ,who takes under his wing the young couple exposed to a sinister-looking guy's violence.

Budd Boetticher made the best of an average screenplay,much to his credit.