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IMDbPro

How the West Was Won

  • 19621962
  • GG
  • 2h 44m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
22K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
427
4,872
How the West Was Won (1962)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer3:03
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Western
A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
22K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
427
4,872
  • Directors
    • John Ford(segment The Civil War)
    • Henry Hathaway(segments The Rivers, The Plains, The Outlaws)
    • George Marshall(segment The Railroad)
  • Writers
    • James R. Webb(suggested by the series "How the West Was Won" which appeared in LIFE magazine)
    • John Gay(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • John Wayne
    • Gregory Peck
  • Directors
    • John Ford(segment The Civil War)
    • Henry Hathaway(segments The Rivers, The Plains, The Outlaws)
    • George Marshall(segment The Railroad)
  • Writers
    • James R. Webb(suggested by the series "How the West Was Won" which appeared in LIFE magazine)
    • John Gay(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • John Wayne
    • Gregory Peck
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 202User reviews
    • 54Critic reviews
    • 56Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 3 Oscars
      • 10 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 3:03
    Watch Official Trailer
    How The West Was Won: Gold Train Gun Fight
    Clip 1:31
    Watch How The West Was Won: Gold Train Gun Fight

    Photos191

    Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Preston, and Thelma Ritter in How the West Was Won (1962)
    Debbie Reynolds in How the West Was Won (1962)
    How the West Was Won (1962)
    Debbie Reynolds and Robert Preston in How the West Was Won (1962)
    John Wayne and Harry Morgan in How the West Was Won (1962)
    James Stewart, Karl Malden, Kim Charney, Tudor Owen, and Bryan Russell in How the West Was Won (1962)
    Harry Dean Stanton and Eli Wallach in How the West Was Won (1962)
    Gregory Peck and Debbie Reynolds in How the West Was Won (1962)
    Henry Fonda and George Peppard in How the West Was Won (1962)
    Lee J. Cobb and Mickey Shaughnessy in How the West Was Won (1962)
    George Peppard and Russ Tamblyn in How the West Was Won (1962)
    Debbie Reynolds in How the West Was Won (1962)

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Stewart
    James Stewart
    • Linus Rawlings
    John Wayne
    John Wayne
    • Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
    Gregory Peck
    Gregory Peck
    • Cleve Van Valen
    Henry Fonda
    Henry Fonda
    • Jethro Stuart
    Carroll Baker
    Carroll Baker
    • Eve Prescott
    Lee J. Cobb
    Lee J. Cobb
    • Marshal Lou Ramsey
    Carolyn Jones
    Carolyn Jones
    • Julie Rawlings
    Karl Malden
    Karl Malden
    • Zebulon Prescott
    George Peppard
    George Peppard
    • Zeb Rawlings
    Robert Preston
    Robert Preston
    • Roger Morgan
    Debbie Reynolds
    Debbie Reynolds
    • Lilith Prescott
    Eli Wallach
    Eli Wallach
    • Charlie Gant
    Richard Widmark
    Richard Widmark
    • Mike King
    Brigid Bazlen
    Brigid Bazlen
    • Dora Hawkins
    Walter Brennan
    Walter Brennan
    • Col. Jeb Hawkins
    David Brian
    David Brian
    • Lilith's Attorney
    Andy Devine
    Andy Devine
    • Cpl. Peterson
    Raymond Massey
    Raymond Massey
    • Abraham Lincoln
    • Directors
      • John Ford(segment The Civil War)
      • Henry Hathaway(segments The Rivers, The Plains, The Outlaws)
      • George Marshall(segment The Railroad)
    • Writers
      • James R. Webb(suggested by the series "How the West Was Won" which appeared in LIFE magazine)
      • John Gay(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Stuntman Bob Morgan was seriously injured, and almost died, while performing a stunt in this picture. Toward the end of the film, there is a gunfight on a moving train between the sheriff and a gang of train robbers. Morgan was one of the stuntmen playing a robber and was crouched next to a pile of logs on a flatcar. The chains holding the logs together snapped, and Morgan was crushed by the falling logs. He was so badly hurt it took him five years to recover to the point where he was able to move by himself and walk unaided.
    • Goofs
      There is no explanation of why Sheriff Ramsey is fine in one scene and wearing a bandage on his forehead in the next, immediately following. (There was a deleted or unfilmed scene where Zeb knocked Ramsey out when the Sheriff tried to stop him from going after the train robbers.)
    • Quotes

      Narrator: The west was won by its pioneers, settlers, adventurers is long gone now. Yet it is theirs forever, for they left tracks in history that will never be eroded by wind or rain - never plowed under by tractors, never buried in compost of events. Out of the hard simplicity of their lives, out of their vitality, of their hopes and sorrows grew legends of courage and pride to inspire their children and their children's children. From soil enriched by their blood, out of their fever to explore and be, came lakes where once there were burning deserts - came the goods of the earth; mine and wheat fields, orchards and great lumber mills. All the sinews of a growing country. Out of their rude settlements, their trading posts came cities to rank among the great ones of the world. All the heritage of a people free to dream, free to act, free to mold their own destiny.

      [final narrative from the film "How The West Was Won"1962 - narrated by Spencer Tracy]

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits: Except for historical events and characters, the events and characters depicted in this photoplay are fictitious and any similarity to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.
    • Alternate versions
      Some prints (like the Swedish pan&scan video release) leave out the final modern travelogue scenes.
    • Connections
      Edited from This Is Cinerama (1952)
    • Soundtracks
      How the West Was Won
      (1962)

      Music by Alfred Newman

      Lyrics by Ken Darby

      Performed by Ken Darby (uncredited)

    User reviews202

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    "I Am Bound For The Promised Land."
    I still remember seeing How the West Was Won in Cinerama when it made it into general release back in 1962. A motion picture theater equipped for Cinerama is the only way this one should be seen. The formatted VHS copy I watched tonight can't come close to doing it justice.

    James R. Webb's original screenplay for the screen won an Oscar in 1962 and it involves an episodic account of the Presscott family and their contribution to settling the American west in the 19th century. We first meet the Presscotts, Karl Malden and Agnes Moorehead going west on the Erie Canal and later by flatboat on the Ohio River. They have two daughters, dreamy romantic Carroll Baker and feisty Debbie Reynolds. The girls meet and marry mountain man James Stewart and gambler Gregory Peck eventually and their adventures and those of their children are what make up the plot of How the West Was Won.

    Three of Hollywood's top directors did parts of this film although the lion's share by all accounts was done by Henry Hathaway. John Ford did the Civil War sequence and George Marshall the sequence about the railroad.

    The Civil War piece featured John Wayne and Harry Morgan in a moment of reflection at the battlefield of Shiloh. Morgan did a first rate job as Grant in his brief cameo and Wayne was playing Sherman for the second time in his career. He'd previously played Sherman in an unbilled cameo on his friend Ward Bond's Wagon Train series. I'm surprised Wayne never did Sherman in a biographical film, he would have been good casting.

    If any of the stars could be said to be THE star of the film it would have to be Debbie Reynolds. She's in the film almost through out and in the last sequence where as a widow she goes to live with her nephew George Peppard and his family she's made up as a gray haired old woman and does very well with the aging. Debbie also gets to do a couple of musical numbers, A Home in the Meadow and Raise A Ruckus both blend in well in the story. Debbie's performance in How the West Was Won must have been the reason she was cast in The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

    Cinerama was rarely as effectively employed as in How the West Was Won. I well remember feeling like you were right on the flatboat that the Presscott family was on as they got caught in the Ohio River rapids. The Indian attack and the buffalo stampede were also well done. But the climax involving that running gun battle between peace officers George Peppard and Lee J. Cobb with outlaw Eli Wallach and his gang on a moving train even on a formatted VHS is beyond thrilling.

    There is a sequence that was removed and it had to do with Peppard going to live with buffalo hunter Henry Fonda and marrying Hope Lange who was Fonda's daughter. She dies and Peppard leaves the mountains and then marries Carolyn Jones. Lange's part was completely left on the cutting room floor. Hopefully there will be a restored version of How the West Was Won, we'll see Hope Lange and more of Henry Fonda.

    And it should be restored. All those Hollywood legends in one exciting film. They really don't make them like this any more.
    helpful•66
    14
    • bkoganbing
    • Nov 21, 2006

    FAQ2

    • How can I see How The West Was Won in CINERAMA?
    • George Peppard---How Many Dye Jobs Did He Have?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 20, 1963 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Arapaho
    • Also known as
      • Kako je osvojen divlji Zapad
    • Filming locations
      • Cave-In-Rock State Park - 1 New State Park Road, Cave-In-Rock, Illinois, USA
    • Production companies
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
      • Cinerama Productions Corp.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $15,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $76,729
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $28,568
      • Sep 14, 2003
    • Gross worldwide
      • $76,729
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.89 : 1

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