Western Weekends: How the West Was Won

Well, I've survived the first week of January, and I've toasted the New Year resolutions...which I haven't made.

Anyway, I've been contemplating which Western film to open this review series with. So, as a tribute to Debbie Reynolds, who passed away over the Christmas week, I thought I might look at this 1962 epic she starred in. How the West Was Won chronicles four generations of the Prescott family as they move further west during a fifty year period. Narrated by Spencer Tracey, the film is divided into five acts, which could all be their own films: The Rivers, The Plains, The Civil War, The Railroad, and The Outlaws.

The Rivers takes place around 1840, when Zebulon Prescott (Played by Karl Malden) seeks land in Ohio River country at the tip of southern Illinois. In a journey which includes river pirates and rapids, Zebulon's eldest daughter Eve (played by Carroll Baker), becomes romantically involved with Linus Rawlings, an affable mountain man played by Jimmy Stewart.

The Plains jumps forward to the early 1850s, and follows Debbie Reynolds as Eve's younger sister Lilith, who has moved Back East and is performing at a dance hall in St Louis. After inheriting a gold mine in California, she travels West again and meets the gambler Cleve van Valen, played by Gregory Peck.

The remainder of the film follows George Peppard as Zeb Rawlings, the eldest son of Eve and Linus. Not satisfied with life on a farm, he enlists in the army during the Civil War, later serving in the cavalry during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, and becoming a marshal before retiring to Arizona around 1890.

The film has a massive cast, which also includes Henry Fonda, Eli Wallach, Lee J. Cobb, and even a cameo by John Wayne. It's hard to discuss everybody. There are plenty of characters I want to learn more about, but the film's long enough already.

The visuals absolutely stunning, and while it's predominately an idealistic look at the frontier lifestyle, it doesn't hesitate to show some of the rougher aspects within the action. It certainly is a product of the time. But it's nonetheless one that's worth checking out.