Review of The Way West

Andrew McLaglen, the director, is the son of actor Victor McLaglen, who was a member of the John Ford troupe. As a result, Andrew pretty much grew up on the sets of John Ford westerns. Not much rubbed off, sadly. I was willing to give him a break for directing 99 episodes of the awful "Have Gun, Will Travel". Clearly he had no budget. But here he has plenty of money. No excuses.

The Way West is pretty much a gigantic mess, in which three big stars, Kirk Douglas, Richard Widmark and Robert Mitchum, show up to cash checks. Not surprisingly, Mitchum almost literally sleep walks through his role as a grizzled old mountain man/trapper/trail guide. It's disappointing, because it's the type of role he could have been good in, if he had been motivated.

Here's what I liked:

• this was the film debut of Sally Field, who looks about 16 years old. She does the best acting in the film also.

• the relationship with the Indians was handled pretty realistically.

• very nice location shooting. A lot of effort went into capturing panoramic Western vistas. t

Here's what I didn't like:

• Robert Mitchum wears about the most ridiculous looking cowboy hat I've ever seen in a Western.

• There is a bizarre scene where Kirk Douglas orders the film's only black character to whip him. I'm not kidding.

• SPOILER HERE: I will say that the movie was interesting enough that I watched it until the end. I'm sorry I did, because the movie climaxes with Kirk Douglas' character being murdered by a woman driven insane by her frigidity. Hard to believe, I know. Makes you almost sorry there was a sexual revolution in the 60's. This would have never happened to Randolph Scott.