If there's a better film that realistically depicts the movement of a wagon train and the sort of challenges they faced, overcame and at times failed, in blazing a trail through the wilderness, I'd like to know what it is. And The Way West looks good. In fact it looks great, even today, over 50 years since it was released. Many of the wide screen vistas are stunning and make the movie worth seeing, just for them alone.
It's just a shame then, that I have to agree with many others on this site, as well as critics of the time, when agreeing that the movie, when judged on its entirety just doesn't really work.
It's not really the fault of its all star cast. It's a hoot to see Sally Field in her film debut, playing a character light years away from The Flying Nun in behaviour. The big triumvirate of Douglas, Mitchum and Widmark, all give it their best shot, though at times I feel Douglas is guilty of over-acting and Mitchum's Dick Summers is a notably passive role, where surprisingly he rarely if ever dominates the screen. The supporting cast is diverse, with many having plenty of western experience.
For me the problem lies in the drama content of the story. There really isn't enough time spent with the major characters and the collective dynamic of the challenge of managing the wagon train. Instead we get too much time spent with the situation travails of the Mack family (fairly minor characters in the scheme of things) and later Mercy McBee. It results in a film with some justifiable claims to be an epic tale, ending up having all the dramatic punch of a typical weekly episode of the old TV series Wagon Train. The cheesy song that occasionally imposes itself on the soundtrack doesn't help intensify the drama quotient either.
The film can be compared to an attractive postcard. The front may be great to look at, but the story on the back just amounts to some brief, sketchy lines.
It's just a shame then, that I have to agree with many others on this site, as well as critics of the time, when agreeing that the movie, when judged on its entirety just doesn't really work.
It's not really the fault of its all star cast. It's a hoot to see Sally Field in her film debut, playing a character light years away from The Flying Nun in behaviour. The big triumvirate of Douglas, Mitchum and Widmark, all give it their best shot, though at times I feel Douglas is guilty of over-acting and Mitchum's Dick Summers is a notably passive role, where surprisingly he rarely if ever dominates the screen. The supporting cast is diverse, with many having plenty of western experience.
For me the problem lies in the drama content of the story. There really isn't enough time spent with the major characters and the collective dynamic of the challenge of managing the wagon train. Instead we get too much time spent with the situation travails of the Mack family (fairly minor characters in the scheme of things) and later Mercy McBee. It results in a film with some justifiable claims to be an epic tale, ending up having all the dramatic punch of a typical weekly episode of the old TV series Wagon Train. The cheesy song that occasionally imposes itself on the soundtrack doesn't help intensify the drama quotient either.
The film can be compared to an attractive postcard. The front may be great to look at, but the story on the back just amounts to some brief, sketchy lines.