Based on a story by Frank Capra, who sold it to director William A. Wellman because “no one would let me do a Western,” Westward the Women (1952) allowed Wellman to revisit many of the themes of The Great Man’s Lady (1942) on a more expansive scale, particularly the unsung role of women in the taming of the American frontier. Robert Taylor leads the cast as a wagon train guide hired to take a group of 140 mail-order brides on the dangerous trek from St. Louis to a ranch town in California where prospective husbands await. Violence and calamities test the group’s mettle at every turn with Wellman matching driving action with a gritty, natural shooting style.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. (Production): Dore Schary. Director: William A. Wellman. Screenwriter: Charles Schnee. Cinematography: William Mellor. Editor: James E. Newcom. Cast: Beverly Dennis, Renata Vanni, John McIntire, Julie Bishop, Hope Emerson. 35mm, b/w, 118 min.
