WESTWARD THE WOMEN (1951)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 115 Minutes 53 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Director: William A. Wellman
Cast: Robert Taylor, Denice Darcel, Hope Emerson, John McIntire
In the William A. Wellman (The Public Enemy) directed wagon-train saga Westward the Women (1951) California land baron/farmer Roy Whitman (John McIntire, Cloak & Dagger) establishes a successful tract of ranch land in a fertile California valley he needs strong women to pair-off with his hard working men, to that end he hires wagon master Buck Wyatt (Robert Taylor, Many Rivers to Cross) to trek cross country to Chicago and recruit 100 or so matrimony-minded women who are looking to start a new life in California with Whitman and Wyatt trying to weed out the easy-virtue saloon girls. Once the women have been selected they are given a crash course in wagon train etiquette, told matter-of-factly that a third of them won't make the journey (which holds true), and are put through their paces to ensure that have what it takes to make the 2000 mile journey that is promised to hold much danger.
As they start their 2,000-mile journey from Chicago to California they are accompanied by fifteen men who are ordered not to spoil or fraternize with the women. Among the women are two ex-showgirls looking to reform their reputations, Fifi (Denise Darcel, Verza Cruz) and Laurie (Julie Bishop, The Black Cat), with Fifi setting her sights on Wyatt, a strong-willed widow named Rose (Beverly Dennis), as well as the towering 6' 2" Hope Emerson (Caged!) as Patience Hawley who lost her child and husband in a boating accident, and is full of tough-as-nails grit and determination.
Along the way many hardships are faced, from torrential flash floods to arid treacherous wagon-crushing terrain and the casualties start to mount, Wyatt is a hard taskmaster who takes no pity on the women as they toil harder than they've ever had to previously. He plays by a strict set of rules and does not take kindly to those who stray from his prescribed path, this includes shooting a man who would force himself on the women, an act which causes some of the men (and a few women as well) to desert the wagon train under the cover of darkness. Undeterred the women step-up and insist on not turning back, taking on the added duties of riding, learning to shoot, and driving the mules.
There are attacks by indigenous Native Americans tribes followed by various casualties, death by drowning, and other assorted accidents and mishaps, including a few that were pretty surprising, among them a kid, all of which are impactful but not dwelled upon - this is what they signed up for and were warned about before hand. One of the men that aids Wyatt on the journey is a Japanese cowboy named Ito (Henry Nakamura, Go For Broke) who proves himself to be one of the scout masters most loyal sidekicks throughout the film, and who isn't afraid to voice his opinion on matters, including telling Wyatt that shooting one of the men is gonna lead to trouble, which it certainly does.
This being a first-time watch for me I was a bit surprised that a western wagon-train flick featuring a cast of so many women did not resort to cutesy moments of women being flirtatious or resorting to feminine
stereotypes (it was shot in the '50s after all), but it's pretty hard-hitting, rugged and no-frills, which gave it an emotional depth I was not expecting, particularly with just how many women perish on the journey. It doesn't feel like the western fairytale about a bunch of women looking to get hitched that it easily could have been, it's a much more realistic and oftentimes grim accounting of what these treacherous cross-country journeys through hostile terrain held in store for the pioneers who endeavored them.
Audio/Video: Westward The Women (1951) gets a terrific Blu-ray presentation from Warner Archive in 1080p HD framed in the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, benefitting from a sharp looking restoration that renders the black and white image with crisp detail, deep blacks levels and pleasing contrast and grayscale. The rugged Utah locations are filled with sun-beaten dirt and grit that look great in HD. Audio comes by way of a faithfully rendered English's DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-balanced, dialogue is delivered without issue, and the score from Jeff Alexander (Double Trouble) pleases.
Extras include an informative Audio Commentary by Scott Eyman, the 11-min Vintage MGM featurette "Challenge of the Wilderness" that examines the preparation for the Utah based shoot; the 49-min Lux Radio Theatre Broadcast 12/29/52 with Robert Taylor; 14-min of classic MGM Cartoons: Texas Tom & The Duck Doctor; plus the 4-min Original Theatrical Trailer. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated movie poster, which is also excerpted for the disc artwork.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Scott Eyman
- Vintage MGM featurette "Challenge of the Wilderness" (10:30)
- Lux Radio Theatre Broadcast 12/29/52 with Robert Taylor (49:14)
- M-G-M cartoons: Texas Tom (6:44), The Duck Doctor (7:03)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (3:36)
Screenshots from the Warner Archive Blu-ray:
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