“How the West Was Won” is an epic western drama telling the story of four generations of a family as they move westward from upstate New York to the Pacific Ocean. The film consists of five segments, three directed by Henry Hathaway (“North to Alaska” 1960) and one each by George Marshall (“Cry for Happy” 1961) and John Ford (“Stagecoach” 1939). All three executed their segments in an expert fashion, from a seamless screenplay by James R. Webb. The story originated from a series of articles written by Louis L’Amour for “Life” magazine, later novelized.
The thread that ties this ambitious motion picture together is actress Debbie Reynolds, who plays Lilith Prescott, starting out as a young woman at the beginning to the elderly great-aunt towards the end of the film. Frankly, Reynolds never really demonstrated a wide acting range throughout her career but does a more than adequate job here.
The list of Reynolds’ fellow cast members read like a “Who’s Who” of the picture business: James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck, John Wayne, Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Carolyn Jones, Harry Morgan, George Peppard, Robert Preston, Eli Wallach, Richard Widmark, Walter Brennan, Andy Devine, Raymond Massey, Thelma Ritter, Agnes Moorhead, Karl Malden, Russ Tamblyn, Mickey Shaughnessy, Bridget Bazlen, David Brian, and Spencer Tracy as the narrator. There were uncredited cameo appearances by Lee Van Cleef, Harry Dean Stanton, Ken Curtis.
Producer Bernard Smith staged something of a coup by hiring Raymond Massey to once again portray Abraham Lincoln. This would be Massey’s final appearance as America’s 19th President, on stage, television, and the first time in 1940 on screen in “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” from RKO Radio Pictures, which co-starred Gene Lockhart as Stephen Douglas and Ruth Gordon as Mary Todd Lincoln.
“How the West Was Won” was filmed in the Cinerama process which projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35 MM projectors onto a giant curved screen. The most famous theater to house this type of format is the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, California. It closed in 2020, with the owner hoping for a reopening which has not yet occurred.
The very watchable 164 minute movie “How the West Was Won” was a massive hit at the box office for producer Bernard Smith and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three: Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound.
How the West Was Won (1962)
cinema
My Review
“How the West Was Won” is an epic western drama telling the story of four generations of a family as they move westward from upstate New York to the Pacific Ocean. The film consists of five segments, three directed by Henry Hathaway (“North to Alaska” 1960) and one each by George Marshall (“Cry for Happy” 1961) and John Ford (“Stagecoach” 1939). All three executed their segments in an expert fashion, from a seamless screenplay by James R. Webb. The story originated from a series of articles written by Louis L’Amour for “Life” magazine, later novelized.
The thread that ties this ambitious motion picture together is actress Debbie Reynolds, who plays Lilith Prescott, starting out as a young woman at the beginning to the elderly great-aunt towards the end of the film. Frankly, Reynolds never really demonstrated a wide acting range throughout her career but does a more than adequate job here.
The list of Reynolds’ fellow cast members read like a “Who’s Who” of the picture business: James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck, John Wayne, Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Carolyn Jones, Harry Morgan, George Peppard, Robert Preston, Eli Wallach, Richard Widmark, Walter Brennan, Andy Devine, Raymond Massey, Thelma Ritter, Agnes Moorhead, Karl Malden, Russ Tamblyn, Mickey Shaughnessy, Bridget Bazlen, David Brian, and Spencer Tracy as the narrator. There were uncredited cameo appearances by Lee Van Cleef, Harry Dean Stanton, Ken Curtis.
Producer Bernard Smith staged something of a coup by hiring Raymond Massey to once again portray Abraham Lincoln. This would be Massey’s final appearance as America’s 19th President, on stage, television, and the first time in 1940 on screen in “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” from RKO Radio Pictures, which co-starred Gene Lockhart as Stephen Douglas and Ruth Gordon as Mary Todd Lincoln.
“How the West Was Won” was filmed in the Cinerama process which projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35 MM projectors onto a giant curved screen. The most famous theater to house this type of format is the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, California. It closed in 2020, with the owner hoping for a reopening which has not yet occurred.
The very watchable 164 minute movie “How the West Was Won” was a massive hit at the box office for producer Bernard Smith and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three: Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound.