IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
In 1864 Capt. John Hayes goes to Colorado to take over the stagecoach line and keep the flow of Western gold flowing and help the North win the Civil War.In 1864 Capt. John Hayes goes to Colorado to take over the stagecoach line and keep the flow of Western gold flowing and help the North win the Civil War.In 1864 Capt. John Hayes goes to Colorado to take over the stagecoach line and keep the flow of Western gold flowing and help the North win the Civil War.
John Daheim
- Russ
- (as John Day)
Walter Bacon
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Jimmie Booth
- Cowhand
- (uncredited)
May Boss
- Stage Passenger
- (uncredited)
Peter Brown
- Army Sentry Outside Tent
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Russell Custer
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Gary Epper
- Boy at Stagecoach Accident
- (uncredited)
Art Felix
- Stock Tender
- (uncredited)
William A. Green
- Stage Passenger
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaVirginia Mayo was originally slated to play the lead female role in this movie, but director Budd Boetticher ended up giving the part to Karen Steele, with whom he was romantically involved. Mayo still received second billing.
- GoofsThis takes place during the Civil War. And typical of movies about the period, everyone has a cartridge belt and pistol instead of the 'cap and ball' available at the time.
- Quotes
Rod Miller: [going into the stage stop] Well, they tell me they got a good man runnin' this place.
Capt. John Hayes: [laconically] Let you know after I drink his coffee.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005)
Featured review
The absence of a Burt Kennedy script is very evident.
Out of Warner Brothers and filmed in Warnercolor, Westbound is directed by Budd Boetticher & written by Berne Giler & Albert Shelby LeVino. It stars Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo, Karen Steele, Michael Dante, Andrew Duggan & Michael Pate. The story is set in 1864 during the American Civil War where Scott plays John Hayes, the man charged with the task of running the Overland Stage Line between California and Julesburg, Colorado. The function of which is to transport gold and the mail to aid the Union war effort. In Julesburg, Hayes finds a host of problems with Confederate sympathisers led by Clay Putnam (Duggan), who also happens to be married to Norma (Mayo), an old flame of Hayes.
Of the seven Western film's that Boetticher and Scott made, Westbound is widely regarded as the weakest. Not part of the Ranown cycle they did that featured Harry Joe Brown on production and Burt Kennedy screen writing, it is a decent, if disposable, Western movie. The story is actually rather enticing, but with such a small running time and a condensed location shoot, the movie is never quite able to lay down some solid footings for the characters to flourish from. This leaves the supporting actors either exposed to their failings as thesps (Duggan is particularly bad), or playing underdeveloped participants (sadly the case with Mayo).
However, this being Boetticher & Scott it does have some nice passages to take in, unsurprisingly the best of which is when Scott is on screen. Be it cocking a rifle with one hand, throwing one of his best ever punches, squaring off against Pate's effective turn as henchman Mace; or laying on some reflective emotion around the two ladies of the piece, Scott is always captivating. What action there is is attention grabbing for the budget and David Buttolph provides a perky score that's at its best during the stagecoach sequences. With the exteriors primarily filmed at the Warner Ranch, J. Peverell Marley is able to photograph enough of the grassy hilled scenery to make an easy on the eye impact.
Enjoyable and safe fare for Western fans, but very much a low key affair from the normally dynamite partnership of director & star. 6/10
Of the seven Western film's that Boetticher and Scott made, Westbound is widely regarded as the weakest. Not part of the Ranown cycle they did that featured Harry Joe Brown on production and Burt Kennedy screen writing, it is a decent, if disposable, Western movie. The story is actually rather enticing, but with such a small running time and a condensed location shoot, the movie is never quite able to lay down some solid footings for the characters to flourish from. This leaves the supporting actors either exposed to their failings as thesps (Duggan is particularly bad), or playing underdeveloped participants (sadly the case with Mayo).
However, this being Boetticher & Scott it does have some nice passages to take in, unsurprisingly the best of which is when Scott is on screen. Be it cocking a rifle with one hand, throwing one of his best ever punches, squaring off against Pate's effective turn as henchman Mace; or laying on some reflective emotion around the two ladies of the piece, Scott is always captivating. What action there is is attention grabbing for the budget and David Buttolph provides a perky score that's at its best during the stagecoach sequences. With the exteriors primarily filmed at the Warner Ranch, J. Peverell Marley is able to photograph enough of the grassy hilled scenery to make an easy on the eye impact.
Enjoyable and safe fare for Western fans, but very much a low key affair from the normally dynamite partnership of director & star. 6/10
helpful•173
- hitchcockthelegend
- Sep 22, 2010
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Na Zapad
- Filming locations
- Laramie Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA(demolished in May 2003 and replaced by Warner Village)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $565,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 12 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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