IMDb RATING
6.2/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
In 1843, a former U.S. Senator leads a wagon train of settlers to Oregon, but his megalomania leads to growing dissatisfaction with his leadership.In 1843, a former U.S. Senator leads a wagon train of settlers to Oregon, but his megalomania leads to growing dissatisfaction with his leadership.In 1843, a former U.S. Senator leads a wagon train of settlers to Oregon, but his megalomania leads to growing dissatisfaction with his leadership.
Harry Carey Jr.
- Mr. McBee
- (as Harry Carey)
Elisabeth Fraser
- Mrs. Fairman
- (as Elizabeth Fraser)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRobert Mitchum and Richard Widmark reportedly did not get along with Kirk Douglas because of his tendency to usurp control of the project from Director Andrew V. McLaglen.
- GoofsWhen the Indians captured Brownie Evans (Michael McGreevey), you can see they were all wearing flesh colored underwear under their loincloths.
- Quotes
[first lines]
[Mercy flirts silently with Brownie]
Lije Evans: Best not be lookin', Brownie.
Brownie Evans: I ain't lookin'... as hard as I can.
- Crazy creditsIntroducing Sally Field as "Mercy" and introducing Katherine Justice.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Discovering Film: Sally Field (2020)
- SoundtracksThe Way West
Music by Bronislau Kaper (uncredited)
Lyrics by Mack David
Sung by The Serendipity Singers (as Serendipity Singers)
Featured review
A Good Old-Fashioned Western
This film begins with a prominent former U. S. Senator by the name of "William J. Tadlock" (Kirk Douglas) trying to persuade a trapper and scout named "Dick Summers" (Robert Mitchum) to help lead a caravan full of settlers in Missouri through hostile Indian country on the way to Oregon. Although Dick Summers is initially reluctant due to his continued grieving over the death of his wife two years earlier, he eventually gets worn down and accepts the job. And although he figures he will have to deal with different personalities in this particular wagon train, what he doesn't realize is just how difficult it will be to accomplish to work with a man as mean and tyrannical as William J. Tadlock making all of the decisions. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film started off as one of those fairly standard Westerns but turned out to be quite entertaining due in large part to the presence of some of top-notch actors along with a couple of surprising developments along the way. One specific situation included a promiscuous young woman named "Mercy McBee" (Sally Field) and her interaction with a newlywed man named "Johnnie Mack" (Michael Whitney) and his frigid bride "Amanda Mack" (Katherine Justice) which then creates all kinds of drama along the way. Be that as it may, I have always enjoyed old-fashioned Westerns and I thought that this was one of the better ones during this particular period of time.
helpful•90
- Uriah43
- Aug 17, 2021
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Harold Hecht's The Way West
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 2 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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