How the West Was Won (1962)

I'd seen this title many times over the years, thanks primarily to its all-star cast. For a profitable epic, it's had a pretty middling reception on rating sites, but it did net some Academy Awards. I chose to watch it not long after my last John Wayne western because I knew no better way to kill 164 minutes last night.

No other western I know takes place over such a long period. It's divided into five chapters, spanning from 1839 to 1889. The focus is on the westward-moving Prescott family, including but not limited to patriarch Zebulon (Karl Malden), matriarch Rebecca (Agnes Moorehead), and daughters Eve (Carroll Baker) and Lilith (Debbie Reynolds). Eve takes a shine to wandering fur trader Linus Rawlings (James Stewart), while Lilith falls for gambler Cleve van Valen (Gregory Peck). Their lives are partly affected by the California Gold Rush, the War Between the States, and other armed conflicts.

Yeah, my mention of Wayne was a bit misleading, as he appears for just one scene, unsurprisingly during the chapter directed by John Ford. Other names you're likely to know: Walter Brennan, Lee Van Cleef, Robert Preston, Thelma Ritter, George Peppard, Andy Devine, Harry Morgan, Russ Tamblyn, Raymond Massey, Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Eli Wallach, Harry Dean Stanton, and Spencer Tracy. I won't identify their roles, lest I spoil some developments. Oddly enough, none of the Oscar nods were for acting. Maybe the celebs blocked each other.

I doubt Hollywood would use such a title anymore; most modern viewers sympathize with the losing side. We do see some violence (within a '60s G rating) from Cheyenne and Arapaho war parties, the latter of whom starts the most destructive bison stampede I've ever seen. Nonetheless, their grievances are understandable, and they are neither the main antagonists of the piece nor the last. White outlaws look no better.

As usual for old epics, we get an overture and an intermission. I decided not to skip them, because the American Film Institute counted Alfred Newman's work herein as one of the 25 best scores in U.S. cinema. Some entries on that list have completely escaped my memory, but this one's good. Characters sing a few songs as well, including one with the same tune as "Greensleeves" and "What Child Is This?"

If I were the executive producer, I would have called for extensive cuts so as not to try the audience's patience. That said, I'm not sure which would be the best moments to drop. No part is bad to my mind. It's just a bit clunky in the aggregate.