Watch Westward the Women For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

To me, this movie is perfection.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Just stumped how this was not even under academy consideration. Robert Taylor gives an oscar worthy performance. This would be perfect for tom shellack in his early days. Any nominations who should do the robert taylor role in the remake?

140 'mail-ordered brides' are the payload of this wagon train across the 1851 West to CA. But, unconventionally, it's the women who have the dominant say in who they marry, being supplied with photos of the many men before they begin the journey. Filmed in gritty B&W, this will probably somewhat remind you of "Red River", also shot in B&W. Instead of dictatorial John Wayne as trail boss, we have Bob Taylor as Buck: an equally unflinching wagon master. As in "Red River", a mutiny of sorts is included, when most of the skeleton crew of hired men run off together with an equal number of the women, unwilling to wait until they reach CA before their romantic interest in each other is allowed expression, as demanded by Buck. One of the selling points of this film is that it tries to be reasonably authentic in terms of the typical problems encountered on such journeys. Yes, the firearms are too advanced for the time. At least the stock pulling the wagons are mostly mules rather than horses, as often portrayed in Hollywood films. But, actually oxen usually predominated in pulling the wagons. Like mules, but unlike the European's horses, they could survive on the often dry prairie and Great Basin vegetation. They were easier to manage than mules, and Native Americans seldom tried to steal them. They were also much cheaper to buy than horses or mules. However, they were notably slower, and someone had to walk beside them to drive them. Thus, mules were used when the train started late in the season or otherwise wanted a faster journey. In this film, we couldn't have had that stock stampede to add a bit of excitement, if oxen had been in their place.Although supposedly this train takes the California Trail option off the Oregon Trail, to arrive in Central CA, in fact, most of the filming took place in the Kanab region of extreme southern Utah, or in the Mohave Desert, near the end. Thus, instead of the last portion involving crossing the Sierras, they are crossing a waterless flat desert, sometimes of sand. The main portions of the Old Spanish Trail, which formally began in Santa Fe, and ended in LA went, through these general regions. When they hit a stretch of sand to cross, Buck tells the women to discard their heavy things so the wagons don't get stuck. Historically, this shedding most commonly occurred just before crossing the Rockies, which we missed.Character actor John McIntire is well cast as the sponsor of this expedition. He functions as the chooser of the women from the Chicago area to be included, then as coleader of the train, along with Buck: his hired wagon master. Young Henry Nakamura plays an odd member of this expedition, occasionally serving in comic relief. He functions as Buck's aid and alter ego, telling him when he is being overbearing or wrong. At the end, he encourages French immigrant showgirl Fifi(Denise Darcel), who has had a stormy relationship with confirmed bachelor Buck on the trail, to check out his present attitude toward marriage with her. The relationship between Buck and Fifi easily fits the common formula of the day that they spend most of the film trying to deny their attraction, periodically fighting each other, before a sudden overt turnaround at the end. In this case, the real turnaround happened earlier, as the result of Fifi causing the stock to panic by unwisely shooting at a rabbit from the camp, to show off her newly acquired shooting skill. Buck rightly chastises her. But when he finishes with a lightly laid on crack of his bull whip to her backside, she bolts off on a horse. Buck gives chase and eventually catches her. Initially, he gives her two hard slaps, then grabs and kisses her. On the ride back, they begin romantic talk. Later, this is shelved until film's ending.Middle-aged Hope Emerson plays the frequently dominant woman of the bunch: her character a Yankee widow who lost her family taking the Cape Horn route to CA. The half grown son of an Italian immigrant dies in a firearms mishap, and his mother has to be hogtied for a spell to avoid killing herself. Historically, firearms mishaps were a significant cause of mortality on the trail.Buck assumed that probably a third of women who started the trip wouldn't finish it(historically, a high estimate). Thus, McIntire's character took his advice and signed on more than the 100 they were hoping would make it. Historically, various diseases, especially cholera and other causes of severe diarrhea, and scurvy were the biggest killers. But there is no mention of such in the film, except that Buck tells the women to eat some clover to prevent scurvy. Aside from the women lost in the mutiny, probably another 10 didn't make it. Most died in the one 'Indian' attack, which we miss because Buck was out chasing down Fifi at the time. In a previous encounter, the 'Indians' decided to back off. Another woman is lost when the her wagon breaks loose during a steep decent. Another drowns in a flash flood( Historically, river crossings were especially hazardous). As the number of men in the party gradually dwindles to only a couple, the responsibilities of the women increase. Many have to learn from scratch how to handle mule teams, how to keep their wheels in good repair, and how to shoot firearms, for example. With his unforgiving no-nonsense stance, Buck is often a hard character to like. But, like the equally ruthless real-life H.M. Stanley in darkest Africa, his leadership much helped get the job done.Things get a bit silly at the end, with the women supposedly fashioning dresses out of tablecloths, blankets and other odd cloth that the men gather, before the men are allowed to see them, in a formal entry into their valley.

I've seen this film two or three times. I loved to see these courageous and valiant women fighting their way through the West (crossing mountains and deserts and fighting off hostile Indians). One of my favorite moments is the fight between two girls, after one has broken the other's glasses. No rolling on the floor screaming, scratching and pulling each others hair - no, THESE girls use their fists and give each other many a punch in the mouth. Hope Emerson does a great job, too. Oh yes, and Robert Taylor was also in it! O.K., that was a joke, Taylor is quite good as the Scout, who has to guide the women to California, but these women are the real stars of this film!

A brilliant slice of pioneer-era Americana. In no other movie that comes to mind was there such a realistic portrayal of the Old West and its numerous perils than in this faithfully told story of pioneer women crossing the harsh western U.S. wilderness of 1850 from Missouri to California.The ladies are responding to an ad placed by a leader (on behalf of several other men) in a pioneer settlement out in California for wives. These tenderfoot ladies may be looking for husbands, but there's nothing "weak" about them at all. They not only bravely face the hardships, dangers, and tragedies of the journey, but they soon learn how to handle their own with toughness and grit.The story unfolds clearly due to a finely structured and developed script. The intertwining stories are well told and well acted. The mostly female cast are all strong, and Robert Taylor as "Buck," the guide and leader of the wagon train seems to enjoy the task of having dozens of female leads surrounding him. John McIntyre as the patriarchal Mr. Whitman (who hires Buck) is good, while Buck's friend, confidant, and comic-relief guy Ito is also a well-rounded character.The ending is one of the most heartwarming ever in a western; this is the kind of movie that can be watched over and over again.