The Way West (1967)

The Age of Commercialism

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"The Way West" could have been a classic. Kirk Douglas plays a driven wagon master determined, like Burger King, to have it his way -- the goal being to herd pioneers to Oregon, to fulfill his dream of establishing an ideal city, with a crystal-covered playground for the kiddies.Unfortunately, Douglas quite fails to engage with the character or his situation. He is so distant and (generally) uninvolved that he might just as well delivered his lines from a Barcalounger. The rest of the actors rarely show much interest, either.The potential for intense drama and powerful emotion is present, but unrealized. The flabby script doesn't help, and first-time director Andrew McLaglen (son of Victor) has no idea what to do about it. * Only Jack Elam (arguably one of the all-time great actors) survives this snooze-fest, delivering a pitch-perfect turn as a minister.The fun moments come during an attempt to lower the pioneers over the edge of a high, steep cliff to the river bank below, one at a time. The first to go down dies when the wagon bumps against the cliff wall, and he -- or rather, an obvious dummy -- is thrown out.After Douglas unconvincingly convinces the pioneers to keep truckin' on down with him, he, too, (or rather a re-dressed dummy) also falls to his death when Psycho Sally cuts the rope to spare the pioneers having to put up with this monster of a man."The Way West" is inexcusably bad. Unless you like being bored to death by annoying films, the funny stuff takes too long to arrive.* His poor direction is particularly noticeable when the wagon train reaches a fort near the end of their journey. The commander has an Indian sidekick who insists on shaking Douglas's hand, and won't let go. A smart director would have built up the part a bit, to add some badly needed humor.

Andrew McLaglen, the director, is the son of actor Victor McLaglen, who was a member of the John Ford troupe. As a result, Andrew pretty much grew up on the sets of John Ford westerns. Not much rubbed off, sadly. I was willing to give him a break for directing 99 episodes of the awful "Have Gun, Will Travel". Clearly he had no budget. But here he has plenty of money. No excuses.The Way West is pretty much a gigantic mess, in which three big stars, Kirk Douglas, Richard Widmark and Robert Mitchum, show up to cash checks. Not surprisingly, Mitchum almost literally sleep walks through his role as a grizzled old mountain man/trapper/trail guide. It's disappointing, because it's the type of role he could have been good in, if he had been motivated.Here's what I liked:this was the film debut of Sally Field, who looks about 16 years old. She does the best acting in the film also.the relationship with the Indians was handled pretty realistically.very nice location shooting. A lot of effort went into capturing panoramic Western vistas. t Here's what I didn't like:Robert Mitchum wears about the most ridiculous looking cowboy hat I've ever seen in a Western.There is a bizarre scene where Kirk Douglas orders the film's only black character to whip him. I'm not kidding.SPOILER HERE: I will say that the movie was interesting enough that I watched it until the end. I'm sorry I did, because the movie climaxes with Kirk Douglas' character being murdered by a woman driven insane by her frigidity. Hard to believe, I know. Makes you almost sorry there was a sexual revolution in the 60's. This would have never happened to Randolph Scott.

This motion picture is based on the Pulitzer-winning novel by A. B. Guthrie. It starts in Independence, Missouri, 1843, senator William(Kirk Douglas) asks volunteers to unite themselves towards Oregon. Among them find the Evans family, formed by Lije(Richard Widmark) his wife Rebecca(Lola Albright) and their son Brownnie; the justly married Johnnie and Amanda Mack and various traders from Independence. Kirk Douglas join forces with Robert Mitchum, as a taciturn explorer, he's a supreme hero in a performance that epitomises the spirit of the early West at least as Hollywood saw it.The American West has a turbulent and mighty history , some of which is told in story and folk songs . Here is a panoramic view of the American West, concerning on the dangers, hazards, travels and tribulations of pioneers set against the background of breathtaking landscapes and risked deeds, including Indians attack and one deeply cliff. Particularly impressive for its notable cast list and expansive Western setting. Any Western that play stars such as Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark and Sally Field -film debut- is at least worth a glimpse. Furthermore a magnificent secondary casting, as Jack Elam, Stubby Kaye, John Agar, John Mitchum, among others. Sadly this epic Western doesn't hold up that well on TV set because was released on the great screen and much of the grandeur of the original version is lost. But Shootém-up and spectacular scenarios fans won't want to miss a chance to see many of the genre's greats in one movie. This is an epic movie , photographed in gorgeous Technicolor by William Clothier- John Ford's usual cameraman-, adding lustre on the groundbreaking sweep, along with an emotive musical score by Branislaw Kaper. The film is splendidly filmed on locations in America's National forests and professionally directed by Andrew W McLagen.

The Way West is an epic western, but unlike another epic western How the West Was Won, it isn't a very good film. The main problem here is that the script writers and the director have got carried away, and have tried to cram far too many events and subplots into the two hour running time.The main plot thread follows an ambitious and cruel visionary named William Tadlock (Kirk Douglas), who dreams of taking hundreds of people into the vast, unexplored wilderness of the Wild West and starting up a new town. His ambition is an obsession. It drives him and dictates his every move. Even his own family come second in his list of priorities. During the journey, his behaviour towards the other pioneers becomes increasingly irrational and unsympathetic, and in the end he loses the respect of his fellow travellers.There are some good moments in the film. The climax is really surprising, with a twist that few viewers will predict. Sally Field has some interesting scenes as a young girl who undergoes a sexual awakening during the trip. There's also a well done scene in which a man who has killed an Indian child by accident is hanged. However, the abundance of plot threads, characters and subplots is a big drawback. The makers should have concentrated on a few elements and done them really thoroughly, instead of cramming in so much and only dealing with the themes in a shallow and all-too-brief fashion. This is not bad, I suppose, but it could have been oh so much better.