Please excuse the re-run, but this was first posted years ago on Sweethearts of the West.
At the time, either I didn't know many of you, or maybe you've forgotten about the 1951 movie Westward the Women. I've watched it numerous times over the years, and would probably watch it again if TCM featured it. While it might be a little hokey and simplistic compared to today's movies, this one was a real groundbreaker.
At the time, either I didn't know many of you, or maybe you've forgotten about the 1951 movie Westward the Women. I've watched it numerous times over the years, and would probably watch it again if TCM featured it. While it might be a little hokey and simplistic compared to today's movies, this one was a real groundbreaker.
The idea for Westward the Women came from Frank Capra, who in the 1940s read a magazine article about South American women crossing the Isthmus to become brides for a colony of male settlers. What if he moved this event to the American West, the director wondered. Capra had always wanted to make a western, but Columbia wasn't making them at the time and so he put the idea aside.
Then one day he and a friend took the idea to MGM. The company gave it the green light. Venerable MGM leading man Robert Taylor was cast as the scout. He escorts a wagon train of 150 women from Chicago to John McIntire's ranch in California, where there are no women for the male workers in a valley McIntire wants populated with familes. Along the way, the women must fend off Indian attacks, rough weather, forbidding landscapes, and men hired to accompany the group who are unable to control their lust.
Before production started on Westward the Women, all the actresses were gathered together to learn what they were getting themselves into—much like Taylor does in the movie. They were told there would be no room for prima donnas, for the 11-week schedule in the Utah Mountains and California desert would prove to be long, dirty, and tiring. He offered everyone a last chance to back out, but no one did.
The women began a three-week period of basic training which involved calisthenics, rope skipping, softball, bullwhip cracking, horseback riding, mule team handling, firing frontier firearms, blacksmithing, and assembling (and disassembling) covered wagons.
While "feminizing" the male western was nothing new, Westward the Women went a step deeper than most, one of the few films to present a positive, overt Sisterhood.
It is almost a casebook study of traditional attitudes toward women to be refuted. In other words, while the female characters may be spoken to or treated derisively, the audience sees them in a positive light, and even heroically.
The women began a three-week period of basic training which involved calisthenics, rope skipping, softball, bullwhip cracking, horseback riding, mule team handling, firing frontier firearms, blacksmithing, and assembling (and disassembling) covered wagons.
While "feminizing" the male western was nothing new, Westward the Women went a step deeper than most, one of the few films to present a positive, overt Sisterhood.
It is almost a casebook study of traditional attitudes toward women to be refuted. In other words, while the female characters may be spoken to or treated derisively, the audience sees them in a positive light, and even heroically.
For instance, there are images of the women growing comfortable facing tough tasks, working together to fix a wagon and fight off Indians. Their bravery could not be clearer, as the audience sees dramatic images of individual women against an open and stark landscape and sky—a deliberate filming technique.
When a woman's version of a male genre is created, the woman's world—primarily love and romance, marriage, sex, rape, and childbirth—must be reconciled in some manner with the male movie.
By the end of this film, the women "have been told they can't cope, can't shoot, can't rope, can't ride, can't fight, and can't endure," and they have proved this to be wrong every time. These 'masculine' things are now absorbed into them.
This movie first touched me because it was a female-driven tale—that of women banding together to form a sisterhood against harsh odds.
Then it touched me even more when I began to read...and subsequently write...Mail Order Bride novels and novellas.
Have you seen this movie?
It's one I've watched several times, just as I have High Noon, Red River, The Searchers, The Wild Bunch, and Gunfight at the OK Corral--in different versions.
It might be worth your time to rent this off Netflix...or somewhere...and watch it and see what you think.
Thanks for visiting us here on the Prairie Rose Publications author blog.
And look for new releases all the time, some of which are MAIL ORDER BRIDES series.
Then it touched me even more when I began to read...and subsequently write...Mail Order Bride novels and novellas.
Have you seen this movie?
It's one I've watched several times, just as I have High Noon, Red River, The Searchers, The Wild Bunch, and Gunfight at the OK Corral--in different versions.
It might be worth your time to rent this off Netflix...or somewhere...and watch it and see what you think.
Thanks for visiting us here on the Prairie Rose Publications author blog.
And look for new releases all the time, some of which are MAIL ORDER BRIDES series.
Celia Yeary…Romance, and a little bit of Texas
I've never seen it, but now I want to! Thanks Celia.
ReplyDeleteOh. please do. If you do watch it, I'd like to know what you think. Thanks.
DeleteI can't believe I haven't seen this movie. I like that it shows how brave, hardworking, tough, and resilient women were then and are now. I'm going to see if I can find it on Netflix. Thank you for posting about it.
ReplyDeleteSarah--it is an intereting tale. Remember it was filmed in 1951 and those movies today seem very simplistic or overdone. Still, it's interesting from start to finish. Hope you can find it.
DeleteVery interesting and informative blog post, Celia. I haven't seen the movie but I'd like to. And no apologies needed for the films made back then; IMHO they are far more appealing than the wham, bam, overly action-packed, ear-splitting sound effects, x-rated films we are offered today. (ahem) Is my age showing?
ReplyDeleteOkay, I agree with you that we don't need to apologize for the movies made back then. Considering our choices today, I'd take any of those old movies. We stopped going to the theater because of the extreme noise and craziness of the coming features. Really unbelievable. Now, in the space of a year, after watching for new movies, I might find one, maybe two--in an entire year fit to watch. Certainly, Jim won't go see them. He trusted me to select movies, and he always enjoyed them. I remember Titanic, re-make of True Grit, Open Range, Bridesmaids, ...Pride and Prejudice--which was one of his favorites!Dr. Zhivago,..movies along that line. Movies older adult would enjoy. I'm so out of touch these days, but cannot do a thing about it. Thanks for reminding me.
DeleteLike you Celia, I've always enjoyed this movie. The story resonated with me, for my parents were always telling me there was nothing I couldn't do, and being female had nothing to do with it. As a child of the 50s-60s it helped me not feel so alone. Doris
ReplyDeleteDoris--I'm glad to find someone who remembers it and appreciates it. I'm a child of the 40s and 50s, and loved the black and white Westerns shown on Saturday afternoon. Mother let me go week after week, if I wanted to. I didn't play dolls, I played cowboys and Indians...yes, I said Indian. That's what we knew. I did hate the part at the end when the man kissed the woman. I'd close my eyes. Haha. Thanks for your comment.
DeleteCelia, OMG! I think I saw this movie way back when I was a a very young girl. I'd forgotten about it and reading your interesting post took me back and it most of it came back to me. I'd love to see this again and I'm sure to enjoy it even more now that I gobble up mail order bride stories--to read and to write. Thank you for an delightful step back to my childhood and this movie. I'll be watching again. Yep.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I made you happy with old memories! In that movie, each bride was matched with a man,and they had written each other. In some cases, the men had little photos of his bride.
Deleteso the scene when they wagon train arrives at its destination is so touching...and funny, too.
This is one of my favorite movies, so thanks for bringing it up. I hadn't even thought of it for years, and I'm going to have to watch it again.
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks!...Jacquie. It's a favorite of mine. I hope to see again one day.
DeleteSometimes, being an actress can be not that glamorous!
ReplyDeleteYes, and this movie was unique for that reason. The actresses that signed on went through months of "training." And this was in harsh conditions as they would experience in the movie.
DeleteCelia,
ReplyDeleteThe first time I watched Westward the Women, I was around 10 years old. It was on a late-night movie channel. I was hooked. From then on, I watched it every time it cycled around in the tv movie choices. Then technology improved and I recorded it from the tv. Then I bought the VHS tape. Now I have the DVD. To say this movie had a huge impact on me, is an understatement. It ranks high on my list beside The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Shane for stories that everyone should know, because of the depiction of the "human condition": friendships, love, sacrifice, the sisterhood you described, and loss.
Oh, my gosh, Kaye. You made tears come to my eyes. So emotional over this story of yours. I never knew there was anyone who loved this movie as much as I, and now you...you've shown me you probably loved it even more. Amazing. Truly stunning. So, obviously, you saw what I saw--but I was more like in my 30's or so..when I fell in love with this movie. You are so right-- it was a great example of the human condition--friendships, love, sacrifice, and as the movie is, a "sisterhood" of the human condition. The two whores who Robert Taylor reluctantly took on last, became part of the main story and characters. Wow. I'd love to see it now..but don't have it save like you do. Maybe I could visit you and we could just splurge on watching this again! Thanks so much.
DeleteCelia,
DeleteI remember my "ah-ha" moment when I was old enough to realized the two fancy women weren't just all dressed up for the interview. *grin* It's interesting to revisit books and movies as we mature and gain life-experience. We get to rediscover and see these stories with fresh eyes.
Getting together to watch this movie (or just getting together to visit) would be a treat. *wink* (I think we live about 700 apart, though).
Yes, I had watched the movie more than once before realizing they were "soiled doves." I thought that was a clever touch added to the story. These two women wanted to get way from their present lot in life.
DeleteGreat post, Celia. The concept was then moved to TV in the 60's. A lot was taken from the journals of Asa Mercer and his movement of 100 marriageable woman from New England after the Civil War. But each instance only proved that women can rise to the task. I think we still do today.
ReplyDeleteYes, Asa Mercer was the first real person who took a group of women West.
DeleteGreat post! I only saw parts of this movie long ago. Definitely a must-see on my list. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHope you can find it! Thannks for reading and commenting.
Delete