‎How The West Was Won (1962) Directed By John Ford ... - Letterboxd

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JustWatch How the West Was Won 1962

Directed by John Ford, George Marshall …

Synopsis

It's here! The mightiest adventure ever filmed!

The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.

Cast

Debbie Reynolds George Peppard Carroll Baker James Stewart Gregory Peck Karl Malden Robert Preston Henry Fonda Richard Widmark Carolyn Jones Agnes Moorehead Lee J. Cobb Thelma Ritter John Wayne Harry Morgan Eli Wallach Walter Brennan Brigid Bazlen David Brian Andy Devine Raymond Massey Mickey Shaughnessy Russ Tamblyn Spencer Tracy Harry Dean Stanton Lee Van Cleef Rodolfo Acosta Clinton Sundberg Willis Bouchey Show All… Claude Johnson Kim Charney Bryan Russell Stanley Livingston Jay C. Flippen Tudor Owen Karl Swenson James Griffith Jack Pennick Jim Michael Chuck Roberson Claude Akins Mark Allen Don Anderson Beulah Archuletta Robert Banas Willie Bloom Bill Borzage John Breen Charlie Briggs Buddy Bryan Paul Bryar Walter Burke Polly Burson Ken Curtis John Damler Christopher Dark Kem Dibbs Forrest Draper Craig Duncan Ben Black Elk Sr. Raoul Freeman Sol Gorss Tom Greenway Barry Harvey William Henry Jerry Holmes Roy Jenson Walter Kightly Jack Lambert John Larch Robert P. Lieb Herbert Maneval J. Edward McKinley Gary Menteer Harold Miller Harry Monty Bob Morgan Boyd 'Red' Morgan Forbes Murray Robert Nash Cliff Osmond Harvey Parry Gil Perkins Red Perkins Murray Pollack Paul Power Frank Radcliffe Buddy Red Bow Walter Reed Victor Romito Jamie Ross Gene Roth Bing Russell Danny Sands Joe Sawyer Jeffrey Sayre Phil Schumacher June Smaney Kelly Smith Dub Taylor Ken Terrell Jack Tornek William Wellman Jr. Harry Wilson Carleton Young

Directors Directors

John Ford George Marshall Henry Hathaway

Producer Producer

Bernard Smith

Writers Writers

John Gay James R. Webb

Editor Editor

Harold F. Kress

Cinematography Cinematography

Milton Krasner Charles Lang William H. Daniels Joseph LaShelle

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Hank Moonjean William McGarry George Marshall Jr. Wingate Smith Robert Saunders William Shanks

Additional Directing Add. Directing

Richard Talmadge

Camera Operators Camera Operators

James V. King Bill Johnson

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Harold E. Wellman

Art Direction Art Direction

Addison Hehr William Ferrari George W. Davis

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Jack Mills Don Greenwood Jr. Henry Grace

Special Effects Special Effects

Lester Swartz Bob Overbeck Charles Schulthies

Visual Effects Visual Effects

A. Arnold Gillespie Robert R. Hoag

Stunts Stunts

Hal Needham Ronnie Rondell Jr. Loren Janes Ted Mapes Danny Sands Rick Arnold Polly Burson Al Carmichael Everett Creach Richard Talmadge Donna Hall Troy Melton Dick Shane Bob Terhune Jerry Vance Troy Ward Ken Terrell Bob Morgan Jack N. Young Charles Horvath Harvey Parry Carl Pitti Frank Cordell Gil Perkins Chuck Roberson Chuck Hayward Roy Jenson Rusty Richards Jack Williams Dean Smith May Boss Leroy Johnson Autry Ward Joe Yrigoyen John Epper Richard Farnsworth Sol Gorss Fred Graham Eddie Juaregui Louise Montana Boyd 'Red' Morgan Cliff Lyons

Composer Composer

Alfred Newman

Songs Songs

Paul Salamunovich Ken Darby Sally Stevens Dave Guard Sammy Cahn Johnny Mercer

Sound Sound

Carl Brandon John Logan Kendrick Kinney John Lipow Van Allen James Milo B. Lory Harold Humbrock

Costume Design Costume Design

Walter Plunkett Ron Talsky

Makeup Makeup

Lynn F. Reynolds William Tuttle John Truwe

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Sydney Guilaroff Jay Sebring

Studios

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cinerama Productions

Country

USA

Primary Language

English

Spoken Languages

English Spanish

Alternative Titles

A Conquista do Oeste, La conquista del Oeste, 서부 개척사, Das war der wilde Westen, The Great Western Story, Das war der Wilde Westen, Jak byl dobyt Západ, La Conquête de l'Ouest, La conquista del West, Война на Диком Западе, 西部开拓史, A vadnyugat hőskora, Vi vandt vesten, Η κατάκτηση της Δύσης, כיצד נכבש המערב, Як підкорили захід, Завладяването на Дивия запад, Jak zdobyto Dziki Zachód, Så vanns vilda västern, Näin valloitettiin Villi Länsi, La conquête de l'Ouest, La conquista del oeste, چگونه غرب تسخیر شد, La conquesta de l’Oest, 西部開拓史, Kako je osvojen Divlji zapad, พิชิตตะวันตก, Cum a fost câștigat Vestul, Batının Zaferi, Ako bol dobytý západ

Genre

Western

Themes

Westerns Epic history and literature Western frontier dramas with a touch of humor Historical battles and epic heroism Wild west outlaws and gunfights Show All…

Premiere

01 Nov 1962

• France

Theatrical

02 Nov 1962

• IrelandPG
• UK

24 Nov 1962

• Italy

01 Feb 1963

• USAG

17 May 1963

• PortugalM/12

12 Aug 1966

• BrazilL

Austria

17 May 1963

• Theatrical12

Belgium

02 Nov 1962

• Theatrical12

Brazil

15 Mar 1999

• TVL

France

29 Nov 1962

• Theatrical limited Cinerama opening at Empire in Paris.

Germany

01 Feb 1963

• Theatrical12

Ireland

02 Nov 1962

• TheatricalPG

Italy

30 Jan 1963

• Theatrical

Japan

24 Nov 1962

• TheatricalG

Portugal

03 Jun 1965

• TheatricalM/12

South Korea

12 Aug 1966

• Theatrical

Sweden

02 Nov 1962

• Theatrical15

UK

01 Nov 1962

• PremierePG Cinerama premiere at Casino in London.

02 Nov 1962

• Theatrical

USA

20 Feb 1963

• TheatricalG

164 mins More at IMDb TMDB Report this page

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Popular reviews

More Review by theriverjordan ★★★ 16

“How the West Was Won” is “Soarin: Over the Frontier.”

The Disney parks people out there know what I’m talking about. 

For everyone else — “Soarin’” is a ride that simulates glider flight over major world landmarks using a giant screen, coordinated movement of a ride vehicle, and (most famously) piped-in smells of locations — to include an African stampede and orange groves. It’s also emceed by Patrick Warburton. 

“West” subs Warburton in for Spencer Tracy (fair... I suppose), but otherwise mimics the theme park ride conceit of taking viewers through the major events and settings of American expansionism. All of them - curated to a tone that never transgresses past fashionable adventure. In other words... a bit Disney. 

Ride…

Translate Translated from by Review by Ben Hibburd ★★★½ 2

"How the West Was Won" is a schmaltzy love letter to the mythos of the "Old West". Accompanied by an overture and an intermission, this is classic filmmaking on a grandiose scale. It's just a shame that the multiple stories are inconsistent in their relative qualities and are littered with cliches.

"How the West Was Won" is directed by three different filmmakers who worked on different segments that loosely connect with each other. The segments are focused on different, but important eras of Western history. It starts off with early pelt hunters before going into more consequential topics, such as the Civil War, all the way to the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

There are five segments, and they usually…

Translate Translated from by Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★ Liked 2

Properly epic and endearingly romantic. The whole movie has this high-gloss sheen to it that makes it never feel as dangerous or problematic as some of its moments want to be, and it's so sprawling that some of the smaller moments feel lost in the grand scheme of things, but it goes almost effortlessly from Plymouth Rock to four-lane highways in a way that I really enjoyed and admired.

The most fascinating element of it by far, though, is the fact that it's told primarily through female point of view. The real "perspective" of the film is more broad (ha ha) than any one character could encompass (you could even say that Time is the main character, watching over the…

Translate Translated from by Review by Andy Summers 🤠 ★★★★½ 5

It's hardly surprising that a film of this scope and magnitude would have three directors. 164 minutes long, with Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall helming different sections, this has an early 1960's cast that some directors would have killed for. You can tell how good the cast is when they got Spencer Tracy to narrate, and the five chapters all offer a different era and progression for the Old West, from 1839-1889, with Hathaway directing three, and Marshall and Ford one apiece.

The first chapter is entitled The Rivers (1839), and stars James Stewart, Karl Malden, Carroll Baker, Walter Brennan, and even Lee Van Cleef, and focuses on mountain man Linus Rawlings (Stewart) and his fortuitous meeting with…

Translate Translated from by Review by 📀 Cammmalot 📀 ★★★½ 4

Cinematic Time Capsule1962 Marathon - Film #80

”Settled down for a year, once. Took ten years off my life!”

Welcome to a sprawling experiment in three camera Cinerama.

In the ongoing struggle to lure viewers away from the television and back into the theaters, Cinerama was a bold new exercise in filmmaking. It utilized three synchronized cameras to capture the action.

In the theater, there were three synchronized 35mm projectors that all combined to create a single massive image on a huge, deeply curved screen, that when projected correctly was a truly outstanding visual experience. (I was lucky enough to catch this one several years ago in an actual Cinerama theater)

But needless to say, the synchronization caused lots…

Translate Translated from by Review by pirateneckbeard ★★★½ 12

What an ambitious movie with so many actors of note. It took me a spell to get used to the Cinerama look on my widescreen T.V. but I did find it was impressive though I wish I saw it at the actual Cinerama Dome. It is very epic in quality following a family through generations as they go west. It's painted with sorrow, joy, regret and an acceptance. Sure it's a bit much at parts and has a long running time but there is something about everything coming together to try and thwart Television and showcase the grandioseness of cinema. I am quite aware of the irony that I watched this on my T.V. off of TCM but I still admire it for what it is.

Translate Translated from by Review by Blair Russell 🎄 ★★★★★ 4

In a review a bit longer than usual, I explained how this was experienced in Cinerama… well, a simulation of it, anyhow. In Turner Classic Movies played this motion picture last night and it was only my second viewing. I wrote about the first viewing way back in January 2015, where it was a theatrical presentation from Cinemark. It started late due to projectionist incompetence but instead of dwelling on that, I’ll mention that my giving the movie such a high score at the time was mainly for the theatrical experience and enjoying a movie usually shot at a distance on the big screen.

Of course, the movie was filmed in Cinerama, meaning it was to be displayed on three…

Translate Translated from by Review by Gregor Kreyca ★★★★½ 2

The story, here split into five segments covering the several decades and the lives and adventures of a family and its offspring’s, is a classic as it gets. And the cast is as grandiose as it gets with many famous faces popping up in large and small roles. But the real star and ultimately the reason why this movie is a must-watch experience, is “Cinerama”. What is Cinerama? Here’s as short lesson:

Cinerama is a widescreen film format where three synchronized 35mm projectors project images onto a large, deeply curved screen, creating a wide-angle, immersive viewing experience. Cinerama was made to impress and it certainly does. But showing films in that format was complicated and costly which is why only…

Translate Translated from by Review by Joe Lynch ★★★★ Liked

Look, I like movies shot wide but this may be the WIDEST film I’ve ever seen (at home it’s best to watch it in “SmileBox” format with the curved edges). But a sprawling epic on the history of the Wild West from multiple (sometimes connecting) storylines needs a scope that doesn’t just feel like a gimmick, even if the frame at times seems more like an IMAX demo than a storytelling tool.With a cast this insane and production value through the roof (the expendable horse budget alone must have been immense), it’s hard not to relish in this big, brash, last gasp at earnest Westerns before the more cynical Spaghetti Western became popular.Long live VistaVision and the SmileBox format!

Translate Translated from by Review by Bruno Andrade ★★★★ 17

(a cotação do episódio do Ford, The Civil War, que é o que estou comentando aqui, é **** ½)

Então, sobre dialética:

no meio de um filme em episódios chamado How the West Was Won, ser o responsável pelo episódio que poderia se chamar How the West Was Lost.

De resto, algumas anotações.

It is probably well that we had the war when we did. We are better off now than we would have been without it, and have made more rapid progress than we otherwise should have made. The civilized nations of Europe have been stimulated into unusual activity, so that commerce, trade, travel, and thorough acquaintance among people of different nationalities, has become common; whereas, before, it was…

Translate Translated from by Review by Dan Abel ★★★½ Liked

"There ain't much glory in lookin' at a man with his guts hanging out..."

The Prescott family makes their way west in the 1830s in search of a better life. This is the tale of that family through the generations leading to the end of the century. A tale of discovery, betrayal, adventure, hardship, death, and love.

How the West Was Won is a western epic that spans two hours and forty-five minutes, so make sure to clear some time in your day before popping this one in. In fact it's a whopping seven minutes and thirty seconds of a complete rendition of oh shenandoah and intro credits before the film even gets going. Yikes!

From the mid to late…

Translate Translated from by Review by Zoë 🐛 ★★★½

I was not expecting to like this as much as I did. With a title like How the West Was Won, I was ready for 2 hours and 45 minutes of Manifest Destiny propaganda and historical revisionism. While this is certainly that, it was to a far less extent than I expected, and it addresses white businessmen breaking agreements and encroaching on Native American land, which is the bare minimum for addressing the colonialism and genocide caused by Western expansion, but it's better than just painting Native Americans as enemies.

Debbie Reynolds is the closest the film gets to a main character, dominating both the first and second storyline (there are three overall, each with a different director). She's excellent…

Translate Translated from by

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