How The West Was Won (1962) - Radio Times

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How the West Was Won

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❚ We may earn commission from links on this page. Our editorial is always independent (learn more). How the West Was WonSave

• Drama
• Western

• 1962
• John Ford
• 160 mins
• PG

Summary

Epic western starring James Stewart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds and Henry Fonda. Heading west in the 1830s, New England farmer Zebulon Prescott and his family begin a mammoth journey. From the rivers to the plains, through conflict with Indian tribes and the Civil War, the building of the railroad and encounters with legendary outlaws, their journey is a spectacular chronicle, and the great American adventure.

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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.Tony Sloman

This epic re-creation of the settling of the American West seen through the eyes of a single family is one of only two narrative films made in three-camera Cinerama - if you look very carefully you can see the joins in its widescreen version. To match the scale of the movie, it also has a truly all-star cast with the likes of James Stewart and Gregory Peck pairing up with feisty pioneering women such as Carroll Baker and Debbie Reynolds. Genre icons John Wayne, Henry Fonda and Richard Widmark also make significant appearances. Of the three credited directors, Henry Hathaway shot the all-star Rivers, Plains and Outlaws sections, George Marshall filmed that dangerous stunt-work on the railroad and the great John Ford directed the splendid American Civil War sequence, beginning with a marvellous slice of widescreen action, as surgical tables are sluiced down, seeming to drown the audience. A massive undertaking at the time, it really is true to say they don't make them like this any more. Alas, the total impact will inevitably be dwarfed on your average television.

How to watch

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Credits

Cast

role	name
Linus Rawlings	James Stewart
General William T Sherman	John Wayne
Cleve Van Valen	Gregory Peck
Jethro Stuart	Henry Fonda
Eve Prescott	Carroll Baker
Marshal Lou Ramsey	Lee J Cobb
Julie Rawlings	Carolyn Jones
Zebulon Prescott	Karl Malden
Zeb Rawlings	George Peppard
Roger Morgan	Robert Preston
Lilith Prescott	Debbie Reynolds
Charlie Gant	Eli Wallach
Mike King	Richard Widmark
Dora Hawkins	Brigid Bazlen
Colonel Hawkins	Walter Brennan
Attorney	David Brian
Corporal Peterson	Andy Devine
Abraham Lincoln	Raymond Massey
Rebecca Prescott	Agnes Moorehead
General Ulysses S Grant	Harry Morgan
Agatha Clegg	Thelma Ritter
Narrator	Spencer Tracy
Confederate deserter	Russ Tamblyn
Corporal Ben	Ken Curtis
Gant henchmen	Harry Dean Stanton
River pirate	Lee Van Cleef

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Crew

role	name
Director	John Ford
Director	Henry Hathaway
Director	George Marshall
Director	Richard Thorpe

Details

Theatrical distributorCinerama LtdLanguagesEnglishGuidanceViolence. Available onvideo, DVD and Blu-rayFormatsColourAdAdAd

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