WESTWARD THE WOMEN: Blu-ray (MGM, 1951) Warner Archive
Today, the name Denise Darcel is
all but forgotten. It shouldn’t be. Because the girl voted ‘most beautiful in
France’ and, much later to earn the unflattering moniker, “Gallic to the
point of unintelligibility”, turning from cabaret singer to Hollywood
starlet, is chief among the assets in director, William A. Wellman’s sprawling
western saga, Westward the Women (1951), a project initially begun as a
Technicolor spectacle to have been directed by Frank Capra. It wound up in
Wellman’s capable hands instead, but alas - in B&W. Not that cinematographer, William C. Mellor’s
monochromatic landscapes lack for any visual resplendence. But oh, what they
must have appeared like in nature! Only a year before, Denise Darcel marked her
Broadway debut; the year before that, making inroads into a film career in MGM’s
otherwise all-male war epic, Battleground (1949). Wearing practically
nothing in Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950) opposite Lex Barker, got Darcel
noticed. She was, in point of fact, a looker. Afterward, Darcel continued to
appear in movies like, Young Man with Ideas (1952) and Dangerous When
Wet (1953), always in support of other stars. Westward the Women provides
Darcel with her best screen role, that of feisty Fifi Danon, just one of the
100+ mail-order brides on route from Chicago to California to civilize the west.
Westward the Women is full of
surprises, not the least, Henry Nakamura as Ito, a sort of Japanese Jiminy Cricket
for star, Robert Taylor’s one-dimensional wagon master, Buck Wyatt (originally
envisioned by Capra for Gary Cooper). Ito also becomes the humanizing force on
their journey together. Director, Wellman and producer, Dore Schary tailored this
part specifically to Nakamura, impressed by his turn in MGM’s 1951 programmer, Go
For Broke! And Nakamura, more than Taylor, rises to the occasion –
afforded memorable lines and a few choice scenes in which to distinguish
himself.
As for Wellman - his career dated
all the way back to the early pioneer days of film. The Massachusetts-born
Wellman, a direct descendent of one of the signatories to the Declaration of
Independence, swiftly directs with a certain dispensation for the niceties. He
was, truly, a uniquely rugged individualist, fired from an early appearance in 1919’s
Evangeline for slapping its star, Miriam Cooper. She also just happened
to be the wife of its director, Raoul Walsh. Nevertheless, Wellman made a powerful ally of
matinee idol, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. While
Wellman thought very little of acting as a profession, he was fascinated with
the behind-the-camera machinations and longed to direct. And thus, Wellman’s apprenticeship,
from messenger, to cutter, to property master, assistant director, second unit,
and finally, director began. With Wings (1927), Wellman achieved an
enviable notoriety. The picture swept the Oscars. But Wellman’s attention to
detail, resulting in budget overages, ensured he would not be invited to the
ceremony. Throughout the next two decades, Wellman endured as one of Hollywood’s
most hardnosed cinema realists, responsible for The Public Enemy (1931),
A Star Is Born (1937), Beau Geste (1939), The Ox-Bow Incident
(1943), and, Battleground (1949). Each movie is trademarked by Wellman’s
desire to create an unvarnished truth on the screen – a hallmark carried over
in Westward the Women.
There are moments of absolute
heartbreak and world-weary disbelief in Westward the Women, Wellman
unflinching as he directs with telescopically focused precision, cribbing from
a screenplay by Charles Schnee (based on Capra’s story idea). In a western
milieu, generally dominated by male protagonists, Westward the Women
puts a female face on the pioneer spirit. Ostensibly, the picture
stars Robert Taylor, with Denise Darcel’s credit just beneath his in the titles,
and then, predictably, a laundry list of ‘the others’ to appear in this
pantomime. But Wellman’s emphasis here is on the cavalcade of young brides come
to call on this rough and tumble terrain. Outside of Hope Emerson, as stern
Patience Hawley (and who once, in 1949’s Adam’s Rib, had the audacity to
hoist a reluctant, Spencer Tracy overhead by the scruff of his neck and seat of
his pants during that show’s courtroom antics), the remaining names in this
roster will mean absolutely nothing to most people. But Wellman is not casting
for ‘star’ quality; rather, personalities. And the ladies here are so well
chosen they achieve an uncanny believability; Julie Bishop as Laurie Smith, Lenore
Lonergan (Maggie O'Malley), Broadway’s Marilyn Erskine – in her film debut
(Jean Johnson), Beverly Dennis (Rose Meyers), Renata Vanni (Mrs. Moroni), Claire
Andre, Polly Burson, Mary Casiday, Doris Cole, Opal Ernie, Evelyn Finley and Cornelia
Flores (not even given character names). Nevertheless, these are strangely
familiar faces fitted into the craggy landscape, much of it lensed in Utah, with
a few stark departures to Mojave and Death Valley, California.
Plot-wise, we are plunged into
California territory, circa 1851. Optimist and pioneer frontiersman, Roy
Whitman (John McIntire) has brought civility to a small outpost nestled in this
land of milk and honey. There’s just one problem – in all his importing of men,
cattle, food stuffs and the like he forgot an essential necessary to keep the
momentum going – women! Plying wagon master, Buck Wyatt with a healthy stipend
to follow him on his cross-country trek to Chicago, to bring back ‘good women’
who will stabilize this male-dominated enclave, Roy and Buck soon encounter 138,
desiring monumental changes in their lives. Among this lot, Patience, a strong-willed widow
from New Bedford, and, Rose Meyers, pregnant and unwed, hoping to begin anew in
the territories. As there is to be no confusion, Buck illustrates some of the
harsh conditions they will have to endure on their journey, encouraging the ‘smart
ones’ to get out. None do. Roy also provides daguerreotype pictures of the men from
his town, encouraging the ladies to pre-select their mates. As Roy is against
attracting the ‘wrong’ kind of female, two showgirls, Fifi Danon and Laurie
Smith, hastily change into more modest attire and are, reluctantly, accepted to
partake on this journey.
Buck and Roy take the women to St.
Joseph, Missouri, where the necessary supplies and trail hands hired by Buck
await. Ito, a resolute, but optimistic Japanese man, convinces Buck to join the
troop as their cook. Buck forewarns his outriders – the women are for the men
back home. There will be no westward romances along the way, lest any man
attempting as much will either be driven off or take a bullet for his amorous
efforts. The most accomplished of these women are taught to harness draft
animals, shoot a rifle and drive the wagons. At the outset, optimism reigns
supreme. All does not go smoothly, however. Buck is forced to execute one of
his outriders (Archie Butler) for raping Laurie in the canyon. The rest of his
menfolk reassess the journey and, cowardly retreat in the middle of the night,
leaving only Buck, Roy, Ito, and a youthful outrider, Sid Cutler (Pat Conway)
to accompany the women. Sid has fallen in love with Rose, but remains a respectable
distance in her honor. Roy is skeptical the women will be able to do a ‘man’s
work.’ Nevertheless, he begins to train the ladies in the use of firearms.
Tragically, Mrs. Moroni’s 9-yr.-old son, Tony (Guido Martufi) is accidentally
killed during these practices. His overwrought mother refuses to leave his
grave, as does the boy’s loyal dog. Buck subdues Mrs. Moroni, placed in
Patience care, along with Rose.
All manner of tragedies intervenes.
A stampede, attack by Indians, and, a perilous descent into a steep canyon thin
out the travelers. Roy and Sid are killed during this attack, leaving only Buck
and Ito to complete the mission. Having laid claim to Buck’s heart, Fifi tries
to make Buck see things her way. However, only after a frustrated escape on
horseback into the canyon does Buck realize the depths of her affections. That
evening, a hellish thunderstorm undercuts the river bank. Fifi and Laurie's
wagon is overturned and, in the raging waters, Laurie is drowned. Approaching
the desert, Buck orders the wagons stripped of all but their essentials. The
ladies, brutally worn down, though still staunchly resolved to finish what they
started, comply. Rose goes into labor and, with Patience’s help, gives birth to
a health baby boy whom Mrs. Baroni, newly resurrected from her grief, oversees
with pride. Arriving at the tail end of their sojourn, the women refuse to
enter Whitman’s Valley unless they can properly beautify themselves for their
prospective mates. Buck rides ahead and orders the townsmen to gather what they
can in supplies. Now, the ladies, under their own accord, proudly ride into
town. Patience instructs the men they have chosen for themselves from Roy’s
photos. She proceeds to collect her fellow, whom she has nicknamed Mackeral
Face (George Chandler) from the lot. In the penultimate ‘meet and greet’, dance
and mass wedding ceremony, Mrs. Moroni is elated to discover her photo belongs
to an Italian citrus farmer (Zacharias
Yaconelli), while Rose’s potential suitor (David Sharpe) embraces her newborn as
his own. Ito coaxes Fifi to open her heart one last time to Buck. Though he had
previously sworn to forever remain a bachelor, Buck realizes Fifi is the only
woman for him. Together, they join the line in wait of the minister who will
marry them.
Westward the
Women is an extraordinarily nuanced and heartfelt western. It is the
unanticipated truth of the piece that continues to tug at our heartstrings,
though never in a contrived or artificial manner that degrades the hellish
sacrifices these hearty gals have made along the way. In just a little under
2-hours, Wellman finds ingenious ways to connect us to practically the entire
ensemble in some way. Even the ladies in the distant background seem destined
to become indelibly etched in our collective memory. While MGM publicity went
hard at work to promote the movie as a rare and epic experience, it did only modestly
respectable business at the box office. For MGM, however, Westward the Women
was, indeed, a monumental undertaking. In 1951, studio brass was still under
the delusion most any movie could be made within the confines of the studio’s
backlots. So, shipping cast and crew to Utah and the outer reaches of the
California desert was not only a costly departure, but a gamble. There are a
handful of rear-projection inserts. But most of what we see here is done
full-scale and in vastly inhospitable conditions under which our story actually
takes place.
When all was said and done, cast
and crew could unanimously enter this one in their ‘win’ columns. For star,
Robert Taylor, it had been a very busy year: trekking across the harsh tundra
in this pic, after having lensed truly titanic sequences for MGM’s colossus in
Rome - Quo Vadis. The one-time ‘pretty boy’ heartthrob of Metro’s thirties’
movieland daydreams, Robert Taylor would continue to star in an impressive
array of high-profile actioners and dramas until 1968, the year before his
death from lung cancer. That same year, Denise Darcel, having declared
bankruptcy in 1963, was arrested in Miami, for shoplifting women's
undergarments. Segueing between films and TV, John McIntire continued to appear
in lucrative projects, dying from lung cancer too, but at the ripe old age of
83 in 1991. Hope Emerson, whose stern, but comedic persona was well-exploited,
mostly on television after this movie, continued to work until her death from
liver disease, age 62, in 1960. And
Julie Bishop, whose prolific career dated back to 1923, but had only 4 more
movies to contribute to the screen before retiring, would outlast them all, dying
of pneumonia on her 87th birthday, August 30, 2001.
Westward the Women arrives on
Blu-ray via the Warner Archive (WAC). Despite being advertised as a new 4K
master off an original camera negative, the results here are not quite as
appealing as one might anticipate. WAC had previously released an MOD DVD. This
Blu, easily bests that offering with improved contrast, deeper blacks, and
overall, more fine detail revealed. There is, alas, some curious image
instability throughout this Blu-ray. Not gate weave, but some minor aliasing in
a handful of shots. Grain is thick. So is the image, in general. A handful of
day-for-night shots are so dark they obscure faces. There is also inconsistent
edge enhancement happening in background details. It’s intermittent and will
not be noticed on monitors 65 inches or less. But in projection, these
anomalies reveal themselves and are, if not distracting, then obvious
nonetheless. Finally, the end titles, featuring the cast in reprise, are
sourced from a fairly poor, grain-scrubbed and softly focused dupe. They look
atrocious. The 2.0 DTS audio is adequately represented. WAC has included the PR
junket made to promote the picture. It’s sourced from an older video-based
master and exhibits a ton of chroma bleeding. We also get two Tom and Jerry
cartoons, properly restored and remastered, and, a badly worn trailer. But the
very best extra is the audio commentary by author/historian, Scott Eyman. Eyman’s
work in print is well worth seeking out, particularly his biography on L.B.
Mayer – Lion of Hollywood. Herein, Eyman provides insightful backstory
that is only occasionally anecdotal and steeped in research he has obviously
done over the years, regarding cast and crew. Bottom line: Westward the
Women is a memorable western saga and a real testament to William A.
Wellman’s picture-making prowess. The Blu-ray is not perfect, which is
disappointing. It is, nevertheless, a fairly solid effort that belongs on
everyone’s top shelf of ‘must haves’. Highly recommended for content. Moderately
recommended for transfer quality. Judge and buy accordingly.
FILM RATING (out
of 5 – 5 being the best)
5
VIDEO/AUDIO
3
EXTRAS
3.5
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