How the West Was Won (Spencer Tracy - Narrator) (1962)
The history of Western expansion in the United States as told by the story of one
pioneer family's history. Zebulon Prescott takes his family from New York, heading
West in the early 1800s. His children and grandchildren eventually reach the Western
shore after years of hardship, war, and struggle.
The fifty years of American westward expansion between the 1830s and 1880s are
viewed through the experiences of the Prescott and Rawlings families, as they migrate
by the Erie Canal, continue over the prairies from St. Louis during the California gold
rush, suffer through the Civil War, and finally help build the railroads on the plains and
bring law and justice to the frontier. Along the way they meet mountain men, journey
by wagon train, deal with Native Americans, and face outlaws in the southwest.
Directed by John Ford
(segment "The Civil War")
Henry Hathaway (segments "The Rivers", "The Plains" and "The Outlaws")
George Marshall (segment "The Railroad")
Richard Thorpe (uncredited) (transitional historical sequences)
Writing credits: John Gay, ames R. Webb
Cast:
Spencer Tracy .... Narrator (voice)
Carroll Baker .... Eve Prescott Rawlings
Lee J. Cobb .... Marshal Lou Ramsey
Henry Fonda .... Jethro Stuart
Carolyn Jones .... Julie Rawlings
Karl Malden .... Zebulon Prescott
Gregory Peck .... Cleve Van Valen
George Peppard .... Zeb Rawlings
Robert Preston .... Roger Morgan
Debbie Reynolds .... Lilith 'Lily' Prescott
James Stewart .... Linus Rawlings
Eli Wallach .... Charlie Gant
John Wayne .... Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
Richard Widmark .... Mike King
Brigid Bazlen .... Dora Hawkins
Walter Brennan .... Col. Jeb Hawkins
David Brian .... Lilith's attorne
Andy Devine .... Cpl. Peterson
Raymond Massey .... Abraham Lincoln
Agnes Moorehead .... Rebecca Prescott
Harry Morgan .... Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Thelma Ritter .... Agatha Clegg
Mickey Shaughnessy .... Deputy Stover
Russ Tamblyn .... Confederate deserter
Rodolfo Acosta .... Gant gang member
Mark Allen .... Colin Harvey
Beulah Archuletta .... Indian woman
Robert Banas .... Dance Hall Dancer
Willis Bouchey .... Surgeon
Charlie Briggs .... Flying Arrow Barker
Paul Bryar .... Auctioneer's assistant
Walter Burke .... Wagon poker player
Polly Burson .... Stock player
Kim Charney .... Sam Prescott
Ken Curtis .... Cpl. Ben
John Damler .... Lawyer
Christopher Dark .... Poker player with Cleve
Kem Dibbs .... Blacksmith
Craig Duncan .... James Marshall
Ben Black Elk Sr. .... Arapajo chief
Jay C. Flippen .... Huggins
Sol Gorss .... River pirate
Tom Greenway
James Griffith .... Poker player with Cleve
Barry Harvey .... Angus Harvey
William Henry .... Staff officer
Jerry Holmes .... Railroad clerk
Roy Jenson .... Henchman
Claude Johnson .... Jeremiah Rawlings
Jack Lambert .... Gant henchman
John Larch .... Grimes
Stanley Livingston .... Prescott Rawlings
J. Edward McKinley .... Auctioneer
Harry Monty
Bob Morgan .... Member of train robbery gang
Boyd 'Red' Morgan
Robert Nash .... Lawyer
Cliff Osmond .... Bartender
Tudor Owen .... Parson Alec Harvey
Harvey Parry .... Henchman
Jack Pennick .... Cpl. Murphy
Gil Perkins .... Henchman
Red Perkins .... Union soldier
Buddy Red Bow .... Native Man
Walter Reed
Chuck Roberson .... Officer
Victor Romito .... Henchman
Jamie Ross .... Bruce Harvey
Gene Roth .... Riverboat poker player
Bryan Russell .... Zeke Prescott
Danny Sands .... Trapeze man
Joe Sawyer .... Riverboat officer
Jeffrey Sayre .... Auction spectator
Harry Dean Stanton .... Gant henchman
Clinton Sundberg .... Hylan Seabury
Karl Swenson .... Train conductor
Ken Terrell .... River pirate
Lee Van Cleef .... River pirate
William Wellman Jr. .... Officer #2
Harry Wilson .... Cattleman at barricade
Carleton Young .... Poker player with Cleve
Produced by Bernard Smith .... producer
Original Music by Ken Darby (associate)
Alfred Newman (also song "How the West Was Won")
Non-Original Music by Thomas Hastings (song "Rock of Ages")
Louis Lambert (song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home")
Cinematography by William H. Daniels (segment "The Plains")
Milton R. Krasner (segment "The Outlaws")
Joseph LaShelle (segments "The Civil War" and "The Railroads")
Charles Lang (segment "The Rivers")
Film Editing by Harold F. Kress
Art Direction by George W. Davis, William Ferrari, Addison Hehr
Set Decoration by Henry Grace
Don Greenwood Jr. Jack Mills
Costume Design by Walter Plunkett, Ron Talsky
Makeup Department Sydney Guilaroff .... hair stylist
William Tuttle .... makeup designer
Jay Sebring .... hair designer: Henry Fonda/George Peppard
Production Management Thomas Conroy .... production supervisor: Cinerama
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director George Marshall Jr. .... assistant director
William McGarry .... assistant director
Robert Saunders .... assistant director
William Shanks .... assistant director
Wingate Smith .... assistant director
Richard Talmadge .... second unit director
Sound Department Franklin Milton .... recording supervisor
Van Allen James .... sound editor
Special Effects by Bob Overbeck .... special effects crew
Visual Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie .... special visual effects
Robert R. Hoag .... special visual effects
Stunts May Boss .... stunts
Polly Burson .... stunts
Frank Cordell .... stunts
Everett Creach .... stunts
John Epper .... stunts
Richard Farnsworth .... stunts
Sol Gorss .... stunts
Fred Graham .... stunts
Johnny Hagner .... stunts
Donna Hall .... stunt double: Debbie Reynolds
Chuck Hayward .... stunts
Charles Horvath .... stunts
Loren Janes .... stunt double: Debbie Reynolds
Loren Janes .... stunts
Roy Jenson .... stunts
Leroy Johnson .... stunts
Eddie Juaregui .... stunts
Cliff Lyons .... stunts
Ted Mapes .... stunts
Troy Melton .... stunts
Louise Montana .... stunts
Bob Morgan .... stunts
Boyd 'Red' Morgan .... stunts
Hal Needham .... stunts
Harvey Parry .... stunts
Gil Perkins .... stunts
Carl Pitti .... stunts
Rusty Richards .... stunts
Chuck Roberson .... stunt double: John Wayne
Chuck Roberson .... stunts
Victor Romito .... stunts
Ronnie Rondell Jr. .... stunts
Danny Sands .... stunts
Dean Smith .... stunts
Richard Talmadge .... stunt coordinator
Bob Terhune .... stunts
Ken Terrell .... stunts
Autry Ward .... stunts
Troy Ward .... stunts
Jack Williams .... stunts
Henry Wills .... stunts
Jack Young .... stunts
Joe Yrigoyen .... stunts
Other crew:
Sammy Cahn .... lyricist: "Home in the Meadow"
Ken Darby .... lyricist: "How the West Was Won"
Robert Emmett Dolan .... music coordinator
Dave Guard .... singer: folk songs
Charles K. Hagedon .... color consultant
Johnny Mercer .... lyrics adaptor: "Raise a Ruckus", "Wait for the Hoedown",
and "What Was Your Name in the States?"
Harold E. Wellman .... photographer: second unit
The Whiskeyhill Singers .... music performers: folk songs
Ken Darby .... choral director
Robert Emmett Dolan .... music adaptor: "Home in the Meadow"
Robert Fuca .... assistant set costumer
Mike Henry .... negative cutter
Bill Johnson .... camera operator
James V. King .... camera operator: second unit
Owen Marsh .... assistant camera
Owen Marsh .... video technician
Alfred Newman .... conductor
Pete G. Papanickolas .... grip
Agustus Montague Toplady .... lyricist: "Rock of Ages"
Runtime: 162 min
Country: USA
Language: English / Arapaho
Color: Color (Technicolor) (credited as Metrocolor)
Sound Mix: 4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) / Cinerama 7-Track
(Westrex Recording System)
Certification: Argentina:Atp / Australia:G / Chile:TE / Finland:K-16 /
orway:12 / Portugal:12 (censored version) / Spain:7 / Sweden:11 /
UK:PG (video rating) (1986) (cut) / UK:PG (video re-rating) (1995) (uncut)
/ UK:U (original rating) / USA:G (1970) / West Germany:12
Trivia: Some stock footage from other (non-Cinerama) epics were used. The Mexican
army marching past the Alamo came from The Alamo (1960) and a civil war battle
was taken from Raintree County (1957). The final scenes of the modern U.S. were
from This Is Cinerama (1952).No ordinary "single-camera" version was filmed
simultaneously with the Cinerama version, resulting in two noticeable dividing lines
on the non-Cinerama theater prints, video, TV and DVD versions (indicating the three synchronized film strips originally used). The same problem occurred with the other
Cinerama film in release at the time, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
(1962), which had not been shot in a "single-camera" version either. Both were MGM films.Since the three lenses of the Cinerama camera sat at angles to each other on
the camera itself, it was very problematic for actors to film a scene as they would in
front of a single-lensed camera. When their images were projected onto the three
panels of the Cinerama screen, it would appear as though the actors were looking
either slightly up-screen or slightly down-screen, and not directly at their fellow actors.
This is very evident in a few scenes in the previous Cinerama film, The Wonderful
World of the Brothers Grimm (1962). However, by the time this film went into
production, this problem was solved somewhat. In order to compensate for the lens
angles, actors would have to look one-third of the way in and toward the camera, and
pretend that they were looking at their fellow actors. Hence, when their images were
projected onto the Cinerama screen, it would appear as though they were looking at
each other. It was a very difficult process for actors, which is one of the reasons that
three-panel Cinerama was abandoned for narrative films after this film was released.
Goofs: Plot holes: No explanation of why Sheriff Ramsey is fine in one scene and
wearing a bandage on his forehead in the next, immediately following.Errors made
by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): While she is refusing
Morgan's proposal, Lilith's shoulder strap is on/off her shoulder between shots.
Quotes: Mike King: Why did you bring those bodies here?
Jethro Stuart: They're railroaders. I thought somebody in the railroad might be
interested. Mike King: I'm the railroad and I'm not interested!
Awards: Won 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations.
Tagline: It's here! The mightiest adventure ever filmed!
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