I first saw this when a youngster in Cinerama, which then seemed awesome. I wasn't a particularly big fan of westerns, but they were still a big part of the film industry then and I saw whatever I could. I enjoyed this a lot and later remember seeing a botched version of this Cinerama process on TV and never looked at it again. Well, it's been restored and it is still pretty good entertainment if old fashioned westerns are your thing. This was pretty epic at the time and I recall being thrilled by the train sequence near the end. Obviously, the film's been greatly surpassed in terms of sheer excitement, but was fun to see again with its truly immense cavalcade of famous actors which some will be completely unknown to younger audiences and most are deceased, but that is part of the magic of film. They will be seen by new eyes forever. Despite its long length, this is sort of a Reader's Digest version of this part of American history beginning in 1830 through most of the 19th century. Despite all the famous names there is not one outstanding performance, which is peculiar, but this is a film, from three directors, that does not seem at all interested in actors other than moving pieces for a series of varied scenes throughout history. None are really bad, just routine, though the casting of Carroll Baker and George Peppard as mother and son takes some reality swallowing. The closest thing to a lead here is Debbie Reynolds, the only performer who appears in it throughout, but she, Baker & Peppard all suffer from some awful aging makeup. Reynolds gives it her all, sometimes too much of it, in what seems like an audition for her future Molly Brown. Again, this is fine, rousing old-fashioned entertainment. That Oscar for writing tells you volumes about the era in which this was made.
Review of How the West Was Won
