The Way West

• Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
• May 24, 1967
• Based on the 1949 novel The Way West by A. B. Guthrie Jr.

A band of settlers travels the Oregon Trail in a covered wagon train across the American frontier of 1843.

It’s not a huge cast but it is one of great talent. The Way West stars Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark, Jack Elam, Sally Field, and even an uncredited Sam Elliot! That last one may be a bit of a stretch. There is an unevenness in the movie. It tries to be meaty and maybe a bit soapy but also family friendly to a certain measure. We have rape and teen pregnancy along with rousing adventure and grand visuals.

Kirk Douglas plays fictitious Senator William J. Tadlock who leads the wagon train to move hard and fast to Oregon with others pushing back for a more relaxed pace. He is a hard and tough man and perhaps the closest to a defined villain the story here gets. Tadlock takes practical yet cold actions that cause tensions to rise and undermine his already tenuous leadership. The pushback from the group comes from him being too mean.

Tadlock recruits guide Dick Summers (Robert Mitchum) who is nursing wounds from the death of his wife. Mitchum was a man of great range that almost never got to use it. Mitchum gives Summers a wisdom in his delivery and a world-weary look about him. Summers watches with a smile while being safely separate from events.

Richard Widmark is Captain Lije Evans and other than willing to go on another long journey I have no idea why he joined the wagon train. He has a home and his wife Rebecca (Lola Albright) does not really care to go while his son Brownie (Michael McGreevey) is borderline indifferent to have his whole existence uprooted on his father’s latest whim.

What contributes to the problems besides Tadlock’s heavy drive is a mixture of the characters’ own personal flaws and the unusual environment they find themselves in. Bigotry and inner demons like those belonging to the scumbag Johnnie Mack (Michael Witney) that first tries to rape his wife and then sleeps with the way too young Mercy McBee (Sally Field) that is quite the tease and puts the moves not only on the worst possible option but toys with Brownie until he develops feeling which she cannot initially reciprocate.

Summers plays father figure to Brownie as his father Lije is too involved in other aspects of the story to remind the audience that they are related. Brownie learns about love and life from Summers. Summers is such an influence that he not only convinces Brownie the initial emotional scraps which Mercy gives him are enough but that marriage to her and claiming he is the father of her child (to Johnnie) is a super good idea. It is to protect Mercy but Brownie looks like his testicles have yet to drop!

What confuses me is that Summers is revealed to be losing his sight. He’s not blind yet and not completely ineffectual but there is no obvious clue to the audience before Tadlock reveals that he knew it for a while. Huh? There is absolutely no hint of anything. No unnecessary squinting of the eyes or difficulty reading a book and so on. I just don’t get where Tadlock picked up on it. 

The narrative of The Way West is like a series of short little stories of the group’s trials and tribulations as they struggle to get to Oregon. That’s mixed in with doubt and the occasional desire to take a shorter trip to somewhere else-generally California. Tadlock is dealing with his inner demons. Summers is dealing with his personal issues. Evans though is problem free with not even so much as a cross word and doesn’t even seem to be quarreling with his wife who wanted to stay on their last farm.

This is a life-changing journey for the characters. Tadlock learns humility and genuine leadership. Summers learns there is still life to live. Brownie learns that love is not necessarily as simple as he thought while his dad learns that his wife is willing to go along with anything he wants to do on a whim. I keep coming back to the whole Evans marriage.

I do like a movie where not everybody is irredeemably terrible but on the same token I’m bothered when even the worst of them here get a level of redemption. Like Johnnie Mack who was cheating on his wife (whom he tried to rape) with Mercy who is barely 18 if that. At least I’m assuming Mercy is supposed to be close to such. The thing is Mr. Mack accidentally kills a boy right after he gets nookie from Mercy. He should’ve been a scumbag to the bitter end, but not only does he regret sleeping with the very young girl, he confesses to the accidental homicide and basically gives his life to save the group from the wrath of the tribe that the boy was from. Just too much nobility for a character like that.

Andrew V. McLaglen loved the panoramic vistas inherent in a story like this and did his best to showcase them in a manner that would make John Ford proud. The camera drives home just how wide open and unsettled this world they are entering is supposed to be.

The Native Americans portrayed in this while they do love their alcohol are not mindless savages. They have a code of conduct and honor that they hold to with a clear sense of right and wrong that is not unnavigable so hard though it is hard and fast. They are not even unreasonable individuals. What we get of them shows them to be very human. It is a more enlightened take than the stereotype of the Western would have you believe possible at the same time is less considering how quickly they come and go.

Then there is Jack Elam as preacher who really does nothing for the story. His big scene could have been covered by a nameless preacher character. Elam was one of the great character actors and to not give him something worthwhile as a threat or as comedic relief was a genuine mistake.

The Way West is a mixed bag. It tries to be tame yet also deep. I think it does an adequate job of straddling booth but that’s courtesy of fine performances from Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum. A good watch but not great.