Review of How the West Was Won (1962) by Grant S — 01 Mar 2012
OK. Incredibly ambitious, to incorporate the entire history of the United States' exploration and development of the west through a family history. However, the movie's reach exceeds its grasp. The linkages between the generations of characters and US history sometimes seems contrived and trite. With so much ground to cover, some events are skimmed over.
The whole thing just doesn't gel as well as it should. Might have something to do with the fact that each set of characters is treated as a separate story, almost entirely different from the others, and has a different director (John Ford, George Marshall, Henry Hathaway).
Probably the best reason to watch is for the all-star cast: James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda, John Wayne (miscast as General Sherman), Debbie Reynolds, George Peppard, Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, with narration by Spencer Tracey.
This review of How the West Was Won (1962) was written by Grant S on 01 Mar 2012.
How the West Was Won has generally received positive reviews.
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