Western Union - Der Überfall der Ogalalla

While escaping from a heist of a bank, the outlaw Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott) helps Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger), the chief-engineer of the Western Union that is surveying the Wild West and had had an accident with a horse. In 1861, Vance regenerates and is hired to work for the Western Union with the team that is installing the poles and cable from Omaha to Salt Lake City. Vance and the engineer from Harvard Richard Blake (Robert Young) flirt with the gorgeous Edward's sister Sue Creighton (Virginia Gilmore) and she chooses Vance. However, his past haunts him when the outlaw Jack Slade (Barton MacLane) steals the Western Union cattle disguised of Indians.

"Western Union" is a good but predictable western directed by Fritz Lang. The story shows the difficulties of the brave and idealistic men responsible for installing the telegraph through the West, facing thieves and Indians. The entertaining story has action, drama, romance and funny situations, but with the exception of the identity of Jack Slade, there is no surprise in the story. Randolph Scott gives another magnificent performance with a great cast. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Conquistadores" ("The Conquerors")

Hard to believe this was directed by Fritz Lang since he mostly directed crime dramas and mysteries. This movie has a cast that includes Robert Young, Randolph Scott, Dean Jagger and John Carradine. Scott plays an outlaw who tries to go straight and leave his old gang and winds up saving Jagger's life. Jagger works for Western Union, a telegraph company that plans to have telegraphs out west. Jagger hires a lot of men to make sure it is done because they have to worry about Indian attacks and bandits. Scott is in charge of the men and Young is a telegraph expert who can't shoot a gun but can ride. Scott meets up with his old gang who want to stop them but Scott can't tell anyone. It's a pretty good western and Lang should of directed some more westerns.

This movie is so cute! Marketed as a western that chronicles the advent of the Western Union telegraph office and telephone lines, it doesn't exactly scream cute, but it is. Randolph Scott provides enough eye candy to turn any movie cute, but it's not just he who turns the film into an educational western into a feisty, flirty comedy-it's Robert Young, too.

Prior to this movie, I'd been known to not particularly like Robert Young, but this was one of the first to make me really change my mind about him. He's so adorable in this movie! Virginia Gilmore is the love interest, and while a young Dean Jagger is crossed off the list due to his brotherly relationship, she has to choose between Scottie and Robert. When Scottie comes in the picture, he's impossible to resist. He's handsome, he knows how to ride a horse-thanks to his WWI service days-and he's got a shady past. In short, he's a cow-bad-boy with an authentic Southern accent.

Then, Robert shows up. He's a total dandy, but absolutely adorable. He's smart, charming, and puts the fun in sarcasm. In his first scene, he meets Virginia and she taps out a message in Morse code in the telegraph office to her coworkers making fun of the well-dressed gentleman. Robert merely smirks and, completely devoid of smugness, corrects her spelling. "I don't know what you're talking about," she sniffs indignantly. "Yeah, but I know what you're talking about," he smiles. He's irresistible, too!

In my favorite scene, Robert pays a call on Virginia late in the evening. Scott has beaten him to the office, so he's not allowed any romantic time with her. She ends up sending them both away, and laughing, they realize-alongside the audience-that they can't help but like each other even though they're rivals. It's really impossible to choose between them.

The second of Fritz Lang's three westerns (after "The Return of Frank James" and before "Rancho Notorious").

This is one of those "company" westerns, showing history being made, or at least some version of history, as some big company struggled to connect the East and the West, this time by telegraph.

Within this style, I did enjoy DeMille's Union Pacific (1939) a bit more, although this one is very entertaining and has several things going on for it.

The scenery photography is stunning, taking advantage of the early Technicolor. Also, the central conflict, with a convincing Randolph Scott trying to escape his criminal past and the shadow of his brother, was pleasantly poignant, with a good final shoot-out. The movie has a good pace too, at least in its second half, with plenty of action.

On the minus side, although very competently-made, it is a bit by the numbers, with the usual comical relief characters, ridiculous Indians, and in general few surprises (other reviewers were surprised by the ending, but in this case I was expecting it).

This is certainly quite common in classic westerns, but the romance seems to be included out of duty more than because it's an integral part of the plot.

Fritz Lang's "Western Union" is a entertaining movie with good heroes in Randolph Scott,the strong and silent man trying to escape his outlaw past,Robert Young as the easterner trying to conform to the code of the wild west,and Dean Jagger as the determined boss of the Western Union gang.I think the acting honors go to Dean Jagger who is very good in his part. Randolph Scott found his prototype of western hero in this movie and would play variations of that type in westerns to come for the next two decades.The movie looks very good in early Technicolor. Barton MacLane makes a good villain.I enjoyed this western much,although I consider it pretty standard stuff.