O Poder da Mulher

John McIntire approaches wagonmaster Robert Taylor with an interesting job and challenge. He wants to bring brides west to the settlement he's founded in the southwest United States. Taylor hires on a bunch of hands to escort the women and issues a no fraternization policy. When one of them tries to rape one of them, he shoots him out of hand. It's the unsettled frontier and as wagonmaster he's the law on that train as much as a captain on a ship at sea. Of course the hands mutiny and strand Taylor, McIntire, cook Henry Nakamura and the women.

This was a perfect western film for the post Rosie the Riveter generation. No reason at all why women couldn't deal with the rigors of a wagon train. Of course it helped to have the formidable Hope Emerson along.

Of course men and women will be men and women and Taylor breaks his own no fraternization policy with Denise Darcel. Of course this is away from the train when Darcel runs off.

William Wellman delivers us a no frills unsentimental western with gritty performances by Robert Taylor and the rest of the cast. In a bow to his colleague John Ford, Wellman does have a courtship dance at the settlement. I liked the use of the fiddle music playing Believe Me With All Those Endearing Young Charms and Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes. Ford couldn't have staged it better.

Henry Nakamura had made a big hit in MGM's Go For Broke about the Nisei division in Italy. He was a funny little guy, I'm not sure he was even five feet tall. I loved the scene when he and Taylor find a stash of buried liquor and proceed on a toot. This was his last film though, roles for oriental players were hard to come by. I wonder whatever happened to him.

If you like traditional cowboy films, this one ain't for you, but given the constraints of 19th century society for the role of woman Westward the Women is quite a revelation.

This is a William Wellmann's tour de force!In spite of the conventional macho Taylor,everything rings true ,this film has a smell of authenticity¨.Performances are so good (all the actors and mainly actresses) and nobody overacts .Sometimes it looks like a Russian movie,where the masses are the main hero.The fact that outside of English,THREE other languages are used (Italian,French and Japanese) shows Wellmann's respect for his audience.It's something to hear Denise Darcel sing "auprès de ma blonde " -a song from the seventeenth century- in the middle of the desert !

Some sequences are absolutely admirable ,I will mention three of them:

-the "recruitment" , the two women who hit the bull's-eyes (here a sheriff's eyes on a poster),the Italian family who registers without knowing what terrible fate lies in store for them (if they made a remake,I wonder what the politically correct world of 2004 would make of the little boy)

-After the attack,the women ,like in an army tell all the names of the dead.An echo adds to the poignancy of the situation.

-And last but not least,the survivors,who are still women,show their coquetterie and demand new clothes to meet their men.

Actually,it's the whole film which is in turn tragic,funny ,poetic,and wonderful.The gauche attitude of the men when they meet their future wives is a delight.

SPOILER:The key to the film is the birth of a child ,under the blistering sun of the desert;after the awful death of the little Italian boy,it gives hope back to the women and (to the audience).It' s the promise for them all that new children will soon be born and carry on their mammoth task.

A Russian western describes this remarkable work.

NB:Although French,Denise Darcel never made a movie in her native country.

I've seen this film two or three times. I loved to see these courageous and valiant women fighting their way through the West (crossing mountains and deserts and fighting off hostile Indians). One of my favorite moments is the fight between two girls, after one has broken the other's glasses. No rolling on the floor screaming, scratching and pulling each others hair - no, THESE girls use their fists and give each other many a punch in the mouth. Hope Emerson does a great job, too. Oh yes, and Robert Taylor was also in it! O.K., that was a joke, Taylor is quite good as the Scout, who has to guide the women to California, but these women are the real stars of this film!

This western is gritty and realistic, and does not spare the audience from the grim facts of an overland trek from St. Louis to California with a wagon train of women (the "weaker" sex, right?

As far as I know, this movie has no rival in its subject matter, and the stars are magnificent. You will laugh and you will cry, but most of all, you will come away with a deep admiration of those hearty pioneers and especially those wonderful women. I have the video in my library!

Between 1930 and 1960, 97% of all movies (that's 14729239520520 films) were westerns--or so it would seem. And, sadly, almost all of them have one of about five different plots and variations on these plots. Because of this, I really have very little patience with the genre--though I must admit that I have reviewed quite a few westerns. The ones I like are often ones that are somehow a bit better--despite the familiar plots, fine acting and direction make them watchable. Rarely, very rarely, do I see one that not only has fine acting, direction AND a novel plot--and all that is in "Westward the Women".

The film begins in a remote part of the old west--so remote that there are no women for all the men. Because of this, the men hire a tough trail boss (Robert Taylor) to recruit the women and bring them to a small outpost. The problem, however, is that the only way is a long trek across the prairie--through Indian land and desert. These women sure have to be tough--otherwise they'll never make it. And, in fact, unlike any other western I can think of, many of the women DON'T.

What also makes this a very good film are the nice little characters within the film. So it's NOT just a Robert Taylor film but excels because of the fine ensemble cast. One of the standouts is Hope Emerson--a brawny actress who made a name for herself playing gangsters and other scary characters.

Overall, there's not a lot to dislike about the film and it's a nice little story about American history you don't normally hear. Worth seeing and a top-notch production--with a real lump-in-your-throat ending. Sweet, sentimental and exciting.