Convoi de femmes

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.

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!

A brilliant slice of pioneer-era Americana. In no other movie that comes to mind was there such a realistic portrayal of the Old West and its numerous perils than in this faithfully told story of pioneer women crossing the harsh western U.S. wilderness of 1850 from Missouri to California.

The ladies are responding to an ad placed by a leader (on behalf of several other men) in a pioneer settlement out in California for wives. These tenderfoot ladies may be looking for husbands, but there's nothing "weak" about them at all. They not only bravely face the hardships, dangers, and tragedies of the journey, but they soon learn how to handle their own with toughness and grit.

The story unfolds clearly due to a finely structured and developed script. The intertwining stories are well told and well acted. The mostly female cast are all strong, and Robert Taylor as "Buck," the guide and leader of the wagon train seems to enjoy the task of having dozens of female leads surrounding him. John McIntyre as the patriarchal Mr. Whitman (who hires Buck) is good, while Buck's friend, confidant, and comic-relief guy Ito is also a well-rounded character.

The ending is one of the most heartwarming ever in a western; this is the kind of movie that can be watched over and over again.

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.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film about a group of women being led by Robert Taylor's character to their new town. They are a motley bunch but pull together when the men desert them to travel and start a new life with the men they have chosen to be their husbands. Robert Taylor is fantastic as the man being taken to take them through, even though he believes it to be an impossible task. There are some genuinely touching moments in this movie, I had to have my tissues handy in places, but it is well worth a watch. One of the best Westerns I have seen and even better because the women have the chance to take centre stage for a change.