Western Union (1941)

★ 6.0 1h 35m IMDb

When Edward Creighton leads the construction of the Western Union to unite East with West, he hires a Western reformed outlaw and a tenderfoot Eastern surveyor. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in 2000.

Western Union

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Cast

Robert Young
Robert Young as Richard Blake Died 1998 · Chicago, Illinois, USA Robert George Young  (February 22, 1907 – July 21, 1998) was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best (NBC and t...
Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott as Vance Shaw Died 1987 · Orange County, Virginia, USA George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American actor, best known for his roles in Western films. His career spanned from 1928 to 1962, during which he appeared in over 100 fi...
Dean Jagger
Dean Jagger as Edward Creighton Died 1991 · Columbus Grove, Ohio, USA Dean Jagger was an American film, stage, and television actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Twelve O'Clock High (1949). Other notable films in which Jagger appear...
Virginia Gilmore
Virginia Gilmore as Sue Creighton Died 1986 · El Monte, California, USA Virginia Gilmore (July 26, 1919 – March 28, 1986) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Description above from the Wikipedia article Virginia Gilmore, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full lis...
John Carradine
John Carradine as Doc Murdoch Died 1988 · New York City, New York, USA John Carradine (born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil...
Chill Wills
Chill Wills as Homer Kettle Died 1978 · Seagoville, Texas, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Chill Theodore Wills (July 18, 1902 – December 15, 1978) was an American film actor, and a singer in the Avalon Boys Quartet. He was a performer from early chi...

Audience Reviews

Wuchak 7/10 Nov 22, 2020
_**Adventures while setting up the telegraph line on the Great Plains**_

As the Civil War breaks out in 1861, a former outlaw (Randolph Scott) joins the team wiring what is now Nebraska and Wyoming for telegraph service. Dean Jagger plays the executive of the project while Robert Young is on hand as a “tenderfoot” from back East. Meanwhile Virginia Gilmore plays the potential romantic interest of the good-badman (Scott) and the heroic newcomer (Young).

Directed by Fritz Lang and based on the Zane Grey book, "Western Union" (1941) was a pretty big Western in its day and effectively mixes intrigue, action, romance and comedy. While Barton MacLane’s villainy as Jack Slade is too silent movie-ish and the geography is disingenuous, this ranks with the better Western epics of its era. The color and cinematography are wonderful and the AmerIndians are depicted in a non-cheesy, authentic manner.

The film runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Utah (Zion National Park & Kanab), Arizona (House Rock Canyon, Arizona) and 20th Century Fox Studios, Century City, Los Angeles.

GRADE: B
CinemaSerf 6/10 Apr 16, 2023
I wonder if Fritz Lang had these three imposed on him by the studio system or whether he chose them? Anyway, sadly the folks we have leading this interesting, pioneering, adventure don't really manage to raise the film from a rather procedural mediocrity - despite this being quite a fascinating story of determination and diplomacy. We start with "Shaw" (Randolph Scott) discovering the injured "Creighton" (Dean Jagger) whilst someone is being pursued by a posse. He helps the man to a nearby house where he abandons him to the well meaning folks who help him recover. It turns out that "Creighton" is a Western Union surveyor sent by the company to plan for the coming of the telegraph. Skip on a while and the two are reunited on the construction project, alongside the ostensibly more sophisticated "Blake" (Robert Young) with the two men soon vying for the affections of "Sue Creighton" (Virginia Gilmore) to bring a little (completely unnecessary) love triangle to this story. As the work proceeds, the men encounter hostiles, betrayal and even some subterfuge from aggrieved confederate soldiers - all whilst suspecting that "Slade" (Barton MacLane) is pulling the strings. The photography is impressive and the Zane Grey novel, like most of his work, is an exciting boys-own type of tale that adapts well to the screen with horse-chases, shoot-outs and a well shot conflagration at the end. It's just the actors. Scott is passable but the other two just don't cut it, I'm afraid. Pity, it could have been much better. As it is, it's still easy enough to watch, though.

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