Westbound (1959)

Don't let the Fact that this is Considered the Least of the Seven Movies in the Budd Boetticher-Randolph Scott Westerns that helped Redefine the Genre, keep You from checking it out, because it is still Above Average among the enormous Amount of "Product" released in the Decade. The Director all but Disowned it and Reflected on it with Disdain. But Objectively and Apart from the Personal, it has some Powerful Scenes and Delivers the Goods. A True Auteur, Boetticher couldn't Make a Bad Film even when His Heart was Elsewhere.The North-South Conflict seems Familiar on the Surface. The Telling and Retelling of the Deep Divide is Part of the National Template. Here, the Story is Distilled to a Small but important Town that is Essential, We are Told, for the Union to Finance its part with Gold Shipments and Scott is sent "Westbound".Returning, He Finds it Sympathetic to the South and the Tension Begins. The Romantic Subplots are Supported by Two Stunning Blondes (Karen Steele and Virginia Mayo) who Light Up the Screen with Warner Color Beauty. Prejudices are in Full Display and a Rebel's Humiliation, in one of the very First and Unforgettable Scenes, makes it Clear where the Sympathy Lies. The Director's Visual Flare and Terse Violence are Evident, and a Stage Coach Crash is a Standout. The Musical Score is also Memorable.Michael Pate and Henry Duggan as the Lead Villains make Their Mark and Overall, the Film is a Suspenseful Entertainment and Respectfully, Despite the Director's Dismissing, in Retrospect, He Could be Proud.

There is a lot of experience in this 1959 Randolph Scott film. Scott is about 62 when this one was shot and it shows. He is still a good actor but the script makes him a romantic lead and that is a bit of a stretch here. Both the ladies are less than 40.Virginia Mayo at 39 is still quite fetching though she really has a small role. The younger Karen Steele, oh mama, looks like she has a body that will not quit. There are scenes with both women together and it is kind of like dueling blonde's on the screen in this Technicolor B feature. The plot is really far fetched. The Union needs gold shipped from the West Coast in order to continue financing weapons to fight the Confederates? The Union had all the factories so this makes little sense. It does give the actors something to fight about - Confederates stealing gold shipments, but I doubt in 1864 it could have been a factor to change the war.The color and the cast and the best looking women in many a Western gives this one some eye candy in case you have trouble with the rather predictable plot.

Out of Warner Brothers and filmed in Warnercolor, Westbound is directed by Budd Boetticher & written by Berne Giler & Albert Shelby LeVino. It stars Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo, Karen Steele, Michael Dante, Andrew Duggan & Michael Pate. The story is set in 1864 during the American Civil War where Scott plays John Hayes, the man charged with the task of running the Overland Stage Line between California and Julesburg, Colorado. The function of which is to transport gold and the mail to aid the Union war effort. In Julesburg, Hayes finds a host of problems with Confederate sympathisers led by Clay Putnam (Duggan), who also happens to be married to Norma (Mayo), an old flame of Hayes.Of the seven Western film's that Boetticher and Scott made, Westbound is widely regarded as the weakest. Not part of the Ranown cycle they did that featured Harry Joe Brown on production and Burt Kennedy screen writing, it is a decent, if disposable, Western movie. The story is actually rather enticing, but with such a small running time and a condensed location shoot, the movie is never quite able to lay down some solid footings for the characters to flourish from. This leaves the supporting actors either exposed to their failings as thesps (Duggan is particularly bad), or playing underdeveloped participants (sadly the case with Mayo).However, this being Boetticher & Scott it does have some nice passages to take in, unsurprisingly the best of which is when Scott is on screen. Be it cocking a rifle with one hand, throwing one of his best ever punches, squaring off against Pate's effective turn as henchman Mace; or laying on some reflective emotion around the two ladies of the piece, Scott is always captivating. What action there is is attention grabbing for the budget and David Buttolph provides a perky score that's at its best during the stagecoach sequences. With the exteriors primarily filmed at the Warner Ranch, J. Peverell Marley is able to photograph enough of the grassy hilled scenery to make an easy on the eye impact.Enjoyable and safe fare for Western fans, but very much a low key affair from the normally dynamite partnership of director & star. 6/10

Agree with other viewers that "Westbound" is the least of the seven Budd Boettcher/Randolph Scott westerns. But the assured work of both Director Boettcher and Star Scott take this up a notch or two from the run-of-the-mill fifties oater. Nice work too from Michael Pate as the arch villain (watch the way he moves). And it's good to see Virginia Mayo, even in a throwaway role. In most other respects, though, this just isn't up to Boettcher's other work with Scott, and the fact Boettcher dismissed and virtually disowned it is no surprise. The movie lacks the tough, lean feel that makes the others real classics that can be seen over and over. One viewing is enough for "Westbound."