Westbound

1958

Drama / Western

IMDb Rating 6.5/10 10 1683 1.7K

gold colorado

Plot summary

As the Civil War spills our nation’s blood, Capt. John Hayes fights on a vital but little-known battlefront. He aims to ship gold to Union banks through a small Colorado town, defying Southern sympathizers who aim to stop him at any cost.

Director

Budd Boetticher Photo
Budd Boetticher

Top cast

Clyde Howdy Photo
Clyde Howdy as Witness to Stagecoach Accident
Michael Dante Photo
Michael Dante as Rod Miller
Jack Williams Photo
Jack Williams as Henchman
Mack Williams Photo
Mack Williams as Col. Vance
720p.WEB
633.09 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
29.97 fps
1 hr 8 min
Seeds 21

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by 6 / 10

A lesser Budd Boetticher and Randolph Scott collaboration

Reviewed by 6 / 10

The absence of a Burt Kennedy script is very evident.

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
Reviewed by 6 / 10

Two Blondes & A Western

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