Product Details

• Actors: Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark, Lola Albright, Sally Field
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Run Time: 122 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302718872
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,739 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

From a year that produced such groundbreaking "New Hollywood" films as Bonnie & Clyde and The Graduate, Andrew V. McLaglen's The Way West is an old-fashioned western--grandly shot on location by William Clothier--that did for Oregon what John Ford did for Monument Valley. Based on A.B. Guthrie, Jr.'s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Way West stars a steely Kirk Douglas as widowed senator William J. Tadlock, who is determined to "plant a new Jerusalem in the Oregon wilderness." Robert Mitchum costars as Dick Summers, a weary and grieving scout whom Tadlock persuades to help him lead the disparate group of "greenhorn storekeepers and tenderfoot farmers." A lively Richard Widmark also stars as restless Pennsylvania farmer Lije Evans, who's "got to go where I've not been." Traditional western action, including disastrous river crossings and Indian encounters, takes a backseat to the sudsy human dramas. Tadlock is a stern taskmaster who drives the settlers as mercilessly as John Wayne drove those cattle in Red River. At one point, he even makes a play for Evans' wife (Lola Albright). Sally Field makes a memorable screen debut as sexually precocious Mercy, "all hellfire and sin," and who seduces a newly married man whose wife refuses to consummate their marriage. Throw in the accidental shooting of an Indian boy, plus such welcome faces as Jack Elam and Stubby Kaye, and you have an epic adventure that western buffs will follow all the Way. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Star trio keeps this one on track, May 18, 1999

By 

B. W. Fairbanks "Brian W. Fairbanks" (Lakewood, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Way West [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, and starring the mightily impressive trio of Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Widmark, this epic western should be a lot better than it is. Despite the endless parade of cliches, stereotypes, and the soap opera mentality that permeates the script, those three stars make this an entertaining, if slow, ride. What really calls attention to the film these days is the presence of Sally Field in her film debut. In 1967, the year the film was released, who would have ever thought that Field, then still known primarily as TV's "Gidget," would go on to bag two Oscars, while only one of the superstar trio that heads the cast would take home the gold (and Kirk Douglas's Oscar was an honorary one at that).

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Unofficial Remake of The Big Trail, June 29, 2008

By 

Erik Rupp (Southern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Way West (DVD)

With a cast that includes Kirk Douglas, Richard Widmark, AND Robert Mitchum, how can anyone who is a fan of Western Movies pass up The Way West? You can't - and you shouldn't, it's a good movie.

The surprising thing is how The Way West takes so many plot points from The Big Trail. It's the first wagon train to Oregon, and big scenes include a tough river crossing, Indian attacks, and lowering both wagons AND livestock over the edge of a cliff by ropes! All of those things were straight out of The Big Trail.

But there are some significant differences. The Way West plays much more like a late 60's Western, with bits of TV Soap Opera drama thrown in. That both gives it some charm and holds the movie back from being as good as it could have been.

Andrew V. McLaglen (Victor McLaglen's son) does a good job moving the story along, and gets some strong performances (although nowhere near their best) from Douglas, Widmark, and Mitchum. As the director on The Way West, McLaglen's visual style is good, but not quite up to the great levels of some of the better Western directors of the 40's and 50's. There is plenty of beautiful scenery to be had here, though, and the scope of the film is pretty big.

While it doesn't quite meet it's full potential, The Way West is still a strong movie, and with a cast like this it's certainly worth a purchase.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Much better than expected, June 10, 2008

By 

J. Sotelo "http://rollholer.blogspot.com/" (Sacramento CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Way West (DVD)

Despite the lukewarm reviews, and maybe because I've never heard of the book it's based on, I thought this movie was a real hoot. Widmark, Mitchum and especially Douglas ham it up pretty good but that just adds to the fun of this sprawling epic about pioneer settlers determined to make it to Oregon. It's fun to see Widmark playing against type as a boozy, happy-go-lucky farmer with a beautiful wife and a serious case of wanderlust and Mitchum hilariously underplays his role as the requisite indian-wannabee trail guide, but this is Kirk's show through and through. He plays the hard edged ruthless tycoon, determined to reach Oregon at all costs so that he can fulfill his dream of empire building and it's always a delight to see him going fullstop, as he does here. Sally Field plays a raunchy southern girl too, a character that seems a bit daring for the times. Not a great western by any means, but a very entertaining flick and a worthy addition to any classic film library.