Westward the Women

Based on a story by Frank Capra, who sold it to director William A. Wellman because "no one would let me do a Western," this film allowed Wellman to revisit many of the themes of THE GREAT MAN'S LADY on a more expansive scale, particularly the unsung role of women in the taming of the American frontier. Robert Taylor leads the cast as a wagon train guide hired to take a group of 140 mail-order brides on the dangerous trek from St. Louis to a ranch town in California where prospective husbands await. Violence and calamities test the group's mettle at every turn, with Wellman matching driving action with a gritty, natural shooting style.