WESTERN UNION
DIRECTED BY FRITZ LANG
PRODUCED BY HARRY JOE BROWN/DARRYL F. ZANUCK
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION
INFORMATION FROM IMDb
Plot Summary
Vance Shaw gives up outlawing and goes to work for the telegraph company;
his brother Jack Slade leads outlaws trying to prevent the company connecting the line
between Omaha and Salt Lake City. Lots of Indian fighting and gunplay.
Written by Ed Stephan
Cast
Robert Young ... Richard Blake
Randolph Scott ... Vance Shaw
Dean Jagger ... Edward Creighton
Virginia Gilmore ... Sue Creighton
John Carradine ... Doc Murdoch
Slim Summerville ... Herman
Chill Wills ... Homer
Barton MacLane ... Jack Slade
Russell Hicks ... Governor
Victor Kilian ... Charlie
Minor Watson ... Pat Grogan
George Chandler ... Herb
Chief John Big Tree ... Chief Spotted Horse (as Chief Big Tree)
Chief Thundercloud ... Indian Leader
Iron Eyes Cody ... Indian Who Drinks Chemical Solution (uncredited)
J.W. Cody ... Indian (uncredited)
Frank McGrath ... Posse Rider (uncredited)
and many more...
Directed by
Fritz Lang
Writing Credits
Zane Grey ... (novel)
Robert Carson ... (screen play)
Jack Andrews ... (contributor to dialogue) (uncredited)
George Bruce ... (contributing writer) (uncredited)
Horace McCoy ... (contributor to dialogue) (uncredited)
Produced
Harry Joe Brown ... associate producer
Darryl F. Zanuck ... executive producer (uncredited)
Music
David Buttolph ... (uncredited)
Cinematography
Edward Cronjager ... director of photography
Allen M. Davey ... director of photography
Trivia
Studio publicity noted that Fox contract star Henry Fonda had served as technical adviser on the film,
due to his experience as a young man working as a lineman.
Fonda's "technical advisory" capacity was most certainly a publicity fiction,
and in any event Fonda was not credited on the film itself.
Originally, Laird Cregar was cast in this film in an undetermined role
(possibly that of Doc Murdoch), but was unable to do the film
due to an unfinished other project.
He was replaced by George 'Gabby' Hayes, but Hayes then became ill and was himself replaced.
Goofs
Anachronisms
During the speeches before they start stringing the telegraph wires,
all the flags are 48-star flags. There were only 35 states in the Union in 1861.
In the opening sequence showing the buffalo herd there is a shot that appears
to show a car driving along a road in the far background.
North Platte is a prominent location in this movie.
The story takes place in 1861-1862. North Platte was established in 1868.
One of the characters sings the song "Good Bye, Old Paint (I'm-a Leavin' Cheyenne)".
The song didn't exist in the 1860's.
The characters use Model 1873 Colt Single Action Army pistols modified
to resemble Remington 1875 Army revolvers. Obviously, neither weapon existed in 1861-62.
Continuity
When Creighton leaves on the stage after his accident,
his left ankle is bandaged and he is favoring his left foot.
When we later see him walk with a cane, he is favoring his right foot.
Errors in geography
Most of this movie takes place in Nebraska.
Nebraska is not sagebrush country, except for a VERY small piece of
Deuel County, near the Colorado border.
At one point, Creighton says "...we'll be hitting the hills"
as the telegraph crew heads west from what was then called Omaha City.
This is incorrect. Omaha was notorious for being hilly
(in the late 19th Century and early 20th, the city went to great efforts
to level many of the hills), but as you move west, away from the Missouri River,
near what is now about 84th Street in Omaha, the land begins to flatten out dramatically.
Factual errors
During one of the scenes in the then (referring to the time period of the story)
non-existent town of North Platte, an Army officer refers to a Fort "Kerny."
The fort, and the subsequent town, are pronounced "Karney."
The Jack Slade character refers to "General Mosby.
" Mosby reached the rank of colonel, and fought in Virginia, not Missouri or the Nebraska Territory.
Revealing mistakes
In the opening sequence, Vance Shaw escapes a posse by riding through a herd of grazing wild buffalo.
But in close-ups of the beasts, cowboys herding them can be seen in the background,
despite no such cowhands in the establishing long shots of the herd.
Spoilers
Revealing mistakes
In the gunfight at the barbershop, Shaw first fires shots with his right gun,
throws it away and then uses his left gun.
He then fires at least nine shots with this gun
without reloading it before the end of the gunfight.
Memorable Quotes
Filming Locations
Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah, USA
House Rock Canyon, Arizona, USA
Kanab, Utah, USA
20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA (studio)
Watch the Movie
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