Westward Ho the Wagons (1956) Review

IllinoisJones

Displaying My Ears
Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Westward Ho the Wagons (1956)
Cowboys and Fess Parker - Two undeniable popular entities of the 1950s. It was only a matter of time for Walt to bring them together. John Doc Grayson leads a wagon train of families to the Oregon territory in 1846. Along the way, they run into both war hungry and friendly Native Americans. It’s a film to simply show what life was like in the Old West for those searching for greener pastures. It’s a simple plot without much of a clever twist. It’s episodic as the train encounters two tribes and there is a clear half way point separating two stories. Incidentally, the film is shown in two parts 5 years later on The Disneyland TV show. I wonder if Walt had this in mind all along. (wink, wink) The first half sees the train meet up with hostile Pawnees and the second part shows the friendlier Sioux tribe. The film has tense moments and uncomfortable moments. In today’s political correctness conscious environment I can see how questionable portrayals of Native Americans can leave some squirming. However, several actual Native Americans were cast in the film and Walt worked to showcase native customs. On the day of the movie’s premiere, the first of a four-part series called “The First Americans”, began on the Disneyland show. Music abounds in this movie as Fess strums the guitar several times in camp site serenades. Director William Beaudine didn’t lead many film projects for the company. His Disney relationship usually involved TV segments. This was his only Disney film. Interesting note - George Reeves of ‘50s Superman fame made his final film appearance in Westward Ho the Wagons. Overall, the acting is wooden at times and the generic story is safe and predictable. But there are some decent action scenes and some nice moments where the white children of the wagon train and Sioux kids play with each other and consequently break down cultural barriers. I give it 3 horse reins out of 5.
 
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