This film begins in 1851 where a man by the name of "Roy Whitman" (John McIntire) has established a nice agricultural business in California for himself due in large part to the efforts of a large number of men he has employed. But he realizes that the small town and everything he has built cannot survive unless he finds women to come there and settle down with these men. So he hires a wagon master by the name of "Buck Wyatt" (Robert Taylor) to ride with him to Chicago to seek out single women who are willing to withstand the grueling trip by wagon train in search of husbands. Although he signs up 140 women to attempt this journey he warns them ahead of time that it will be very hazardous and that he expects that a third of them won't make it all the way there. Determined in spite of the risks, the women start out only to realize just how right his prediction would turn out to be. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a decent western which captured the hardships of a wagon drive of this sort quite nicely. On the other hand, there were a couple of scenes that were rather dated or a bit too clichéd which served to detract from the overall film as well. But all things considered, I found this to be an enjoyable film for the most part and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
Review of Westward the Women
