The Way West

The Way West follows a wagon train of settlers led by Senator William J. Tadlock, who leaves Missouri in 1843 hoping to establish a new community in Oregon. Tadlock is stern and uncompromising, holding himself to the same harsh standards he demands of the families who join him, and his methods put him at odds with Lije Evans, a settler who questions the senator's authority. The experienced scout Dick Summers is hired to guide the group across deserts, canyons and Native American territory, and the journey brings hardship, loss and a confrontation with frontier justice.

Andrew V. McLaglen directed the film, the third of the sixteen features listed for him in chronological order, coming between Shenandoah and The Devil's Brigade. Kirk Douglas plays Tadlock, with Robert Mitchum as Summers and Richard Widmark as Evans, alongside Lola Albright, Jack Elam and Stubby Kaye among a credited cast of thirty-nine. Ben Maddow and Mitch Lindemann wrote the screenplay, and Harold Hecht produced for United Artists.

The film has drawn modest scores from viewers, sitting at 6.2 on IMDb from around 4,200 votes and 6.1 on TMDB from a much smaller sample of 112. A critics' rating of 5.2 from seven reviews places it below both audience figures, though all three sit in similar territory.