Western Union (film)
| Western Union | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Fritz Lang |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | Robert Carson |
| Based on |
Western Union by Zane Grey |
| Starring | |
| Music by | David Buttolph |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Robert Bischoff |
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Production
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Western Union is a 1941 American Western film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Robert Young, Randolph Scott, and Dean Jagger. Filmed in Technicolor on location in Arizona and Utah, Western Union is about a reformed outlaw who tries to make good by joining the team wiring the Great Plains for telegraph service in 1861. Conflicts arise between the man and his former gang, as well as between the team stringing the wires and the Native Americans through whose land the new lines must run. In this regard, the film is not historically accurate; the installation of telegraph wires was met with protest from no one.
The film is based on the novel Western Union by Zane Grey, although there are significant differences between the two plots.
Western Union was only the second western made by Lang, The Return of Frank James being the first in 1940. Both movies explore the conflicts and obstacles of former criminals trying to return to law-abiding society. And both films were complicated by the Hays Code, which stipulated strict moral conduct in films at the time.
While surveying a telegraph line in 1861, Western Union engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is severely injured in an accident. He is discovered by Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott), an outlaw on the run from a posse. Forced to travel on foot after his horse was hurt, Shaw at first considers stealing Creighton's horse, but changes his mind and takes the man with him, saving his life.
Sometime later, following his recovery, Creighton returns to Omaha, Nebraska and plans the construction of a telegraph line from Omaha to Salt Lake City, Utah. Facing considerable opposition to the line from Confederate soldiers, Indians, and outlaws, Creighton elicits the help of his sister Sue (Virginia Gilmore), foreman Pat Grogan (Minor Watson), and assistant Homer Kettle (Chill Wills).
Looking to put his outlaw past behind him, Shaw arrives at Creighton's Western Union office looking for honest work and is hired as a scout by Grogan who is unaware of his past. Creighton recognizes him among the men and allows him to stay despite his suspicions. Creighton also hires tenderfoot Richard Blake (Robert Young), a Harvard-educated engineer as a favor to Blake's father. Shaw and Blake are both attracted to Sue and vie for her attention, but their romantic rivalry is cut short when construction of the telegraph line starts on July 4, 1861.
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