Below is Part One to my article about Hollywood's depiction about the westward migration via wagon trains in 19th century United States. It focuses upon the 1962 movie, "HOW THE WEST WAS WON":


"WESTWARD HO!": Part One - "HOW THE WEST WAS WON" (1962)

I. Introduction

The sprawling 1962 movie, "HOW THE WEST WAS WON" focused upon the fifty (50) years history of the Prescott-Rawlins family between 1839 and 1889. The movie was divided into five sections - "The Rivers", "The Plains", "The Civil War", "The Railroad" and "The Outlaws". Westbound migration was featured in the movie's first two segments...

"THE OREGON TRAIL" (1976; 1977) Retrospective

Nearly forty-one years ago saw the premiere of the NBC Western series called "THE OREGON TRAIL". Produced by Carl Vitale, Michael Gleason and Richard Collins; the series told the story about the westbound journey of an Illinois widower named Evan Thorpe and his family in the 1840s.

NBC aired a ninety (90) minute pilot episode of "THE OREGON TRAIL" in 1976. Rod Taylor portrayed Evan Thorpe, a widower with three children who had recently remarried. Blair Brown portrayed his newly married second wife, Jessica. Douglas Fowley portrayed Evan's widowed...