Western Union

"A 20th Century-Fox Encore Hit !"

1941 1h 35m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🍅

75%

FRESH

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 88🍅75%Rotten Tomatoes★6.7IMDB · 3,593

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When Edward Creighton leads the construction of the Western Union to unite East with West, he hires a Western reformed outlaw and a tenderfoot Eastern surveyor. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in 2000.

“A 20th Century-Fox Encore Hit !”

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Cast

Robert Young
Richard Blake
Randolph Scott
Vance Shaw
Dean Jagger
Edward Creighton
Virginia Gilmore
Sue Creighton
John Carradine
Doc Murdoch
Chill Wills
Homer Kettle
Slim Summerville
Herman, called "Cookie"
Barton MacLane
Jack Slade

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fritz Lang
Writers: Robert Carson, George Bruce
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

85 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by Edward Cronjager. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by David Buttolph. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Bischoff shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert Young and Randolph Scott and Dean Jagger carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A 20th Century-Fox Encore Hit !".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0034384 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 88 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fritz Lang directs. Edward Cronjager behind the camera. David Buttolph scores. Robert Bischoff cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

185 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by Edward Cronjager. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by David Buttolph. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Robert Bischoff shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Robert Young and Randolph Scott and Dean Jagger carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A 20th Century-Fox Encore Hit !".
7IMDB entry: tt0034384 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 88 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Edward Cronjager
Original score: David Buttolph
Editing: Robert Bischoff
Costume design: Travis Banton
Makeup / hair: Robert Cowan
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Western Union (1941)
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.7/10 · 3,593 votes
MPAA: Approved

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Fritz Lang

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2020-11-22
★ 7/10
Adventures while setting up the telegraph line on the Great Plains As the Civil War breaks out in 1861, a former outlaw (Randolph Scott) joins the team wiring what is now Nebraska and Wyoming for telegraph service. Dean Jagger plays the executive of the project while Robert Young is on hand as a “tenderfoot” from back East. Meanwhile Virginia Gilmore plays the potential romantic interest of the good-badman (Scott) and the heroic newcomer (Young). Directed by Fritz Lang and based on the Zane Grey book, "Western Union" (1941) was a pretty big Western in its day and effectively mixes intrigue, action, romance and comedy. While Barton MacLane’s villainy as Jack Slade is too silent movie-ish and the geography is disingenuous, this ranks with the better Western epics of its era. The color and cinematography are wonderful and the AmerIndians are depicted in a non-cheesy, authentic manner. The film runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Utah (Zion National Park & Kanab), Arizona (House Rock Canyon, Arizona) and 20th Century Fox Studios, Century City, Los Angeles. GRADE: B
CinemaSerf2023-04-16
★ 6/10
I wonder if Fritz Lang had these three imposed on him by the studio system or whether he chose them? Anyway, sadly the folks we have leading this interesting, pioneering, adventure don't really manage to raise the film from a rather procedural mediocrity - despite this being quite a fascinating story of determination and diplomacy. We start with "Shaw" (Randolph Scott) discovering the injured "Creighton" (Dean Jagger) whilst someone is being pursued by a posse. He helps the man to a nearby house where he abandons him to the well meaning folks who help him recover. It turns out that "Creighton" is a Western Union surveyor sent by the company to plan for the coming of the telegraph. Skip on a while and the two are reunited on the construction project, alongside the ostensibly more sophisticated "Blake" (Robert Young) with the two men soon vying for the affections of "Sue Creighton" (Virginia Gilmore) to bring a little (completely unnecessary) love triangle to this story. As the work proceeds, the men encounter hostiles, betrayal and even some subterfuge from aggrieved confederate soldiers - all whilst suspecting that "Slade" (Barton MacLane) is pulling the strings. The photography is impressive and the Zane Grey novel, like most of his work, is an exciting boys-own type of tale that adapts well to the screen with horse-chases, shoot-outs and a well shot conflagration at the end. It's just the actors. Scott is passable but the other two just don't cut it, I'm afraid. Pity, it could have been much better. As it is, it's still easy enough to watch, though.