On the run from a posse, Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott) is about to steal a man’s horse when he realizes the individual has been seriously injured. Shaw wraps his broken ribs and helps him to safety.
Turns out the man is Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger), and he’s in charge of constructing the Western Union telegraph line from Omaha, Neb., to Salt Lake City, Utah. And he’s hiring workers.
Among those to sign up: Vance Shaw, who immediately considers quitting when he meets his new boss. At least until Creighton makes it clear he has no intent of divulging Shaw’s questionable past.
Also joining the party, a tenderfoot from Harvard named Richard Blake (Robert Young), who turns out not to be as green as everyone suspects. And he takes an immediately liking to Creighton’s sister Sue (Virginia Gilmore).
Of course, so does Shaw.
But this trip to Salt Lake won’t be easy. The Civil War has broken out, and Confederate sympathizers might try to sabotage the enterprise, which will also have to travel through Indian territory.
Sure enough, Indians make off with some of the company’s cattle. Shaw tracks them down only to discover they’re not Indians at all, but whites decked out like Indians. What’s more, they’re members of his former gang, led by Jack Slade (Barton MacLane).
And soon it becomes clear that Slade figures to keep on striking at the Western Union, partly because he’s from the South, partly because he sees the company as easy pickings for him and his men.
Randolph Scott as Vance Shaw, and former outlaw who takes a job scouting for the telegraph line in Western Union (1941)
Virginia Gilmore as Sue Creighton, wise to the trick her friends are about to play on a greenhorn in Western Union (1941)
Review:
A great looking film that benefits from three capable leads — Scott, Jagger and Young — sharing screen time and some well-handled action sequences, including an Indian attack on the Western Union camp, a fire set by Slade and his cronies and the final shootout.
One sour note: The depiction of the Indians is hopelessly dated and the scene in which Creighton, Shaw and Blake convince Chief Spotted Horse and his warriors that the telegraph is big medicine — white man’s lightning — is downright embarrassing.
Among the supporting case, you’ll find a slim Chill Wills as one of Creighton’s chief lieutenants, John Carradine as the doc traveling with the Western Union party and Slim Summerville providing comic relief as the cook coerced into making the journey.
This marked the only Western for Virginia Gilmore, who would later marry Yul Brynner and give birth to their only son, Yul “Roc” Brynner. They were married for about 16 years before divorcing in 1960.
Robert Young as Richard Blake, the Easterner who joins the telegraph line expedition in Western Union (1941)
Dean Jagger as Edward Creighton, announcing his plans for the Western Union telegraph line in Western Union (1941)
Directed by:
Fritz Lang
Cast:
Robert Young … Richard Blake
Randolph Scott … Vance Shaw
Dean Jagger … Edward Creighton
Virginia Gilmore … Sue Creighton
John Carradine … Doc Murdock
Slim Summerville … Herman
Chill Wills … Homer Kettle
Barton MacLane … Jack Slade
Russell Hicks … Governor
Victor Kilian … Charlie
Minor Watson … Pat Grogan
George Chandler … Herb
Chief John Big Tree … Chief Spotted horse
Chief Thundercloud … Indian leader
Dick Rich … Porky
Addison Richards … Capt. Harlow
Irving Bacon … Barber
Runtime: 95 min.
Barton MacLane as Jack Slade, decked out as an Indian to harass the telegraph line in Western Union (1941)
John Carradine as Doc Murdock checking the fitness of Charlie (Victor Kilian) to work for the telegraph line in Western Union (1941)
Memorable lines:
Richard Blake: “You are the big boss’s sister, aren’t you?”
Sue Creighton: “Yes, but how did you …”
Blake: “How did I know? You both have that intense look. Does the great Western outdoors do that to you?”
Sue: “No. It’s people we meet from the East.”
Richard Blake: “Our camp was raided yesterday by Indians. They got most of our stock.”
Jack Slade: “Then these ought to be just the thing for you.”
Ed Creighton: “They ought to. They’re ours.”
Slade: “Huh?”
Creighton: “I said they’re ours. They were stolen from us.”
Edward Creighton: “I guess I better see the law about this.”
Jack Slade: “You’ll have to go back to Omaha if you do. It don’t run beyond there.”
Creighton: “Then I’ll make some of my own.”
Slade: “That wouldn’t look so good would it? Western Union stringin’ up white men for something Indians did?”
Richard Blake, seeing Chief Spotted Horse and his warriors: “Mean-looking devils, aren’t they?”
Edward Creighton: “Just don’t get your wires crossed.”
Vance Shaw: “Whatever we do, we gotta do quick. Indians can’t stay interested in one thing very long.”
Virginia Gilmore as Sue Creighton and Dean Jagger as Edward Creighton, watching the wagons roll westward in Western Union (1941)
Chill Wills as Homer Kettle and Minor Watson as Pat Grogan, telegraph line employees in Western Union (1941)
Chief John Big Tree as Chief Spotted Horse, having struck a deal with the Western Union in Western Union (1941)
Addison Richards as Capt. Harlow, warning Edward Creighton of Indian trouble in Western Union (1941)
Slim Sumerville as Herman about to be recruited as cook for the expedition as Charlie (Victor Kilian) looks on in Western Union (1941)
Dick Rich as Porky, one of Jack Slade’s ruffians in Western Union (1941)
Virginia Gilmore as Sue Creighton, bidding farewell to Vance Shaw in Western Union (1941)
Chill Wills as Homer Kettle, excited about the prospect of a new cook joining the expedition in Western Union (1941)
Robert Youn as Richard Blake, introducing himself to Sue Creighton in Western Union (1941)
Randolph Scott as Vance Shaw helping a stranger (Dean Jagger as Edward Creighton) survive his wounds in Western Union (1941)
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