THE WAY WEST is a Hollywood western that might well be described as 'Oregon Trail, the movie'. Kirk Douglas leads a bunch of settlers from the Eastern seaboard to Oregon, and their wagon train must deal with numerous problems along the way. There are deep rivers to cross, valleys that need descending, arid salt pans to get through, as well as hostile Sioux tribes with murder in mind. Of course, the greatest conflict comes from within the group. I liked this character-based drama which moves along as nicely as the wagon train itself and has plenty of sub-plots to get involved with. The dream team of Douglas, Richard Widmark and Robert Mitchum were all seasoned western stars and do very well with the material they're given, while Sally Field has a memorable early role as a man-hungry teen. The ending is particularly strong here.
Review of The Way West
