zardoz-13 Review of Westbound

Westbound (1958)

The Least of the Boetticher & Scott Collaberations

[5/10 · 17 November 2022]

"Seven Men from Now" director Budd Boetticher and western star Randolph Scott made their share of classic horse operas. Actually, during the latter half of the 1950s, Boetticher and Scott made seven films together in a span of five years, but "Westbound" ranks as the least interesting outing. Unlike "Seven Men from Now" (1956), "The Tall T" (1957), "Decision at Sundown" (1957), "Buchanan Rides Alone" (1958), "Ride Lonesome" (1959), and ''Comanche Station" (1960), "Westbound" lacks a compelling plot, and the characters emerge as threadbare stereotypes. Of course, Boetticher didn't have the services of Burt Kennedy as a scriptwriter. Instead, he had lesser-known scribes Berne Giler of "Showdown at Abilene" and Albert Shelby LeVino of "Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die." Giler and LeVino collaborated on the story, and Giler received screen credit for the script. This shallow screenplay chronicles the efforts of Scott's hero to supervise the daily operations of the Overland Stage Line, so it can deliver gold to fuel the Union war effort. Sadly, none of the dialogue is either catchy or quotable. Scott's hero is given little backstory, and Andrew Duggan's villain is too high-minded despite a last-minute stab of salvation. Michael Pate steals the show as a slimy villain named Mace out to kill Scott. Michael Dante is cast as a young Union soldier who lost his arm to gangrene. When the action unfolds, Union Calvary Captain John Hayes (Randolph Scott) receives orders to take over the Overland Stage Line because he worked for the company before hostilities ignited the Civil War. The Giler & LeVino screenplay plays it strictly by the numbers, and there are really no surprises to speak of apart from Boetticher's tight-fisted, frugal direction and the no-nonsense acting by the entire cast. Unfortunately, Virginia Mayo languishes in a minor role as Scott's old love interest. Karen Steele is eye-candy. Michael Dante looks cool working the lever of his repeating rifle with one hand. All the Boetticher & Scott westerns were strictly B-pictures, but "Westbound" barely amounts to above-average. Scott's performance is likeable and he is sincere. David Buttolph's orchestral score is appropriately boisterous, and "The Charge at Feather River" lenser J. Peverell Marley's cinematography is solid.