The Way West

Plot

In the mid-19th century, Senator William J. Tadlock leads a group of settlers overland in a quest to start a new settlement in the Western US. Tadlock is a highly principled and demanding taskmaster who is as hard on himself as he is on those who have joined his wagon train. He clashes with one of the new settlers, Lije Evans, who doesn't quite appreciate Tadlock's ways. Along the way, the families must face death and heartbreak and a sampling of frontier justice when one of them accidentally kills a young Indian boy.

Cast

Kirk Douglas

Sen. William J. Tadlock

Robert Mitchum

Dick Summers

Richard Widmark

Lije Evans

Lola Albright

Rebecca 'Becky' Evans

Jack Elam

Preacher Weatherby

Stubby Kaye

Sam Fairman

Michael McGreevey

Brownie Evans

Harry Carey, Jr.

Mr. McBee

Connie Sawyer

Mrs. McBee

Michael Witney

Johnnie Mack

William Lundigan

Michael Moynihan

Elisabeth Fraser

Mrs. Fairman

John Mitchum

Little Henry

Patric Knowles

Captain Grant

Hal Lynch

Big Henry