Western Union

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Western Union

1941

1h 34m

Western

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

58%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is part of a vast enterprise: stringing a telegraph line across America. When he has an accident in the field, Creighton is saved by bank robber Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott). Creighton later hires Shaw as a scout, despite his criminal past. As Western Union starts construction of the telegraph line through American Indian territory, Shaw's criminal past resurfaces when an old criminal cohort makes an appearance.

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Joshua Polanski

Midwest Film Journal

07/22/2024

The film’s big development lacks the character specifics that would have interjected it with a dramatic force, so the “twist” feels more like a pointless contortion that prolongs things for another 10 minutes or so.

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George Orwell

Time and Tide

10/02/2023

None of the acting is definitely bad, but Randolph Scott, as the Bad Man who turns over a new leaf but afterwards rides away to a romantic death and leaves the woman he loves to a man who is worthier of her, gives the outstanding performance of the film.

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

01/11/2022

7/10

This is an enjoyable, albeit old-fashioned western, that should please most genre enthusiasts while providing a look at how the story form developed in its earlier years.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

08/09/2007

Things pick up in the dark final third; there's a famous -- very Langian -- scene in which Scott, tied up with rope, escapes by holding his bonds over a real fire.

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Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

08/22/2006

Fascinating if uneven Western

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

07/02/2005

3/5

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S R

@ScottR Dec 30

A different type of Western Union than I figured the plot would be. It was decently made and bit stiff in the acting, but it entertained and I saw it because I read about it in my "When Hollywood Came to Utah" book since it was all filmed near Kanab. RUS.

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Ashley H

@ashleyhobgood87 02/27/2024

Western Union is a decent film. It is about Edward Creighton who leads the construction of the Western Union to unite East with West. Robert Young and Randolph Scott give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. Fritz Lang did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the adventure.

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03/04/2017

One of the best westerns ever made, right up there with "Shane" and "The Searchers".

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10/02/2014

a very good movie beautiful breeds of horses too

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09/26/2014

Solid western -- but not really recognizable as a Fritz Lang film. I suppose you could argue that Randolph Scott's fate is spelled out from the very first scenes and that doom closes in as the team putting the telegraph line up gets farther along and we learn more details about Scott. But it's possible that this is more Zane Grey's doing than Lang's. By the way, Randy Scott is great as usual in a typically morally ambiguous role but he does gain a certain gravitas when he ages into the Budd Boetticher films in the '50s. Robert Young, on the other hand, seems out-of-place in the wild west. Portrayals of Native Americans is generally less than positive. If you're interested in a Fritz Lang western, try Rancho Notorious first.

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08/23/2013

130823 141029: I've always heard the civil war was a dark and destructive time, and apparently the chaos it caused even occurred between combatants on the same side. Found this film an enjoyable fictitious look at the laying of the telegraph line across the US. Well worth watching even at 73 years of age. Some strong acting and characters.

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Fritz Lang

Director

Robert Young

Richard Blake

Randolph Scott

Vance Shaw

Dean Jagger

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Synopsis

Engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is part of a vast enterprise: stringing a telegraph line across America. When he has an accident in the field, Creighton is saved by bank robber Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott). Creighton later hires Shaw as a scout, despite his criminal past. As Western Union starts construction of the telegraph line through American Indian territory, Shaw's criminal past resurfaces when an old criminal cohort makes an appearance.

Director: Fritz Lang
Screenwriter: Robert Carson
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 31, 1941, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Runtime: 1h 34m

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