''The Gal Who Took the West'' is a 1949 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Frederick de Cordova Frederick Timmins de Cordova (October 27, 1910 – September 15, 2001) was an American stage, motion picture and television director and producer. He is best known for his work on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life De Cordova ...

starring

Yvonne De Carlo Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and late ...

Charles Coburn Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American actor and theatrical producer. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award three times – in ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941), ''The More the Me ...

Scott Brady Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...

and John Russell. It was nominated for an award by the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

1950.

Plot

A journalist is writing an article on the O'Hara family of Arizona. They tell about the time in the 1890s when a girl, Lily, was caught in a feud between two O'Haras.

Cast

as Lillian 'Lily' Marlowe *

as Gen Michael O'Hara *

as Lee O'Hara * John Russell as Grant O'Hara *

Myrna Dell Myrna Dell (born Marilyn Adele Dunlap; March 5, 1924 – February 11, 2011) was an American actress, model, and writer who appeared in numerous motion pictures and television programs over four decades. A Hollywood glamour girl in the early p ...

as Nancy *

James Millican James Millican (February 17, 1911 – November 24, 1955) was an American actor with over 200 film appearances mostly in western movies. Millican was the son of Fred S. Millican, a circus owner, and Dorothy Millican. Millican was a clos ...

as Hawley *

Clem Bevans Clem Guy Bevans (October 16, 1880 – August 11, 1963) was an American character actor best remembered for playing eccentric, grumpy old men. Early life Bevans was born in Cozzadale, Ohio. Career Bevans had a very long career, starting in va ...

as Hawley (as old Timer) * Robert R. Stephenson as Ted (as Bob Stevenson) *

Houseley Stevenson Houseley Stevenson (30 July 1879 – 6 August 1953) was a British-American character actor who was born in London on July 30, 1879, and died in Duarte, California on August 6, 1953. He began his movie career in 1936 and had a short career in ...

as Ted (as old Timer) * Robin Short as Bartender * Russell Simpson as Bartender (as old Timer) *

John Litel John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor. Early life Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. Ba ...

as Colonel Logan * James Todd as Douglas Andrews *

Edward Earle Edward Earle (16 July 1882 – 15 December 1972) was a Canadian-American stage, film and television actor. In a career which lasted from the 1910s to 1966, he appeared in almost 400 films between 1914 and 1956. He was born in Toronto and died ...

as Mr. Nolan

Production

The film was originally known as ''The Western Story''. It was the idea of William Bowers, about three interpretations of a single incident in the life of a Western pioneer; it would be told in flashback from an old person's home. Bowers says he got the idea from reading an article in ''Life'' magazine about old gunfighters who lived in an old person's home in Prescott Arizona. Bowers was under contract to Universal at the time for $750 a week, and says he wrote the script in four weeks. Bowers says

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...

wanted to buy the script for $100,000 and Universal were interested, but Bowers persuaded the studio to make the film themselves.

William Bowers William Bowers (January 17, 1916 – March 27, 1987) was an American reporter, playwright, and screenwriter. He worked as a reporter in Long Beach, California and for ''Life'' magazine, and specialized in writing comedy-westerns. He also turn ...

and Robert Arthur were assigned to make it in December 1947. In April 1948,

Deanna Durbin Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With t ...

and

were announced for the lead roles.

Jerome Hines Jerome A. Hines (November 8, 1921 – February 4, 2003) was an American operatic bass who performed at the Metropolitan Opera from 1946 to 1987. Standing 6'6", his stage presence and stentorian voice made him ideal for such roles as Sarastro in ' ...

was signed for a support role. By November, Durbin had dropped out and Universal replaced her with

. (Bowers says

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...

was going to star but Universal decided to use their contracted talent "and it went right out the window")

Stephen McNally Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and othe ...

and

Howard Duff Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

were given support roles. They dropped out and were replaced by Scott Brady and John Russell (the latter borrowed from

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

). Filming started in February 1949. The film was retitled ''The Gal Who Took the West'' during editing.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gal Who Took The West, The 1949 films Films directed by Frederick de Cordova 1949 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Universal Pictures films Films scored by Frank Skinner 1940s American films