Retrospective Review: Westbound
The sixth of seven films directed by Budd Boetticher that starred Randolph Scott, Westbound (1959) stands out as a unique feature in the their iconic partnership.
The film is centred around John Hayes (Scott) — a captain in the Union Army during the American Civil War — who’s tasked with taking over a stagecoach line in Colorado and keeping the flow of western gold out of the hands of the Confederacy.
Though it’s refreshing to see Boetticher and Scott take on a different subject matter — showcasing the tensions at play during the Civil War — the usual conflict of good vs evil in a remote western town underpinned by long-standing rivalries, gives the flick a familiar feeling and remains true to the traditional B-movie formula, that the duo mastered during that period.
Westbound is also notable for its memorable supporting characters, including Karen Steele — who also appeared in Decision at Sundown (1957) and Ride Lonesome (1959) — Virginia Mayo, and Michael Dante, as a courageous one-armed soldier.
The western should be considered one of the highlight’s of Boetticher’s filmography, providing a rip-roaring 70 minutes in a bygone era of filmmaking.
