Westward the Women

I would not have heard of Westward the Women had my daughter not told me about it. It was made in 1951 from a story by Frank Capra.

The story takes place in 1851. The working men of Whitman's Valley, California are discontented, as there are no women. Roy Whitman, their employer, tries to prevent his men from leaving by traveling to Chicago to recruit women willing to embark on the arduous journey to California in order to marry. 

Roy hires wagon master Buck Wyatt to lead a convoy of 140 women across the arduous wilderness. He predicts only 2 in 3 women will survive the tortuous trek. 

From a time when women were still valued and honored, Frank Capra crafts this masterly yet often brutal story. I hope my grandson will grow up to direct a remake.