How the West Was Won (film)#Adaptations

File:Westwon trailer rivers.png is caught in rapids.]]

Zebulon Prescott and his family set out west for the frontier on the Erie Canal. They are pulled through the first section on a barge and then build rafts to continue on the Ohio River. Along the journey, they meet mountain man Linus Rawlings, who is traveling to Pittsburgh to trade his furs. Rawlings and Zebulon's eldest daughter, Eve, are attracted to each other, but he is not ready to settle down.

Rawlings stops at an isolated trading post, which is actually a front run by a clan of river pirates. Linus is led into a cave, stabbed in the back, and then pushed down a hole. The pirates steal his furs and sink his canoe. Wounded, Linus follows them. When they are about to rob the Prescott party, Linus intervenes and helps the Prescotts kill all of the pirates.

The Prescotts continue down the river. When the lead raft is caught in rapids, Zebulon and his wife Rebecca drown; Linus arrives to help bury them. Deciding he cannot live without Eve, he asks to marry her and take her to Pittsburgh, but she insists on homesteading at the spot where her parents died.

File:Westwon trailer plains.png warriors.]]

Eve's sister Lilith chooses to go back east, dreaming of becoming rich, and years later becomes a singer and dancer in St. Louis. While performing at a music hall, she attracts the attention of professional gambler Cleve van Valen, who learns that she has just inherited a California gold mine.

On a wagon train heading west, Lilith partners with an elderly woman named Agatha; Cleve joins them to avoid his debts and to swindle Lilith of her gold. Wagonmaster Roger Morgan and Cleve court her along the way, but she rejects them both. Surviving an arduous trek and an attack by the Cheyenne together, Lilith falls for Cleve. The pair eventually arrive at the mine, but discover that it is worthless. Cleve leaves; Lilith returns to work in a camp town's dance hall, heartbroken. Morgan finds her and again proposes marriage, to no avail.

Later, Lilith performs on a Sacramento riverboat. By chance, Cleve is a passenger. The pair happily reunite, and Cleve proposes to her, telling her of the business opportunities waiting in San Francisco. She accepts his proposal.

File:Westwon trailer civilwar.png]]

Linus Rawlings has joined the Union army as a captain in the American Civil War. Despite Eve's wishes, their son Zeb enlists as well, seeking adventure and an escape from farming. The bloody Battle of Shiloh shows Zeb the cruel realities of war, and his father dies there.

Zeb encounters a disillusioned Confederate soldier who suggests deserting. By chance, they eavesdrop on Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. The Confederate realizes he has the opportunity to shoot them, leaving Zeb no choice but to kill him. Zeb continues to serve for the rest of the war.

When the war ends, Zeb returns home as a lieutenant and learns his mother died, having lost the will to live after losing Linus. Zeb gives his share of the family farm to his brother and leaves, deciding to stay in the army.

File:Westwon trailer railroad.png

In the late 1860s, two competing railroad lines, the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad, open up new territories that attract American and European settlers.

Zeb serves in the U.S. Cavalry, trying to maintain peace with the Native Americans with the help of buffalo hunter Jethro Stuart, an old friend of Linus's. When railroad man Mike King violates a treaty by building on Native American territory, the Arapahos retaliate by stampeding buffalo through his camp, killing many.

Disgusted by Mike's unchecked greed and callousness, Zeb resigns from the army, and then visits Jethro at his mountain cabin before moving on.Pylant, James (2012). In Morticia's Shadow: The Life and Career of Carolyn Jones. Jacobus Books. p. 116.{{Cite web |title=HOW THE WEST WAS WON: DELETED SCENES |url=http://www.daveswarbirds.com/HTWWW/deleted_scenes.htm |publisher=HOW THE WEST WAS WON: The Making of MGM's classic Cinerama epic movie }}

File:Westwon trailer outlaws.png

In San Francisco, the widowed Lilith auctions off her possessions to pay off debts. She travels to Arizona, inviting Zeb and his family to oversee a cattle ranch, her last remaining asset.

Zeb (now an Arizona marshal), his wife Julie, and their children meet Lilith at Gold City's train station. There, Zeb runs into outlaw Charlie Gant. Zeb had killed Gant's brother in a gunfight. When Gant makes threats against Zeb and his family, Zeb turns to his friend, Gold City marshal Lou Ramsey. However, Gant is not wanted for anything in that territory, so Ramsey can do nothing.

Zeb suspects Gant plans to steal a train's gold shipment, and prepares an ambush with Ramsey's reluctant help. Gant and his gang are killed in the shootout and resulting train wreck. Lilith and the Rawlings family travel by wagon to their new home.

• Spencer Tracy as Narrator

{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}

;Introduced in "The Rivers"

• James Stewart as Linus Rawlings
• Carroll Baker as Eve Prescott Rawlings
• Debbie Reynolds as Lilith Prescott van Valen
• Karl Malden as Zebulon Prescott
• Agnes Moorehead as Rebecca Prescott
• Walter Brennan as Col. Jeb Hawkins
• Brigid Bazlen as Dora Hawkins
• Lee Van Cleef as river pirate (uncredited)

;Introduced in "The Plains"

• Gregory Peck as Cleve Van Valen
• Robert Preston as Roger Morgan
• Thelma Ritter as Agatha Clegg
• David Brian as Lilith's attorney
• John Larch as Grimes a gambler (uncredited)
• Clinton Sundberg as Hylan Seabury (uncredited)

;Introduced in "The Civil War"

• George Peppard as Zeb Rawlings
• Andy Devine as Corporal Peterson
• Harry Morgan as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
• John Wayne as Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
• Russ Tamblyn as Confederate deserter
• Raymond Massey as President Abraham Lincoln
• Ken Curtis as Cpl. Ben (uncredited)

;Introduced in "The Railroad"

• Henry Fonda as Jethro Stuart
• Richard Widmark as Mike King

;Introduced in "The Outlaws"

• Lee J. Cobb as Marshal Lou Ramsey
• Eli Wallach as Charlie Gant
• Carolyn Jones as Zeb Rawlings' wife, Julie
• Mickey Shaughnessy as Deputy Stover
• Harry Dean Stanton as a member of Gant's gang (uncredited)
• Jack Lambert as a member of Gant's gang (uncredited)

{{div col end}}

The film marked then 66-year-old Raymond Massey's last appearance as Abraham Lincoln, a role that he previously played on stage (Abe Lincoln in Illinois and the stage adaptation of John Brown's Body), on screen (Abe Lincoln in Illinois) and on television (The Day Lincoln Was Shot, and two more productions of Abe Lincoln in Illinois).

MGM had enjoyed a great success with the big screen remake of Ben-Hur (1959) and initiated a number of spectacles, including remakes of Cimarron, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Mutiny on the Bounty.{{cite news|author=Scheuer, P.K. |date=July 7, 1960|title=Five pictures put on Bresler's S1ate|work= Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167665329}}}}

In 1960, MGM struck a deal to produce four films in the Cinerama process, and Bing Crosby approached the studio with a proposition. He was developing a television spectacular called How the West Was Won based on photographs of the Old West in Life, with profits earmarked for St. John's Hospital, along with an album inspired by the same article recorded with Rosemary Clooney. MGM purchased the film rights from Crosby.

MGM announced the project in June 1960, originally titled The Great Western Story. The plan was to film a story of six segments featuring 12 stars, with a cohesive overall storyline. Among the historical figures to be featured were Buffalo Bill, the James brothers and Billy the Kid.{{Cite news|title=PUTTING THE OLD WEST ON NEW DISKS|author=R.S.|date=July 24, 1960|work=The New York Times|id={{ProQuest|115179286}}}}{{Cite news|title=Screen news and notes. |date=June 21, 1960|work=The New York Times|id={{ProQuest|114942098}}}} St. John's Hospital president Irene Dunne and others persuaded the film's stars to accept less than their usual fees. However, the hospital later sued for a share of the film's profits.{{Cite news|author=Hopper, Hedda|title=Illness Will Force Decision on 'Hush': Picture May Be Called Off; Loretta Young Refuses Lead|date=August 7, 1964|work=Los Angeles Times}}

Bernard Smith was assigned as producer, and he hired James Webb to write the script. George Peppard was announced as the lead in October 1960, and Irene Dunne and Bing Crosby were originally announced as stars.{{Cite news|author=Hopper, H.|title=Metro sets three cinerama movies.|date=October 1, 1960|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167807467}}}} Laurence Harvey and John Wayne were also slated to appear in one sequence together.{{Cite news|title=VIEW FROM A LOCAL VANTAGE POINT|author=A.H. WEILER.|date=March 5, 1961|work=The New York Times|id={{ProQuest|115302712}}}} Filmink commented Peppard "carries the last three-fifths" of the film, adding "if anyone is the leading man of that movie, it's him."{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|date=29 December 2024|access-date=29 December 2024|title=Movie Star Cold Streaks: George Peppard|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/movie-star-cold-streaks-george-peppard/}}

By April 1961, Wayne and Spencer Tracy had confirmed their plans to play Generals Sherman and Grant for a segment directed by John Ford, and James Stewart had been signed as well.{{Cite news|author=Hopper, H.|title=Looking at Hollywood.|date=April 21, 1961|work=Chicago Daily Tribune|id={{ProQuest|182872487}}}} Other roles would go to Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds, Russ Tamblyn and Carroll Baker, while Henry Hathaway and George Marshall would also direct from a script by James Webb. Crosby was scheduled to provide narration.{{Cite news|author=Scheuer, P.K. |date=April 28, 1961|title=Big-names roster in 'west' growing|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167862019}}}} Jim Hutton was intended to appear in the Civil War segment.{{Cite news|author=Hopper, H.|title=Entertainment.|date=May 6, 1961|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167896026}}}} Eventually, Harry Morgan appeared as Grant when Tracy was unavailable.

Ultimately, the film contained five sections: the 1830s westward migration, the 1849 California gold rush, the Civil War, the construction of the transcontinental railroad, and the "taming" of the Wild West, with one family's story over three generations providing the bridge between each time period. The budget was set to at least $8 million. John Ford directed the Civil War segment, George Marshall the railroad segment and Henry Hathaway the rest.{{Cite news|title=HOLLYWOOD EPIC|author=MURRAY, S. H.|date=May 21, 1961|work=The New York Times|id={{ProQuest|115262156}}}} "We wanted three old pros, no young geniuses," said Smith.{{Cite news|author=Scheuer, P. K.|title=Hollywood unlimbers big guns to win west.|date=September 3, 1961|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167896925}}}}

How the West Was Won was one of only two dramatic feature films (along with The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm) produced with the three-strip Cinerama process. Although the picture quality when projected onto curved screens in theaters is stunning, attempts to convert the film to a smaller screen suffer. When the film is projected in letterbox format, the actors' faces are nearly indistinguishable in long shots.

File:Westwon trailer Fonda.png as a buffalo hunter]]

Filming started in May 1961 by John Ford in Paducah, Kentucky. Producer Bernard Smith said, "It is essential for our purposes that virtually the whole movie be shot outdoors. Throughout the movie, one of the basic themes is to show little people against a vast country – huge deserts, endless plains, towering mountains, broad rivers. We want to capture the spirit of adventure, the restless spirit that led these men and women across the country in [the] face of many difficulties and dangers."

After Ford finished his segment, Hathaway took over on location.{{Cite news|title=OUT 'WEST' IN CINERAMA|author=HOWARD, T. P.|date=June 18, 1961|work=The New York Times|id={{ProQuest|115280725}}}} Hathaway called Ford's segment "a little stagey".{{cite magazine|magazine=Take One|first=Scott|last=Eyman|title='I made movies' an interview with Henry Hathaway|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_take-one_september-october-1974_5_1/page/8/mode/1up|date=September–October 1974|page=12}}

Parts of the film were shot in Monument Valley, Utah{{cite book|last1=D'Arc|first1=James V.|title=When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah|date=2010|publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, Utah|isbn=978-1-4236-0587-4|edition=1st}} and in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California.{{Cite web|url=http://www.vcstar.com/news/local/conejo-valley/locally-filmed-westerns-butch-cassidy-gunsmoke-part-of-conejo-film-fest-ep-1367023848-351101171.html|title=Locally filmed Westerns 'Butch Cassidy,' 'Gunsmoke' part of Conejo film fest|website=www.vcstar.com|access-date=March 3, 2019|archive-date=February 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206035407/http://www.vcstar.com/news/local/conejo-valley/locally-filmed-westerns-butch-cassidy-gunsmoke-part-of-conejo-film-fest-ep-1367023848-351101171.html|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.toacorn.com/articles/conejo-film-fest-highlights-westerns/|title=Conejo film fest highlights Westerns|date=November 12, 2015|website=Thousand Oaks Acorn}}

Ford complained about having to dress such huge sets, as Cinerama photographed a much wider view than did the standard single-camera process to which Hollywood directors were accustomed. Director Henry Hathaway was quoted as saying, "That Goddamned Cinerama; do you know a waist shot is as close as you can get with that thing?"{{cite book | title=Take One | publisher=Unicorn Pub. | issue=v. 5 | year=1976 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BpYHAQAAIAAJ | access-date=September 14, 2018 | page=11|quote=That Goddamned Cinerama; do you know that a waist shot is as close as you can get with that thing?}}

A more difficult problem was that filming required that the actors be artificially positioned out of dramatic and emotional frame and out of synchronization with one another. Only when the three-print Cinerama process was projected upon a Cinerama screen did the positions and emotions of the actors synchronize, such as normal eye contact or emotional harmony between actors in a dramatic sequence. Because of the nature of Cinerama, if the film were shown in flat-screen projection, it would appear as if the actors made no eye contact. One brief scene of Mexican soldiers was sourced by John Wayne from his 1960 version of The Alamo.

Stuntman Bob Morgan, husband of Yvonne De Carlo, was seriously injured and lost a leg during a break in filming a gunfight on a moving train while filming the Outlaws portion. Chains holding logs on a flatbed car broke, crushing Morgan as he crouched beside them.{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/westwon.htm |title=How the West Was Won |date=August 19, 2007 |publisher=Snopes.com |access-date=May 14, 2014}}

In a scene in which George Peppard's character reminisces about his late father, Peppard improvises with an imitation of James Stewart's voice. Ford initially objected, but Peppard felt that it was important in such a long, sprawling film to remind the audience which character his father was supposed to be.

Hathaway later said that making the film was "goddam trouble. They had an idiot for a producer and Sol Siegel was drunk most of the time. We spent so much money on the picture they almost decided not to do the last part. We had a meeting, and I said, 'You can't quit. You've got to show how the West was won. The West was won when the law took over'."{{cite book|last=Davis|first=Ronald L.|page=[https://archive.org/details/justmakingmovies00davi/page/150 150]|title=Just Making Movies|url=https://archive.org/details/justmakingmovies00davi|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=9781578066902 }}

Filming was completed in January 1962. After the film was shot, MGM ordered a new ending that resolved the family story, which caused shooting to continue for another month and included George Peppard and Debbie Reynolds.{{Cite news|author=Hopper, H.|title=Looking at hollywood.|date=February 14, 1962|work=Chicago Daily Tribune|id={{ProQuest|183099736}}}} The budget eventually reached $12 million.{{Cite news|author=Staff Reporter |date=April 9, 1962|title=MGM and cinerama to release first joint movie this summer.|work=The Wall Street Journal|id={{ProQuest|132751362}}}}

For "The Civil War" segment, footage from MGM's 1957 film Raintree County of the Civil War Battle of Chickamauga were used for combat scenes during the day, as the scenes with Peppard, Tamblyn, Wayne, and Morgan were all at night. A brief shot of a steamboat going down a river (seen during the end of the Plains Segment) is also used from Raintree County.

For "The Railroad" segment, a subplot was cut featuring Hope Lange as Stuart's daughter, Julie, who becomes involved in a love triangle with Zeb and King; she ultimately marries and abandons Zeb.

The film later inspired a television series of the same name.

The film's music was composed and conducted by Alfred Newman. The soundtrack album was originally released by MGM Records. Dimitri Tiomkin, known for his Western film scores, was the first composer approached, but he became unavailable following eye surgery and Newman was hired as a replacement.

The score is widely considered{{By whom|date=April 2022}} as among Newman's best, and it appears on the AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores list. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score, losing to the score for Tom Jones.

Debbie Reynolds sings three songs in the film: "Raise a Ruckus Tonight" starting a party around the camp fire, "What Was Your Name in the States?" and "A Home in the Meadow" to the tune of "Greensleeves", with lyrics by Sammy Cahn.{{cite web |url=http://www.daveswarbirds.com/HTWWW/lyrics.htm |title=How The West Was Won: the lyrics to the songs |access-date=December 28, 2016}} Her rendition is heard by Cleve (Gregory Peck), who is so moved that he proposes marriage. This scene ends the Plains segment.

File:How The West Was Won (1962) - Trailer.webm

Surprisingly for such an American film, How the West Was Won had its world premiere in the United Kingdom at London's Casino Cinerama Theatre on November 1, 1962.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=November 7, 1962|page=19|title=Lastfogel Calls London the Best Hard Ticket City in the World}} It had a $450,000 advance.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=November 7, 1962|page=6|title=Film Reviews: How the West Was Won|last=Myers|first=Harold}} The film ran at the Casino for 123 weeks, ending in April 1965.

Harold Myers of Variety called it a "magnificent and exciting spectacle" and in relation to the Cinerama process noted that there had been "a vast improvement in the process. The print joins are barely noticeable, and the wobble, which beset earlier productions, has been eliminated." Reviews from London were favorable but with reservations over the storyline. Alexander Walker of the Evening Standard called it "a super-epic which shucks away your sophistication. If ever I heard the sound of success it is this." The Times said "it has a kind of surge and splendour and extravagance not to be despised."{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=November 7, 1962|page=19|title=London Critics Rave Over 'West'}}

How the West Was Won was a massive commercial success. Produced on a large budget of $15 million, it grossed $46,500,000 at the North American box office,[http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1963/0HWWW.php Box Office Information for How the West Was Won.] The Numbers. Retrieved September 2, 2013. making it the second-highest-grossing film of 1963. The film has grossed over $50 million worldwide.

The following people won Academy Awards for their work:{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1964 |title=The 36th Academy Awards (1964) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 23, 2011|work=oscars.org}}{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/23458/How-the-West-Was-Won/awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311150739/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/23458/How-the-West-Was-Won/awards |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 11, 2011 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=The New York Times |date=2011 |title=NY Times: How the West Was Won |access-date=December 25, 2008}}

• James R. Webb – Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen
• Harold F. Kress – Best Film Editing
• Franklin Milton – Best Sound

The following were nominated for five other Academy Awards:

• Bernard Smith – Best Picture
• George Davis, William Ferrari, Addison Hehr, Henry Grace, Don Greenwood Jr. and Jack Mills – Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Color
• William Daniels, Milton Krasner, Charles Lang and Joseph LaShelle – Best Cinematography, Color
• Walter Plunkett – Best Costume Design, Color
• Alfred Newman and Ken Darby – Best Music, Score – Substantially Original

The score was ranked 25th on the American Film Institute 2005 list AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores.{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/scores25.pdf |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=August 14, 2016}}

The February 2020 issue of New York Magazine lists How the West Was Won as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."{{cite news|title=The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html|magazine=New York Magazine|access-date=March 17, 2025}}

File:Westwon trailer Stewart.png as frontiersman Linus Rawlings]]

In 2000, Warner Bros. assigned Crest Digital the task of restoring the original Cinerama negative for How the West Was Won. As part of the process, Crest Digital built its own authentic Cinerama screening room.{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodheritage.org/newsarchive/spring01/cinerama.html |title=Cinerama Dome Moves Forward |publisher=Hollywoodheritage.org |access-date=May 14, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512134006/http://www.hollywoodheritage.org/newsarchive/spring01/cinerama.html |archive-date=May 12, 2013 }} Hewlett-Packard has led efforts{{Cite web|url=http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2006/apr-jun/movie.html|title=HP Labs – Movie makeover : HP and Warner Bros. give old movies new life|website=www.hpl.hp.com|access-date=September 16, 2007|archive-date=January 3, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103051749/http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2006/apr-jun/movie.html?|url-status=dead}} to combine the three image portions to make the Cinerama image look more acceptable on a flat screen. This has finally been accomplished on the latest DVD and Blu-ray disc release. Previously, the lines where the three Cinerama panels join were glaringly visible, but this has been largely corrected on the Warner Bros. DVD and Blu-ray releases. However, the joints remain visible in places, especially against bright backgrounds.

The restoration also corrects some of the geometric distortions inherent in the process. For instance, in the final shot, the Golden Gate Bridge appears to curve in perspective as the camera flies underneath it whereas in the Cinerama version, it breaks into three straight sections at different angles.

The Blu-ray disc also contains a "SmileBox" version simulating the curved-screen effect.

Though the aspect ratio of Cinerama is 2.59:1, Warner's new releases of the film offer an aspect ratio of 2.89:1, incorporating much information on both sides that was not intended to be seen when projected. The Blu-ray-exclusive SmileBox alternative contains the intended cropping intact.

In 2006, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging performed digital restoration on How the West Was Won. The film was restored frame by frame at Prasad Corporation to remove dirt, tears, scratches and other damage, restoring the film's original appearance.From Grain to Pixel: The Archival Life of Film in Transition, note 189, By Giovanna Fossati The restored version has been shown on television since October 2008 on the Encore Westerns channel.{{Cite web|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2007-12-17/news/27688478_1_strategic-alliance-post-production-digital-restoration|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911024456/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2007-12-17/news/27688478_1_strategic-alliance-post-production-digital-restoration|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 11, 2014|title=economictimes, Strategic alliance for creation of digital intermediaries, Dec 17, 2007}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.glamsham.com/en/warner-bros-prasad-corp-form-strategic-alliance|title=Warner bros., Prasad Corp form strategic alliance | News|website=Glamsham|date=August 7, 2021 }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.prasadgroup.org/downloads/pg-restore-v9-1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013095312/http://www.prasadgroup.org/downloads/pg-restore-v9-1.pdf|url-status=usurped|title=prasadgroup.org, Digital Film Restoration|archive-date=October 13, 2014}}

• Gold Key Comics: How the West Was Won (July 1963){{gcdb issue|id=17770|title=Gold Key: How the West Was Won}}
• The novelization was written in 1962 by Western author Louis L'Amour. According to his son Beau, his father had frequent clashes with the studio, both over elements of inauthenticity and inaccuracy in the film, and with the indecisiveness of the studio regarding the segments to be made, and thus, those that L'Amour would need to include in the novelization.{{cite book |last=L'Amour |first=Louis |author-link= |date=September 2017 |title=How The West Was Won |location=New York, NY |publisher=Bantam Books |pages=371–386 |isbn=9780425286098}}

• List of American films of 1963
• List of American films of 1962

{{Reflist}}

{{Wikiquote}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{IMDb title|0056085}}
• {{TCMDb title|2016}}
• {{AFI film|23992}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes|how_the_west_was_won}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC "How the West Was Won"] essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 584–586

{{John Ford}}

{{Henry Hathaway}}

{{George Marshall}}

{{Cinerama}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:How The West Was Won}}

Category:1960s American films

Category:1960s English-language films

Category:1962 films

Category:1962 Western (genre) films

Category:American Civil War films

Category:American Western (genre) epic films

Category:Articles containing video clips

Category:Cheyenne in popular culture

Category:Cultural depictions of Ulysses S. Grant

Category:English-language Western (genre) films

Category:Fictional depictions of Abraham Lincoln in film

Category:Films adapted into comics

Category:Films adapted into television shows

Category:Films directed by George Marshall

Category:Films directed by Henry Hathaway

Category:Films directed by John Ford

Category:Films scored by Alfred Newman

Category:Films scored by Ken Darby

Category:Films set in 1839

Category:Films set in 1851

Category:Films set in 1861

Category:Films set in 1865

Category:Films set in 1868

Category:Films set in 1889

Category:Films set in Arizona

Category:Films set in California

Category:Films set in the American frontier

Category:Films shot in California

Category:Films shot in Illinois

Category:Films shot in Kentucky

Category:Films shot in Oregon

Category:Films shot in South Dakota

Category:Films shot in Utah

Category:Films that won the Best Sound Mixing Academy Award

Category:Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award

Category:Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award

Category:Films with screenplays by James R. Webb

Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films

Category:Photoplay Awards film of the year winners

Category:United States National Film Registry films