Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

kevin olzak 1939's "Union Pacific" was the final black and white feature for the legendary director Cecil B. De Mille, coming on the heels of John Ford's "Stagecoach," spearheading the revival of Hollywood Westerns from hour long quickies to major productions. Owing a debt to Ford's own 1924 silent "The Iron Horse," De Mille proved again a master showman, a fine cast and epic scenes of destruction and Indian battles, though top billed Barbara Stanwyck's oirish accent calls attention to one of her least rewarding performances. Fortunately, Joel McCrea is everything the script calls for, a towering troubleshooter for the Union Pacific railroad, quick to put an end to problems arising in their goal to combine east and west coasts. Banker Henry Kolker is buttressed by reliable villain Brian Donlevy (already well versed in railroad chicanery in Fox's "Jesse James"), confederates played by Fuzzy Knight, Anthony Quinn, Robert Barrat, and Lon Chaney Jr. Robert Preston is the literal wild card in this stacked deck, Donlevy's partner in crime but soft for pretty Stanwyck. For Chaney fans, coming off a small role as 'One of James Gang' in the aforementioned "Jesse James," his role is nothing more than a bearded extra with no dialogue, less than a minute on screen in just two short scenes, in at 26 minutes (aboard the train when a henchman takes a potshot at a defenseless Indian), out at 36 (seated in the saloon when Donlevy offers up free drinks). Lon would fare better in De Mille's "North West Mounted Police" (in the wake of his triumphant "Of Mice and Men"), but would never work for the illustrious director after that. Another trivia note finds unbilled Richard Denning playing a reporter, only three years before wedding Chaney co-star Evelyn Ankers in a lasting union.

Robert J. Maxwell It has plenty of action, a love story, an exciting race between two railroads, skulduggery, good production values, marauding Indians, thoroughly stereotyped characters, and an absence of anything that might suggest unpredictability or ambiguity -- what's not to like? It's the post Civil War West and the Union Pacific Railroad is being built chiefly by Irish labor across the plains to Utah, where it will meet the Central Pacific being built from San Francisco. The race is on. A banker bets on the Central Pacific covering more ground and hires a gang of thugs including boss Brian Donlevy and Robert Preston to sabotage the Union Pacific's efforts. In turn, the Central Pacific's bankers hire a troubleshooter, McCrea. This pits McCrea and the Central Pacific against Donlevy, Preston, and a scrubby cabal of miscreants. In historical fact -- which is completely irrelevant to this movie -- the whole affair was mired in corruption. It led to the age of the Robber Barons. One of them held a monopoly on railroad ties and accumulated a sufficient fortune to establish the university which I was privileged to attend.McCrea is his usual all-American self. He wears his sixguns with their carved keratic handles in a cross draw. Preston, a mustachioed companero from the Union Army, is light-hearted and playfully criminal. Preston is deeply in love with Barbara Stanwyck, a railroad brat with an Irish accent. The true-blue McCrea falls in love with her too. Both men survive the savage Indian attack on a wrecked train, and only one of them lives through the final confrontation. Guess who survives and who dies with a few last words of remorse on his lips.Here's an example of the movie's values. McCrea has just been hired to straighten things out. He's aboard a train chugging West. He's wearing a neatly pressed cowboy shirt with a string tie. Also, though McCrea doesn't know it, some of his fellow passengers are members of Donlevy's gang. They wear SUITS. A Sioux Indian is happily racing his pony alongside the train, whooping and waving in a friendly way. One of the suits bets that the Indian can be picked off with one rifle shot. The suit wins. The Indian tumbles from his horse, dead. McCrea, seeing this, is inflamed. He dashes over and deals out punishment. The punishment consists of a fist fight that the suit loses. The suit falls from the train and is left behind, brushing off the dust and scowling. That's the punishment for murdering an Indian. And what's the logic behind the punishment? "That man didn't just kill an Indian -- he killed half a dozen white men working on the railroad." A similar story was told in John Ford's 1924 production, "The Iron Horse," but this is equally enjoyable. Ford's movie was a silent, and George Bancroft was full of muscles but not as likable as Joel McCrea. Stanwyck should stay away from roles calling for an Irish accent. But I liked this quite a lot. I don't want my thoughts provoked too often anyway. Sometimes, the simpler the better, even to the point of simple mindedness.

zetes It doesn't suffer from any of his usual flaws. The pacing is perfect, the acting is not at all stilted, and the technical aspects don't dominate the story or the characters. The story centers around the building of the titular railroad. A banker hires a motley group of gamblers and whoremongers (led by Brian Donlevy) to slow down production and then invests in the Central Pacific. Joel McCrea plays a railroad cop, basically, who sees that Donlevy is trouble. He can't outright kick him out, because his army buddy and best friend (Robert Preston) is Donlevy's partner. To further complicate the relationship between McCrea and Preston, there is a girl caught between them (Barbara Stanwyck). It's a great story supported by fine performances all around. While the film runs for 2 hours and 19 minutes, it never seemed boring at all. There are several exciting setpieces, most notably an Indian attack. There are also a couple of great suspense sequences. I loved the scene where McCrea corners Preston and Stanwyck after the payroll has been stolen. It goes on for a long time but the suspense never breaks. Generally I don't think DeMille has skill enough to pull something like that off. My only real problem is that sometimes the good guys are as bad as the villains. McCrea has two sidekicks, played by Akim Tamiroff and Lynne Overman, who can't help but be referred to as henchmen. I mean, even the characters' names are sinister, Fiesta and Leach. Donlevy has a couple of henchmen as well (Anthony Quinn in an early role and Robert Barrat), and they aren't any scarier.

ragtimeacres They don't make 'em like this anymore. Everything you could want in a film: romance, wit, drama, action. Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea make an incredible on-screen duo. The train wreck scene at the end is especially impressive. Kudos to Cecil B. Demille for this work of art. I wish I could give this movie more than 10 stars! :)