Westward the Women

There is a theory, expounded by Joseph Conrad, that inside every man and woman lies a monster--a beast which is kept in check by the laws of society. This theory implies that if the monster is given a little encouragement, it will pop right up to the surface. Judging from my observation of audience behavior, Westward the Women appealed to the female monsters present.

They seemed to enjoy the sight of other women whipping mules, shooting Indians, shooting men, and shooting each other. I didn't enjoy it. Frankly, I felt a trifle uneasy, when a predominantly female audience screamed with delight as one of their sex punctured the body of some poor cowboy.

The women in this motion picture are, in fact, quite frightening. All of them are brought together by a common desire; they want to get married. Since no one on the Eastern seaboard is interested in marrying them, they head out West to take what they can get. Westward the Women is their mule and waggon safari to California. They start off with Robert Taylor and a bunch of cowboys for protection. As things turn out, the cowboys need more protection than the women. Taylor warns his boys to "stay away from the wimin," and he shoots a few offenders to prove he means it. The women and the Indians shoot the rest of the cowboys.

All of this apparently appeals to women. So does the movie's ending. The girls stop just before they arrive in California, and dress in feminine clothes. Pretending they are ladies, they march into the town and grab the men. Denise Darcel manages to get her hooks into Taylor, who keeps shouting that he is a woman hater.

Both the plot and the women of Westward the Women struck me as being ludicrous. The girls belong in a James Thurber story, not in a Western. The plot and dialogue are fit only for female monsters. I therefore recommend this motion picture to all women with amazon aspirations; the boys should stay home.