My review title is a quote from star Randolph Scott, as Union Captain John Hayes, addressing a Confederate-sympathizing cook who poured much salt into the pie slice of the lone blue coat among a group seated at the table in his restaurant. The cook claims this pie slice is no different from the others, but it's obvious this is a lie, raising Hayes' ire. This immediately reminded me of a similar episode with the same quote said by Richard Cramer: the menacing skipper of a small boat that Laurel and Hardy are trapped on, in "Saps at Sea". He's ordered them to make him a dinner, knowing that there is no food on board.Despite director Budd Beotticher's prejudice of wanting to be minimally associated with this low budget quickie Warnercolor Civil War western, it's quite an entertaining yarn, with a plot along the lines of the Missouri-Kansas border wars, only this is sited in the little frontier town of Julesburg, in the NE corner of then Colorado Territory. Located not far off the Oregon-California trail, historically, Julesburg was a major center for the Overland stage company, as portrayed in the film. However, the major plot features of Julesburg being a hotbed of Confederate sympathizers and the Overland stage transporting the bulk of California gold eastward are fictional. The great bulk of CA and NV gold and silver was transported by ships, not stages, to the East. Perhaps the screenwriters were unaware that the Colorado Rockies and SW Montana were also major gold producers during much of the Civil War. These would have been much more likely sources of gold shipments east by stage than CA gold!Not only do we get lead Randy Scott, still looking and acting virile at age 60, but two gorgeous classy blonds in Virginia Mayo and Karen Steele. Name another western that can equal that! Initially, both are married, but both husbands die as a result of gunslinger Mace's ambition to shoot Hayes. They then become potential rivals for the attention of the unmarried Hayes. Virginia was a decade older, nearing 40, and had been the female star in a number of westerns over the years, most recently "Ft. Dobbs". Although she is billed over Karen, Karen is given more screen time and is characterized as the 'good' girl, with a suggestion of at least an intermittent relationship with Hayes, in the end. Off camera, it was married Beotticher who was romancing Karen, which no doubt explains her greater presence in the film than Virginia and her starring role in several other Beotticher-Scott films. Quite the independent woman she sometimes portrayed in her films, she didn't marry until her 40s. In contrast to Karen's tomboy rancher character, Virginia plays the gold-digging kept trophy wife of wealthy Confederate sympathizer Clay Putnum. Complicating things, before the war, she was romantically involved with Hayes. It's soon clear that her marriage to Putnum is largely loveless and that she still loves Hayes. Although Virginia was mostly cast in minimally demanding roles as a classy pretty face, as in this film, she could convincingly play a rustic tomboy wildcat, as in "Along the Great Divide": my favorite of her film characters.You may wonder why the film is titled "Westbound", when the main point of the story is the shipment of California gold eastward? It refers to Hayes' initial journey westward to Julesburg from a military unit in the East. Not coincidentally, Julesburg was Hayes' hometown, he previously being the manager of the Overland stage there. The army is sending him back, as the present manager(Putnum) seems unable to stop depredations by Confederate sympathizers on the gold-laden stages in this region. The reason turns out to be that he, like most people in and around this town, is a southern sympathizer. Putnum is actually the most interesting character in this film, although Duggan lacks charisma. He wants to stop the gold shipments by sabotage: mostly stealing horses and burning down way stations, but wants to avoid any killings. In this latter respect , he is in deep conflict with his loose canon hired gun, Mace, who seems to also be the leader of Putnum's gang of thugs. Mace is more interested in stealing gold than in preventing its travel through this region. He takes an immediate dislike to Hayes upon the latter's arrival, and provides a dramatic demonstration of his marksmanship in shooting off Hayes' holster with gun after Hayes refuses to respond to his implied gun duel challenge. Mace later accidentally kills Karen's husband: one-armed union soldier Rod Miller, mistaking him for Hayes. He is also responsible for the deaths of a whole stage full of passengers, when the stage careens down a steep slope after the driver is shot dead. This is the final straw in the relationship between Putnum and Mace, as well as Putnum's marriage to Virginia. Putnum is shot dead by Mace as he races to try to save Hayes from being ambushed by Mace. Hayes then shoots Mace as he tries to escape from a surprise counter-ambush by a committee of citizens angered by the recent killings. Virginia decides to flee this region rather than try to patch things up with Hayes, leaving the field open for widowed Karen.Yes, this film is at least as good as most of the other Beottricher-Scott films I have seen, regardless of Boettricher's prejudice. Wally Brown and Fred Sherman , as the colorful stage drivers, provide a bit of diversion from the serious drama. The photography is beautiful and traveling music pleasant. Presently available on DVD.

Sadly, this is an ordinary western so unlike the sterling SEVEN MEN FROM NOW. So many of the stories have a familiar classic ring to them so it really comes down to how well then are preformed. This entry in the Scott-Boetticher cycle is poorly performed by the supporting cast. Unlike "SEVEN MEN" with the brilliant Lee Marvin and also the wonderful Gail Russell, this oater lets us down by the stars. Also the script doesn't have the dynamic of their other films. The love feelings or sometime love affairs of Scott with his leading ladies in these films is a key to the total enjoyment. Unfortunately, this film has little of heartfelt emotion that Russell and Scott provided in "SEVEN MEN"

Westbound finds Captain Randolph Scott of the Union Army headed in that direction to return to his civilian occupation, that of manager for the Overland Stage Company. As the main transporter of gold for the Union Treasury, Overland has had its share of holdups and other problems caused by Confederate raiders and the army puts Scott on detached duty to return to run Overland.Scott's told to make his headquarters in Julesburg which is a hotbed of Confederate sympathy. The man Scott is replacing has absconded with all the horses and records of the company. While Scott's in the army, that man Andrew Duggan also absconded with the woman that Scott intended to marry. Virginia Mayo is now Mrs. Duggan.Randy does what he can to cobble together Stagecoaches, horses, and people to drive them. But Duggan who is a Southern sympathizer has at his disposal a nasty pack of gunslingers headed by Michael Pate.Westbound is an unusually short film, more in the tradition of those Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and other B cowboys from Republic. But the film does cram quite a lot into its 68 minute running time. This is one of the better Randolph Scott/Budd Boetticher collaborations. It also has a nice bouncy theme for when the stagecoach is running.Definitely a film that will make one a Randolph Scott fan if you haven't been before.

In "When In Disgrace" Boetticher writes:" As far as my films with Randolph Scott are concerned, I have never included Westbound, which in my opinion could have continued right on into the Pacific Ocean. Westbound was a mission of rescue, nothing more. It wasn't until after the third picture with Randy that I was told he had one more contractual obligation at Warner Brothers, and I considered that a disaster." I consider Westbound a successful rescue mission. If Boetticher could not do much with the story, he did it with the characters. Karen Steele is the hard working woman whose husband Michael Dante comes back from the war without an arm. Randolph Scott, whose mission is to bring gold to the Union using stagecoaches, helps them make a station. Andrew Duggan is a rich man married to Virginia Mayo, who in the past had an affair with Scott. He is a man of the Confederacy, who will do anything he can against Scott's mission. All the actors, specially the two women are excellent, making a strong impression with their characters. The music is absolutely great, very catchy. Boetticher maintains his standard of creating good action scenes. Definitely much more than just another Randolph Scott western.