Cinerama displays ‘How the West Was Won’
There aren’t many films so big, they require multiple directors, but “How the West Was Won” is one of them. The 1962 epic – a frequent attraction on Turner Classic Movies, which presents it again Friday, Nov. 25, in tribute to the 70th anniversary of the ultra-widescreen Cinerama process – utilized the talents of filmmakers John Ford, Henry Hathaway and George Marshall for different segments.
With Spencer Tracy as its narrator, the truly sprawling saga boasts an all-star cast in weaving its multiple tales of the Old West ... and stunning sequences in a raft ride down a raging river, and a shootout aboard a moving train. Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck, Robert Preston, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart, John Wayne and Richard Widmark are among the familiar faces on hand over the picture’s nearly three-hour run.