Union Pacific (1939)

 

One of the primary plot threads of Union Pacific is the behind-the-scenes attempts to sabotage the historic attempt to connect the eastern and western parts of the United States with railroad tracks, and the end of the film takes place at Promontory Point, the place where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads were connected with a golden spike driven into the last rail. Throughout the film, we get to see some intriguing aspects of the building of a railroad: the laying of the wooden rails, the laying of the rails themselves, and the driving of the spikes to hold the two together. We even learn that many of the buildings that sprang up near the railroad construction sites were dismantled and moved by the railroad to the next location, allowing for saloons and other structures to be always available. Those moments are fascinating to watch. However, the film keeps returning to the machinations of Asa M. Barrows (played by Henry Kolker), one of the financiers of the railroad, and his hired hand, Sid Campeau (Brian Donlevy), to keep the construction from progressing. Barrows, for example, promises $200,000 in cash to pay back wages but asks Campeau to have the money stolen before it reaches its destination. More than two hours of subterfuge regarding railroads might be a bit much, so Union Pacific devotes much of its time to a love triangle. Robert Preston, in one of his earlier film roles, plays Dick Allen, a gambler who works with Campeau. He even calls himself Campeau’s “partner” (more on that later), and they ensure that there’s lots of alcohol and gambling and prostitution at each stop in order to keep the workers distracted from their work. Barbara Stanwyck plays Mollie Monahan, the train’s “postmistress” (the diminutive term used at the time for a woman who was doing what was considered a “man’s job”) and the daughter of the train’s engineer. Dick has been trying to get Mollie’s attention for years, but she resists his attempts to propose to her. And then Joel McCrea shows up. He’s Jeff Butler (or “Captain Butler,” the second character so named in 1939, the other being the more famous Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind). He’s taken on the job of “troubleshooter,” the person whose job is to keep law and order for the railroad, and that’s going to put him at odds with Campeau and his old friend Dick. Yes, McCrea’s Jeff and Preston’s Dick are Army buddies from the Civil War. When they reunite on the train—with Mollie between them—we learn that they “slept under the same blanket” and have “eaten off the same place.” Very close indeed. It’s not long after meeting Jeff that Mollie decides that she’d much rather spend time with him than with Dick. After observing him beat up one of Campeau’s men (a really big guy) using just a shovel, all she can say is “Glory, what a man!” Watching the two men maneuver for Mollie’s attention takes up quite a bit of the film, even when other events are taking place. For instance, they play an interesting game of cat-and-mouse in the car that serves as Mollie’s railroad car/post office/tea shop after the theft of the payroll. The men like each other—well, “like” might be the wrong word—but they also compete with each other. Watching such homosocial moments in older films has been a fascinating experience; there are far more than you might initially expect (and, obviously, far more than the Production Code folks were able to discern—thankfully). Stanwyck, Preston, and McCrea are all good here, but they were always reliable performers and would give greater performances in other films. Overall, Union Pacific features some pretty typical stuff for a western: buffalo herds, an “Indian” “attack” on a train, a train robbery, the atmosphere of the saloon, and several shootouts. It also includes a few moments of humor, such as when the Native Americans discover one of those carved wooden cigar store “Indians” on the train. Anthony Quinn makes a brief appearance, one of the earliest in his career, as one of Campeau’s men who shoots someone whose about to beat him at gambling. However, other than the love triangle plot, the most interesting aspects of the film are the two train wrecks. The first occurs when the Native Americans use a water tank tower to knock a train off the rails, and the second happens as the railroad workers try to lay tracks on top of the snow in order to get around a mountain. Both are amazing to watch, and when you remember that the director of Union Pacific, Cecil DeMille, staged another spectacular train wreck in his Oscar-winning The Greatest Show on Earth thirteen years later (boy, he really enjoyed staging train wrecks), you can appreciate the nomination for Best Special Effects that Union Pacific garnered. Unfortunately, like many films of its time, it’s marred by its attitude toward Native Americans. After Jeff beats up half of Campeau’s men for killing a Native American who was harmlessly waving to the passengers on the train, Campeau says, “What’s a dead Indian, more or less? The Army’s been killing them for years.” Jeff’s horrible response? “The Army doesn’t kill Indians for fun, Campeau. And I don’t think you do either.” It’s quite obvious that Campeau’s men do, indeed, kill for fun, an action better described as genocide, and Jeff’s rationalization for the Army’s behavior hardly improves the image of the Army.

Oscar Nomination: Best Special Effects