The Virginian (1946) User Reviews

A cowboy finds his convictions about the Code of the West really questioned when falls for a pretty new schoolteacher

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 6 July 2018]

Cowpoke good guy , known as the Virginian, Joel McCrea , and his best colleague called Steve , Sonny Tuffs , both fall for Molly, Barbara Britton , the Eastern Schoolmarm who is come to their Wyoming town . Steve wants to make some quick money and joins up Trampas , Brian Donlevy , and his cattle rustling band .After that , the Virginian leads a posse against the cattle rustlers . Things go wrong when The Virginian must take a hard decission .

Good Western based on the 1902 classic novel by Owen Lister about a ranch-hand defeating the local bad guys . The main issue of the movie is an interesting premise , as The Virginian is forced to choose between frienship and the code of the west and Molly wonders if she can accept the country's harsh ways . It has fine interpretation from a top-drawer cast , such as Joel McCrea , Brian Donlevy , Barbara Britton . Joel McCrea gives a decent acting as the tough cowboy who is betrayed by his best friend , deciding between bring him to justice and alienating the pretty schoolteacher he is in love with . Donlevy is perfectly cast as the outlaw leader Trampas . And a very good support cast such as : Sonny Tuffs , Fay Bainter, Tom Tully , Bill Edwards , Paul Guilfoyle , Mark Lawrence , among others . The motion picture was well directed by Stuart Gilmore who was one of the best Hollywood editors . Although he also made a few fulms such as Captive man, Half-breed , Target and Hot lead.

There are several adaptation about this novel : First silent retelling The Virginian 1914 by Cecil B DeMille with Dustin Farnum , Jack Johnston . Classic early talkie 1929 by Victor Fleming with Gary Cooper , Walter Huston , Mary Brian , Richard Arlen . 1962 popular TV series mostly directed by Earl Bellamy with James Drury , Doug McClure , Lee J Cobb , John McIntire , Stewart Granger . TV rendition with Bill Pullman , John Savage , Harris Yulin , Colm Feore , Diane Lane . 2014 by Thomas McKowsky with Trace Adkins , Steve Bacic, Victoria Pratt

Interesting to compare the 1929 and 1946 versions...

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 24 May 2012]

... and the comparison is made more interesting because this film is almost a word for word remake of the 1929 version starring Gary Cooper. Most remakes of early sound films had to make huge changes in the plot just to please the production code. Just take a look at the mess that the 1941 version of the "The Trial of Mary Dugan" is versus the 1929 version, which had its plot completely changed due to production code issues. Here, there is no such issue.

Joel McCrea, always overly humble when discussing his own acting ability, said that he'd get a script and after reading it, often know that the studio wanted Cooper and couldn't get him, and he was their second choice. I doubt that, but here we get to judge the two actors in the same role as "The Virginian" 17 years apart. The two films are practically the same even down to the visual and audio cues - Trampas dressed in all black, the bird call that is synonymous with affable but ultimately tragically lazy Steve, etc. The one thing they didn't do that would have looked just plain silly by 1946 standards is dress McCrea in all white as the good guy, which they did with Cooper as the hero in 1929.

I think I prefer Mary Brian as Molly in the 1929 version versus Barbara Britton in this version. Mary Brian played Molly as a strong smart woman, but a woman of New England, unfamiliar and puzzled by the ways of the west. Here Ms. Britton plays Molly as a bit of a befuddled weakling, easily evoked to tears. No befuddled weakling would travel across the continent to teach school in a wilderness.

If you've never seen the 1929 version, you'll probably like this one. If you like Joel McCrea I'm almost sure you'll like it, but if you've seen the early sound version the ghost of that early sound marvel is likely to raise its specter more than a couple of times as you watch it.

Very good, but not great

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 5 April 2016]

This is not one of "the GREAT" Westerns, but it's pretty darned good...above average for that genera in that era.

The biggest positive of this film is its star -- Joel McCrea as the Virginian. I always preferred McCrea in non-Westerns, but he's very good here.

Brian Donlevy is here as the "bad guy" Trampas. Donlevy was an interesting actor. Often the bad guy, but not always. He's quite good here, although it's obvious that he's a B actor.

Sonny Tufts is the Virginian's best friend and competitor in the love department with the new school marm. This characters demise -- hung by his best friend -- is another thing that sets this Western apart from many.

Barbara Britton is "just okay" as the romantic interest here...the new school marm. Not much depth there in regard to acting.

The wonderful Fay Bainter is here as the best friend of the school marm, but she is wasted in her role. The equally wonderful Henry O'Neill plays Bainter's wife...but again, his talents are wasted here.

Long before "I Love Lucy", William Frawley sometimes played in Westerns, and he is along here in a small role.

Incidentally, some sources indicate that Minor Watson has an uncredited role as "the Judge". I am quite sure that is incorrect. Willard Robertson played the role.

Production values here are quite good, and the Technicolor photography taken in California is very nice.

Very good, but not great. Better than the average Western of the era. Worth a watch...at least once.

refreshing scenery, sweet romance, excitement

[daviddaphneredding · 10 September 2011]

While this movie is based on only a part of Owen Wister's novel, there is enough of an exciting story even at that. The romance and the tension are intertwined. Barbara Britton, as Molly Stark, must have drawn people to see this western...the very lovely lady she was who was, as well, excellent in acting..., Sonny Tufts, as Steve was a happy-go-lucky man (though he really did little more than simply speak his lines), Henry O'Neill and Fay Bainter made for a nice older pair in this film, Brian Donlevy, as Trampas was as mean as he could be, and Joel McCrae portrayed very convincingly the calm Virginian who, even so, had silent courage: in a bar he was not afraid of Trampas even if the mean man was anxious to kill the Virginian before the sun set. The very beautiful green Wyoming countryside, the very beautiful, deep blue stream, and the blue sky were, in their own right, drawing. The ending was both tense and happy. Personally, I feel it was something of a classic.

Far better than the original

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 1 July 2021]

If you're a Joel McCrea fan, chances are you've already seen The Virginian, one of his famous westerns he made during his career. It's a faithful remake of the 1929 nearly silent movie, with Joel and Brian Donlevy as the rivals for Barbara Britton's affections. A simple story: the good cowboy, the bad cowboy, the virtuous schoolteacher, the loyal best friend. But simple stories are often the ones that stick the longest and stand the test of time.

If you're going to watch The Virginian, though, make sure you rent the remake. The original is far too dated. This movie is in Technicolor, actually has scenes with dialogue in it, and lets the scenes flow together well. Joel McCrea and Sonny Tufts have an easy, natural chemistry together that make you really believe their friendship. I prefer Randolph Scott westerns to Joel's in general, but even I can admit this is a good one.

The Virginian

[trixie32 · 7/10 · 23 March 2006]

Owen Wister, himself, is fascinating to me. The movie version of his book doesn't include the rather excellent banter between the schoolmarm and the hero, nor does it include the evidence of growth and maturity in the early antics of the hero and his friend, Lin. What great fun they had before falling for the schoolmarm. You have to read to get that.

Molly appears a bit ditsy in the '46 version and a bit underdeveloped in the book. Thank goodness for the remake with Bill Pullman and Diane Lane. Molly seems to have more depth with Lane playing the role.

The '46 version is great, the '99 version is great, but I hope you get to see both to fill in the gaps each seems to have.

Its a great plot, fabulous development of romance, and the ending is intense (more so in the '99 version though).

One-dimensional western based on famous western novel...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 23 May 2012]

The best thing about THE VIRGINIAN is the pretty school teacher played by Barbara Britton, and very convincingly too. Shortly upon her arrival in town she's met by two cowboy friends, Sonny Tufts and Joel McCrea. As is standard for many a western, at first she and The Virginian (Joel McCrea) don't get on--sort of like an earlier screen western starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland ("Dodge City") where they meet and fall out immediately before winding up in love before the final reel.

But, as is usual in these westerns, although she eventually falls for McCrea, she struggles against losing him in a fight with villainous Trampas (Brian Donlevy), always attired in black so we get the picture. But before the finish, she and the hero ride horseback into the setting sunset. The story has the flavor of a Zane Grey western novel, although penned by Owen Wister.

The simple tale has some nice performances from the star trio (McCrea, Britton and Tufts), but it's Fay Bainter and Henry O'Neill who give it a warm touch as a couple of homesteaders who take the schoolmarm in.

Nothing about the tale suggests why it is such a classic by Owen Wister, especially in this rather humdrum version where the most striking asset is the beautiful Technicolor scenery. The plot is slight, to say the least, and there's little punch to the predictable ending.

The only real surprise is the fact that McCrea's code of honor permits him to let his old friend hang for a rustling crime. It's the only original and surprising touch in the story.

Love, Love on the Range

[dglink · 7/10 · 26 October 2020]

Molly, an Eastern school marm, travels west to Montana to teach a semester and immediately becomes the romantic focus of two handsome cowpokes, Steve and the Virginian. Long on talk and spooning and short on action, unless a cattle stampede qualifies, "The Virginian" was based on a 1902 novel by Owen Wister. The popular book was adapted for the stage, filmed four times as a theatrical movie, made once as a TV movie, and became the basis for a television series. The romantic triangle at the story's core takes place against a backdrop of cattle rustling and the harsh realities of maintaining order on the frontier.

Not the most expressive actor, Joel McCrea is amiable as the titular Virginian opposite the ever- smiling Sonny Tufts as Steve, his competition for Barbara Britton's affections. McCrea seems too mild and gentlemanly for the deeds he ostensibly does, and Tufts appears a bit simple minded and assured that his grin and charm will always get him off the hook. Garbed head to foot in inky black, complete with black hat and black gloves, Brian Donlevy as Trampas, the head rustler, shouts "villain" before his first sneer or mustache twirl. Britton has little more expression than McCrea, and the romance lacks credibility. Despite good looks, little in either Steve's or the Virginian's character or personalities justifies any interest an educated school teacher might have in the two unpolished cowboys. Evidently, Britton was misinformed about the wild west, because she packed her finest to teach on the frontier; her Edith-Head-designed wardrobe dazzles, even when she goes riding in the wilderness. Despite the incongruity, her costumes, coiffures, and complexion are stunningly captured by Harry Hallenberger's Technicolor cinematography.

This 1946 version of "The Virginian" is more an adult romance on the range than a matinee oater. McCrea has appeared to better effect in other westerns, and director Stuart Gilmore was likely more suited to film editing, for which he received three Oscar nominations, than he was for directing. Despite the flaws, the film is pleasant enough with sumptuous color and attractive stars. However, western fans seeking action-filled entertainment need look elsewhere.

The Prototype of Them All.

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 28 May 2004]

This story, originally written by novelist Owen Wister is the granddaddy of the western genre. Western novels before that were usually about real life characters, Buffalo Bill, Wyatt Earp for example: that put them in these two dimensional heroic settings. Those things were nicknamed "Penny dreadfuls" and that they were.

Wister, who spent some time in the west, and was a good friend of cowboy president Theodore Roosevelt, developed his characters out of the people he met in the west. The strong silent hero, the demure schoolmarm, the cold hearted villain, all these appear in The Virginian and they're stock characters in westerns. But these are the original prototypes for thousands to follow. Owen Wister set the standard for folks like Zane Grey, Luke Short, Louis L'Amour,etc. to follow.

Joel McCrea was a fine actor, a combination of the best features of Gary Cooper(who did the role in an earlier version), Jimmy Stewart and a younger John Wayne. Nobody has done a better job in playing this character including Cooper. Brian Donlevy is the villainous Trampas and he never disappoints. Sonny Tufts probably has the best role in his career as Steve, The Virginian's friend who turns to rustling with Trampas. Barbara Britton is properly demure as the schoolmarm.

This novel, the play that Wister wrote based on it and all the versions to follow had the Presidential imprimatur. Teddy Roosevelt loved this book and recommended it to the youth of America. I remember a similar White House imprimatur for a western coming in my teen years. Back around 1965 the folks had CBS decided Gunsmoke had run its course and they were ready to pull the plug on the show. Well, up stepped Lady Bird Johnson to the plate and she declared that Gunsmoke was her favorite television show. That did it, the show ran almost another decade.

The crux of the story centers around the relationship with The Virginian and Steve. After warning him once, The Virginian catches Steve with stolen cattle and since there's no organized law in the territory, proceeds to hang him forthwith. The story then revolves on how The Virginian and others around him view the distasteful, but necessary duty he had to do.

I've often wondered how Theodore Roosevelt felt about that part of the plot and what he might have said to his good friend Wister. There is a famous story from his days in the Dakota Territory about how Roosevelt set out to trail some rustlers and caught up with them. There was no law within miles of where they were. But Roosevelt took them back to where there was a federal marshal and turned them over to the surprise of many including the marshal.

No doubt The Virginian was a great example of the manly virtues of the strenuous life that Roosevelt passionately advocated. But I often wonder what he and Wister might have talked about concerning this aspect of the story.

Remember folks if you see this and complain about clichés, remember the clichés started here.

An Aimable But Unexceptional Oater

[zardoz-13 · 6/10 · 27 April 2013]

The fourth big-screen adaptation of author Owen Wister classic novel "The Virginian" stars Joel McCrea as the eponymous hero and Brian Donlevy as the villainous Trampas. McCrea looks a bit long in the tooth to be cast as the title character. Director Stuart Gilmore's "The Virginian" concerns a transplanted Easterner on horseback who serves as foreman at Judge Henry's ranch in Wyoming. Barbara Britton co-stars as 'a wisdom-bringer" from Vermont who gets off on the wrong foot with McCrea. This is a traditional western lensed beautifully but primarily against studio backdrops and Hollywood backlot towns is comparatively dull. This morality play draws its gravity from a superlative performance from Sonny Turfs as Steve Andrews, a never-do-well, cloven-hoofed cowboy who prefers to rustler rather than earn his living the legal way. Steve wanders back and forth from the wrong end of the trail to work briefly for The Virginian. Steve and the Virginian are close, old friends. Brian Donlevy is dressed from Stetson to boots in black and plays Trampas as a thorough-going bastard. He ambushes our hero after Steve and the other rustles are strung up by the neck. The romance between the hero and heroine is complicated somewhat because she doesn't like the Virginian standing up for her. Molly Stark Wood resents the fact that everybody in the cattle town of Medicine Bow has her attached to the Virginian. The finale between the Virginian and Trampas in the streets of Medicine Bow could hardly be termed suspenseful. A tame oater at best with a straight-up, honest McCrea, with the sympathetic but doomed Tufts taking top honors. The target practice that Trampas and Steve have in the bar is amusing. Trampas blasts three whiskey shot glasses out of the air. When Trampas slings one shot glass aloft, he fires at it and we hear the intact glass strike the floorboards. Barbara Britton makes a pretty heroine.

Sadly doesn't utilise what is at hand.

[hitchcockthelegend · 4/10 · 15 January 2009]

Molly Woods makes her way to Medicine Bow to become the new schoolmarm, after meeting two cowboys (and great friends) called Steve and The Virginian it becomes evident that both men are quite smitten with Molly. After a series of events surrounding Molly, Steve takes up with the no good Trampas and his group of rustlers, thus bringing the honest Virginian into conflict with his friend and the quick on the draw Trampas.

This story courtesy of writer Owen Wister has been done a number of times, adapted into film form in 1921, 1923 and of course here in this version, it was also made into a television series in 1962. Having not seen any of the other versions I have no frame of reference, but I would wager my last pound sterling that this is not the best adaptation because it fails to live up to its early promise. Joel McCrea takes up lead duties as The Virginian and as decent as an actor as he was in such films like Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story and the majestic Ride The High Country, here he looks bored and struggling to feed off what little energy is in the picture. Sonny Tufts as Steve is badly cast, while Barbara Britton as Molly may well make me wish that all my lady teachers at school had looked like her (if they had of been I would have gone more often!), but she comes across as a fish out of water.

The one bright spot is Brian Donlevy as the baddie Trampas, resplendent in black (of course), he does a nice line in convincing as a bad guy of worth (something he was excellent at in his career), but even he is not given enough screen time to not only flesh the part out, but to also probably bring out the best of McCrea. The shoot out at the finale is weak and it really cements the deal that this was a badly wasted chance to make a Western of some worth. Maybe it's just one of those pieces of literature that can't fully translate to the screen? Maybe the simply plotted story just isn't up to much anyway? Either way this is a misfire and not one to revisit outside of the always watchable Donlevy. 4/10

Bored VT society lady relocates to Johnson County WY cattle War

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 7 July 2013]

This is the second film I have viewed where Joel McCrea played the hero and Brian Donlevy played the chief villain. The first was Cecil de Mille's epic "Union Pacific", 7 years earlier. The present film was the second talkie version of the classic 1902 novel by Owen Wister, generally regarded as the first modern western novel, and a hugely popular book with both sexes for years to come. Unfortunately, I haven't read the novel nor seen the '29 pioneer talkie version, starring Gary Cooper. Unlike this former film, the present film was shot in Technicolor. I understand that, unlike this film, the book continued after the marriage with a visit to Molly's home in VT, where the culture shock that she experienced in relocating to frontier WY is reversed somewhat for The Virginian.

The book appealed to women as well as men, because it pictured a middle-class townie young woman being able to eventually adapt to surviving on the western frontier, marrying a western hero, originally from the east, worthy of her love. Of course, women readers at the turn of the century were likely to be mostly from comfortable middle class families, rather than being poor immigrant women, often used to farm work, who presumably comprised the great majority of actual women who migrated westward in the late 19th century.

Owen Wister was a life long resident of Philadelphia and a Harvard-trained lawyer. However, his real passion was fictional writing and occasional summer trips to the West. He was a friend of Teddy Roosevelt and Fredrick Remington: high profile easterners who also had a passion for the western life at that time. His heroine is clearly modeled on women of his class, and his hero is modeled on men like TR and himself, whom he considered natural aristocrats, whatever their actual station in life. Thus, they were quite atypical westerners, but people that most of his readers could identify with.

Although not obvious from the screenplay, his story was actually based largely on events of the Johnson County War, which was a conflict between the large and small WY cattle ranchers, precipitated by the major cattle die off from the drought and severe winter of '85-6. The Virginian is associated with one of the big ranchers: Judge Henry, and Trampa(Donlevy) is probably modeled on Nate Champion; leader of the small ranchers, who were rightly or wrongly labeled as rustlers by the big ranchers. In the book, the Virginian eventually becomes a big rancher and important political voice in WY politics, as Wister's imagined ideal destiny if he were to remain in the West. Both Molly and The Virginian say they moved west to escape the boredom of their natal environments. However, as Remington discovered when he tried western ranching, the life of the western cowboy was no varied picnic. My own ancestors moved out to Kansas about this time, but decided the East was more to their liking.

In spite of the assets of this film, I will say that I found de Mille's "Union Pacific" more interesting. Actually, the main plot has some similarities. In both films, there is a character who is a friend of the hero and a rival for the affections of the leading lady, but who joins the chief villain's group for a spell. In "Union Pacific", this character eventually sees the error of his ways and saves the hero's life from Donlevy's villain. In the present film, this man(Steve) is not given a chance to redeem himself, being hung as a cattle thief, with the Virginian's reluctant approval. Steve puts up no resistance against this vigilante action, with a nonchalant fatalistic attitude toward death.

As usual, Brian Donlevy makes a charismatic and believable oily leader of the bad guys. Joel McCrea wasn't the most charismatic leading man. I would have much preferred Randy Scott, who had a natural aristocratic bearing and was a bred southerner, befitting The Virginian. Gary Cooper would have been fine too in revisiting his prior role. Fay Banter was excellent as Molly's new mother, in effect. She gets to articulate the necessity of "The Code of the West" clearly to Molly after Steve's hanging. At first, Molly doesn't accept this , as it relates to Steve, and nearly leaves for VT, but for the stage driver who convinces her she doesn't really want to leave, in her heart. Barbara Britton, as Molly, is characterized as perhaps having more difficulty adjusting to western culture than Wister intended. His Molly was no frail flower.

Where did Wister come up with the unusual name Trampa for his villain, dressed all in black and riding a black horse? Trampa means trap, in French. Trampa set traps. Perhaps Wister hoped it would also connote a tramp: a low class shiftless man. Near the end, Trampa, having failed to fatally wound the Virginian as a sniper, tells him he must leave this area by sundown or else, even though the Virginian is planning to marry Molly soon. There follows a "High Noon"-like scene, where the Virginian is saved from a Trampa ambush by a quirk and wins the shootout. Destiny was on his side.

Still the Same Old Story **1/2

[edwagreen · 6/10 · 9 June 2012]

The typical western of the 1940s and 1950s is shown here where a woman seeks adventure from a dull life in 1885's Vermont to go out west and teach. There she finds Joel McCrea, a rancher, involved in trying to prove that Brian Donlevy, dressed in black to depict evil, is the cattle rustler.

Faye Bainter must have been gunning for another supporting actress nomination in one scene where she tells our heroine about frontier justice. She was quite effective there. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for McCrea's performance. He was rather dull in a role which would have been perfect for Gary Cooper.

Our schoolteacher is never shown in the classroom but can lecture McRea on transitive and intransitive verbs. That was ridiculous for this period peace.

Naturally, the two get off on the wrong foot and there are complications during their courtship due to frontier justice. Remember cattle rustlers were automatically hung.

Too Much Romance, Not Enough Action

[FightingWesterner · 5/10 · 26 May 2014]

Cowboy Joel McCrea pals around with pretty eastern-bred schoolteacher Barbara Britton and squares off against black-clad cattle rustler Brian Donlevy and McCrea's amiable pal, who threw in with the rustlers in order to make some easy cash.

This version of the popular novel takes way too much time to get moving, spending a majority of the first fifty-or-so minutes on the uninteresting wooing of Britton by McCrea. The last thirty-five minutes are okay, with decent action and suspense scenes, though never quite as good or plentiful as you'd like them to be. However, the hanging scene does pack a wallop.

The best thing this has going for it is the old-fashioned Technicolor and that old Hollywood sheen.

goes through the highlights of the novel at a brisk pace

[alv790 · 15 August 2021]

Like the 1929 version of the Virginian, this film goes through the highlights of the novel at a brisk pace, resulting in an eventful story but lighter on the character development when compared to the novel.

In just 17 years between the two movies, you can notice the evolution of the craft. Long gone are the mannerisms of the silent era that you could see in the 1929 version, which was a very early talkie. This 1946 version is in technicolor, a bit clean-cut as westerns from this period tended to be, but confident in the storytelling techniques of the medium.

It does not feel like a very big production, even though there are some nice exterior action shots. But there are no majestic sceneries with faraway horizons.

Joel McCrea is not bad in the titular role, but he is always kind of inexpressive, and this role might have benefited from some more dramatic range. Because of that, there wasn't too much chemistry in the romance. Barbara Britton had more of that range and I enjoyed her work as the young schoolteacher Molly Wood. Sonny Tufts as the Virginian's wayward friend and Brian Donlevy as the black-clad villain Trampas were quite good. In a smaller supporting role, Fay Bainter had some nice scenes interacting with Britton.

The Virginian is a great story, and here you can enjoy it without any time to get bored, but I wouldn't have minded twenty minutes more, allowing for some respite from the action.

Miss Molly

[happytrigger-64-390517 · 7/10 · 10 July 2021]

Qualities : gorgeous early technicolor, some beautiful landscapes, comedy in the first part, surprising scenes (Joel Mc Crea watching his best friend not afraid of being hung after a pussy), confrontation of Molly with an old woman who explains why to lynch, these two women continuing their conversation with how many Indians were killed by their family (very weird), Brian Donlevy dressed in black, and beautiful Barbara Britton.

Negative : Joel Mc Crea not at his best (except in the lynch scene), not enough tension between Mc Crea and Donlevy, some outside scenes shot in studio (awful).

Very strange blend of family western and tough scenes, this fourth version should have deserved a better director than Stuart Gilmore who directed very few movies.

Cookie cutter western

[dieseldemon85 · 6/10 · 23 June 2023]

There were two stories going here in this film. A school teacher arrives in medicine now, and two cowpokes compete for her affections, one of which she has no interest in the beginning. Later on in one of the few action sequences the two cowpokes square off as Steve was caught cattle running with Trampas. Virginia seems broken up about hanging his friend. There is a pretty decent shoot out at the end. I still think the Italians were better with the westerns, this one is an average effort, Nice performances by Brian Donlevy and William Frawley, Barbara Britton, and the main stars McCrea, Tufts. I don't really buy the romance between Britton and McCrea as there is a lack of chemistry. 3/5.

Watch the Bluray and get blown away

[finetunes · 10/10 · 31 October 2021]

I' m watching the movie now and it is beautiful, looks like the day it first came out. Joel McCray makes a warm, likeable cowboy and there's a top notch supporting cast. I know its heresy to most but I'll take Joel McCray over John Wayne any day. The director, Stuart Gilmore, had more credits as an editor than as a director, too bad, I wonder what his story is. They say editors make good directors.

Westerns don't get any better than this. Sit back and enjoy.

Missed Opportunity

[eneely-1 · 4/10 · 19 December 2002]

This is Western pulp, full of the usual cliches. There is one interesting situation between The Virginian and his friend Tom that I won't reveal, but the ball is dropped, and in such a way that the viewer is left unconvinced. It was the only thing about this movie that would have set it apart from hundreds of other Westerns, and they blew it. What a disappointment.

Hollywood western. Nuff said.

[raskimono · 8/10 · 23 September 2003]

The Virginian is a western is a western that hovers to produce huffs and puffs in its onset, exuding no ideas but gradually developing one as the movie goes on. Joel Mccrea a top leading man from the thirties in dramas, comedies, romances and of course to many, he is Sullivan of "Sullivan's travels" is good in the lead. He has that Matthew Mcconaughey thing, not great movie star glimmer but mid-range star wattage. The story of rustling is pervaded by a story of judging and punishing an old friend giving it some depth. The writing team of Goodrich and Hackett, one of the best screenplay writers ever, deliver great dialogue that director Stuart Gilmore fails to improve on visually and the last eight minutes of this movie is the whole plot and movie of High Noon. Seriously!

Where did the original film score go?

[malcolmjames · 8/10 · 3 January 2020]

I thought this an excellent picture with a magnificent score but was sad to see the score has vanished now to be replaced with guitar music when recently played on television. I then purchased the dvd from USA to get the original score only to find it too had been replaced. Why?

beautiful scenery, great cast, suspenseful and touching story

[georgeredding · 9/10 · 5 May 2021]

This movie, based on Owen Wister's classic western novel by the same name, is drawing in its own right. The cast match perfectly their roles. Joel MacCrae is a low-keyed but firm rancher when he needs to be. Barbara Britton is the stereotype "schoolmarm" from Bennington, Vermont, Sonny Tufts is excellent as the happy-go-lucky Steve who becomes an outlaw, and Brian Donlevy is perfect as the outlaw Trampas. (I'm sure that if were still alive criminals could take lessons from him!) The story line is not complicated. When the schoolmarm Molly Wood comes to Medicine Bow, Wyoming to teach, Steve and his friend the Virginian (and the Virginian is known as that and nothing else) start vying for the affection for that very attractive lady, she does become taken with the Virginian, though it is definitely not for her love at first sight. In the meantime Steve and Trampas do join together as outlaws. After the Virginian takes firm action against Steve because of his involvement in a cattle stampede, Trampas desires strongly to kill the Virginian, and it happens at all times less than an hour before the Virginian and Molly are to be married: when Molly learns of this she is reluctant to marry the Virginian.

What will the result be? Will he be killed and thus no wedding will take place? Will the Virginian do the killing and, again, the wedding not take place? Yes, it does make for great suspense.

Yes the classic line to Trampas by the Virginian in a saloon is spoken: "When you say that, smile." William Frawley does lend great support as the Virginian's close and encouraging friend. Heryy O'Neill; and Faye Bainter also give great support as the Taylors It is a great classic western, one of the best ever made.

He's from Virginia

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 10 March 2023]

There have been many different incarnations of this favorite western story. It began as a book by writer Owen Wister near the turn of the 20th century, based on incidents that had happened in Wyoming a decade earlier. Wister quickly adapted it into a stage play. A short time later, the star of the theatrical production, Dustin Farnum, reprised the lead role in a silent film version directed by Cecil DeMille for Paramount.

The studio remade it as a talkie in 1929 with Gary Cooper as The Virginian and Walter Huston as nemesis Trampas. Then in 1946, Paramount released this handsome Technicolor offering with Joel McCrea and Brian Donlevy in the lead roles. Of course, it would later become a long-running western TV series in the 1960s and 1970s.

I'm not sure if Joel McCrea's a better actor than Gary Cooper, but he comes across as more wholesome. He works nicely opposite Mr. Donlevy, as well as Sonny Tufts who plays Steve. It seemed to me while watching this film last night that Tufts' more humorous portrayal of Steve seems to have inspired Doug McClure's performance on TV, since McClure's take on Trampas is not really villainous. McClure plays it more as if Trampas is a light-hearted buddy of The Virginian (James Drury).

There's a cattle rustling scheme which threatens a tenuous peace between ranchers and homesteaders (usually called nesters on the TV show).

Brian Donlevy is superb at conveying the darker aspects of Trampas. We are left with no ambiguity that he's an outright villain, and The Virginian will have to defeat him to restore peace in Medicine Bow.

In addition to the relationship between The Virginian, Trampas and Steve, the men interact with a sophisticated new school teacher named Molly (Barbara Britton). She's taken the train west all the way from the east coast. She's a real lady, exhibiting the finer social graces of a proper upbringing. Her ongoing courtship with The Virginian is genuine yet comical at times.

Just like the TV show, we never find out what the title character's real name is. Only that he's from Virginia, and this adds a bit of mystery to him. I should also mention that the TV show eliminated the character of Molly in its second season. But there were plenty of other desirable females who came through Medicine Bow and turned up at the Shiloh ranch, whom the men loved and often lost.

Slick production values, a logical script with plenty of character development and a strong supporting performance from Fay Bainter make this hit from 1946 a winner.

Great but predictable

[searchanddestroy-1 · 15 January 2023]

That's a good western from Paramount Pictures, starring a Joel Mc Crea at his peak in a role that has been his standard for decades. So, do not expect any surprise, only expect what you precisely expect: good cow boy fighting an evil one, a true villain, such as for instance a Brian Donlevy wearing a black suit....and you will obtain what you searched for. I have seen hundreds of this kind all over decades too, since my childhood, and now it bores me a bit. However that doesn't remove anything from the genuine quality of this film. It remains a great classic, starring a great western star. The usual good stuff, period.