Fritz on Fridays: Western Union
The issues they encounter on the way to Utah are typical, with one little unique and highly critical addition: Confederate soldiers wearing redface with the purpose of inciting conflict against Western Union because their telegraph will help the Union.
On the first Friday of every month, this column by critic Joshua Polanski will feature a short review or essay on a film directed by Fritz Lang (1890-1976), the great Austrian “Master of Darkness.” Occasionally (but not too occasionally), Fritz on Fridays will also feature interviews and conversations with relevant critics, scholars and filmmakers about Lang’s influence and filmography.
Fritz Lang made three Westerns: 1940’s The Return of Frank James, 1941’s Western Union and 1952’s Rancho Notorious. None of them are particularly vital pieces of Lang’s claim on film history and, in most respects, they are all considered “minor” Lang films in his lengthy filmography. If only one of them was to be traditionally considered among Lang’s better films, it would be Rancho Notorious, his only post-World War II foray into the genre. The other two both come relatively early in his Hollywood career and double as interesting reflections on (or perhaps unvetted thesis statements of) this extremely European filmmaker’s understanding of the social divides in his new country: East / West, white / non-white, and those who embrace change and innovation and those who reject it.
Broadly speaking, the Western may be the best of any genre at distilling and echoing an artist’s vision(s) and criticism of national identity, patriotism and collective purpose — and Western Union, an adaptation of Zane Grey’s book of the same name, makes no attempt to disguise its investigation into American identities and the tensions that tug at the heart of our Republic’s shared identity.
Western Union Company engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) catalyzes the adventure by getting injured while traveling and saved by the reformed outlaw Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott). The company hires Shaw and Richard Blake (Robert Young), a still green Ivy League-type surveyor, to assist with the construction of the transcontinental telegraph line going from Omaha to Salt Lake City. The issues they encounter on the way to Utah are typical, with one little unique and highly critical addition: Confederate soldiers wearing redface with the purpose of inciting conflict against Western Union because their telegraph will help the Union.
Continue reading at the Midwest Film Journal.