Union Pacific (1939)

IMDb plot summary: In 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, and Robert Preston.

Union Pacific tells the story of building a railroad line across the country to reach California. There are two competing lines that are allowed to continue building until they meet up with the other, and so an unscrupulous businessman decides to sabotage one line so the other will be able to build more. We follow these efforts, as well as the man who's trying to stop them, and Barbara Stanwyck, postmistress of the railroad, who is caught in between. This is a Cecil B. Demille film and it definitely feels grand and expensive the way many of his did. Some of the railway laying scenes we're unexpectedly compelling, a close look at everything that went into making transport across the country possible. I also found myself unexpectedly caught up in the love triangle between Stanwyck and the two men on opposite sides who love her. Both of them are portrayed sympathetically so it's not as simple as good guy versus bad guy, which makes it more interesting. It's not an astonishingly good movie but it did draw me in much more than I would have expected when I first started this. An interesting look at an exciting time in our history.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Union Pacific > Dark and Stormy Night

Union Pacific < Till Death

Union Pacific < Timecop

Union Pacific > Source Code

Union Pacific < The Fly (1986)

Union Pacific < 7 Plus Seven

Union Pacific > It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

Union Pacific > Liberal Arts

Union Pacific < The Trouble with Harry

Union Pacific > The Help

Union Pacific > Damn Yankees

Union Pacific > Captain America: The First Avenger

Final spot: #1505 out of 3549, or 58%.