Editing How the West Was Won (film) (section)

===Development===
MGM had enjoyed a great success with the big screen remake of ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959) and initiated a number of spectacles, including remakes of ''[[Cimarron (1960 film)|Cimarron]]'', ''[[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]'' and ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]''.<ref>{{cite news|author=Scheuer, P.K. |date=July 7, 1960|title=Five pictures put on Bresler's S1ate|work= Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167665329}}}}</ref>

In 1960, MGM struck a deal to produce four films in the [[Cinerama]] process, and [[Bing Crosby]] approached the studio with a proposition. He was developing a television spectacular called ''How the West Was Won'' based on photographs of the Old West in ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'', with profits earmarked for St. John's Hospital, along with [[How the West Was Won (Bing Crosby album)|an album inspired by the same article]] recorded with [[Rosemary Clooney]]. MGM purchased the film rights from Crosby.<ref name="new" />

MGM announced the project in June 1960, originally titled ''The Great Western Story''. The plan was to film a story of six segments featuring 12 stars, with a cohesive overall storyline. Among the historical figures to be featured were [[Buffalo Bill]], the [[James brothers]] and [[Billy the Kid]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=PUTTING THE OLD WEST ON NEW DISKS|author=R.S.|date=July 24, 1960|work=[[The New York Times]]|id={{ProQuest|115179286}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Screen news and notes. |date=June 21, 1960|work=[[The New York Times]]|id={{ProQuest|114942098}}}}</ref> St. John's Hospital president [[Irene Dunne]] and others persuaded the film's stars to accept less than their usual fees. However, the hospital later sued for a share of the film's profits.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Hopper, Hedda|title=Illness Will Force Decision on 'Hush': Picture May Be Called Off; Loretta Young Refuses Lead|date=August 7, 1964|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

Bernard Smith was assigned as producer, and he hired James Webb to write the script.<ref name="new" /> [[George Peppard]] was announced as the lead in October 1960, and [[Irene Dunne]] and [[Bing Crosby]] were originally announced as stars.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Hopper, H.|title=Metro sets three cinerama movies.|date=October 1, 1960|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167807467}}}}</ref> [[Laurence Harvey]] and [[John Wayne]] were also slated to appear in one sequence together.<ref>{{Cite news|title=VIEW FROM A LOCAL VANTAGE POINT|author=A.H. WEILER.|date=March 5, 1961|work=[[The New York Times]]|id={{ProQuest|115302712}}}}</ref> ''Filmink'' commented Peppard "carries the last three-fifths" of the film, adding "if anyone is the leading man of that movie, it's him."<ref name="pep">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|date=29 December 2024|access-date=29 December 2024|title=Movie Star Cold Streaks: George Peppard|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/movie-star-cold-streaks-george-peppard/}}</ref>

By April 1961, Wayne and Spencer Tracy had confirmed their plans to play Generals [[William Tecumseh Sherman|Sherman]] and [[Ulysses S. Grant|Grant]] for a segment directed by John Ford, and James Stewart had been signed as well.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Hopper, H.|title=Looking at Hollywood.|date=April 21, 1961|work=Chicago Daily Tribune|id={{ProQuest|182872487}}}}</ref> Other roles would go to [[Gregory Peck]], [[Debbie Reynolds]], [[Russ Tamblyn]] and [[Carroll Baker]], while [[Henry Hathaway]] and [[George Marshall (director)|George Marshall]] would also direct from a script by James Webb. Crosby was scheduled to provide narration.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Scheuer, P.K. |date=April 28, 1961|title=Big-names roster in 'west' growing|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167862019}}}}</ref> [[Jim Hutton]] was intended to appear in the Civil War segment.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Hopper, H.|title=Entertainment.|date=May 6, 1961|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167896026}}}}</ref> Eventually, Harry Morgan appeared as Grant when Tracy was unavailable.

Ultimately, the film contained five sections: the 1830s westward migration, the 1849 California gold rush, the Civil War, the construction of the transcontinental railroad, and the "taming" of the Wild West, with one family's story over three generations providing the bridge between each time period. The budget was set to at least $8 million. John Ford directed the Civil War segment, George Marshall the railroad segment and Henry Hathaway the rest.<ref name="new">{{Cite news|title=HOLLYWOOD EPIC|author=MURRAY, S. H.|date=May 21, 1961|work=[[The New York Times]]|id={{ProQuest|115262156}}}}</ref> "We wanted three old pros, no young geniuses," said Smith.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Scheuer, P. K.|title=Hollywood unlimbers big guns to win west.|date=September 3, 1961|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|167896925}}}}</ref>