Trivia / How the West Was Won

• All-Star Cast: Including Carroll Baker, Walter Brennan, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Carolyn Jones, Karl Malden, Raymond Massey, Agnes Moorehead, Harry Morgan, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Robert Preston, Debbie Reynolds, Thelma Ritter, James Stewart, Russ Tamblyn, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, John Wayne, and Richard Widmark. The film is narrated by Spencer Tracy. A young Harry Dean Stanton even turns up in an uncredited role.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Spencer Tracy was supposed to have an on-camera role, but was unable to due to ill health. He settled for narrating the film, a job that was originally intended for Bing Crosby.
• Dawson Casting:
  • Although James Stewart's character was only supposed to be 28 in the movie, Stewart was actually 53 at the time of filming.
  • Carroll Baker plays George Peppard's mother in the film, but the actor was three years older than Baker in real life.
• Deleted Role: Hope Lange was cast as a love interest for Zeb, but her scenes were cut from the final print of the film. She portrayed young Julie Stuart, the daughter of Henry Fonda's character. After Lange's scenes were deleted from the film, Julie was later portrayed by Carolyn Jones.
• Fake American: Toronto-born Canadian actor Raymond Massey plays U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (reprising his role from Abe Lincoln in Illinois over two decades earlier).
• On-Set Injury: Stuntman Bob Morgan was seriously injured, and almost died, while performing a stunt in this picture. Toward the end of the film, there is a gunfight on a moving train between the sheriff and a gang of train robbers. Morgan was one of the stuntmen playing a robber and was crouched next to a pile of logs on a flatcar. The chains holding the logs together snapped, and Morgan was crushed by the falling logs. He was so badly hurt it took him five years to recover to the point where he was able to move by himself and walk unaided.
• The Other Marty: Hope Lange was initially cast and shot scenes as young Julie Stuart, but her scenes were cut from the final print of the film. After Lange's scenes were deleted from the film, Julie was later portrayed by Carolyn Jones.
• Playing Against Type: Classical Nice Guy Gregory Peck as a gold-digging gambler, although he does get better by the end.
• Prop Recycling: The riverboat is the same one used in Raintree County.
• Throw It In!: In a scene in which Zeb reminisces about his late father Linus, George Peppard improvised by doing an imitation of James Stewart's voice. John Ford initially objected, but Peppard felt it was important in such a long, sprawling film to remind the audience which character his father was supposed to be.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Among the stars who were approached to take part in the film but did not were Marlon Brando, James Cagney, Doris Day, Kirk Douglas, Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Shirley MacLaine and Kim Novak.
  • Gary Cooper had been offered the role of Linus Rawlings, but died before filming began. James Stewart then accepted the part despite feeling miscast. Ironically, Gary was 7 years older than Stewart, who was already too old for the role.
  • Frank Sinatra was originally considered for the role of Cleve Van Valen.
  • Spencer Tracy was supposed to have an on-camera role, but was unable to due to ill health. He settled for narrating the film, a job that was originally meant for Bing Crosby.
  • According to Debbie Reynolds, Lilith was originally supposed to have drowned in the river. However, it was decided that she would best tie the generations of Prescotts together, so, she remained in the story to become an elderly lady in the film's conclusion.
  • James Stewart offered to play his character's dead body, but for one reason or another they refused.
  • The original plan was to film a story of six segments featuring twelve stars, with a linking overall storyline. Among the historical personae to be featured were Buffalo Bill, the James brothers and Billy the Kid.
  • Dimitri Tiomkin was originally considered to score the film. However, Tiomkin declined because of his eye surgery, hence the hiring of Alfred Newman.
• Working Title: The Great Western Story.

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