[8]
Director Cecil B. DeMille sets a love triangle against America’s efforts to create the trans-continental railroad in Union Pacific. Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity) gets top billing as the Irish daughter of the engineer in charge of building the railroad. She falls for Joel McCrea (Sullivan’s Travels), who’s hired to troubleshoot and keep the company on schedule. Little do they realize that an opportunistic banker seeks to slow or stop their progress for his own financial gain, planting two of his agents in their company to ensure just that. One of those agents is played by Robert Preston (Beau Geste), who turns out to be an old war buddy of McCrea’s who also vies for Stanwyck’s attention.
Union Pacific could probably have skipped over it’s first fifteen minutes or so, which set up the government’s decision to build the railroad before introducing any of the main characters. Once those characters are introduced, however, they carry the movie over the finish line. Stanwyck’s Irish accent comes and goes, but she’s warm, funny, and engaging as she courts the two male leads. The film’s central dramatic crisis comes when she chooses to marry Robert Preston to save Joel McCrea from harm — even though she clearly loves McCrea more.
McCrea, unfortunately, is merely serviceable in his performance — playing it curiously stiff and reserved. He doesn’t hurt the movie; he just doesn’t do it any favors. But then there’s the irrepressible Robert Preston, who is the single-best thing about this movie. He’s so charming, you hate to see him turn bad, and even after he’s gone bad, you still care about him. He has the juiciest part, a man hired to do a villainous thing who happens to be friends with the hero pledged to stop him. The relationship between McCrea and Preston is the real heart of Union Pacific. Their friendship is tried by Preston’s sabotage attempts as well as the love triangle with Stanwyck, but even after the crimes have been committed, there’s still a bond between them. We all know the railroad gets built, but you may not foresee the twists and turns in the three main characters’ arcs.
DeMille gives the film an epic scale at times, especially in the exciting third act when Native Americans derail the train and lay siege to our three stars inside the wreckage. The miniature effects photography, which earned an Oscar nomination, include that crash, as well as another on a steep, snowy mountain, and the spectacle of seeing a train of Union soldiers racing over a burning bridge. The supporting cast is strong, including Brian Donlevy as Preston’s sinister fellow saboteur, and the pairing of Akim Tamiroff and Lynne Overman as McCrea’s scruffy, unassuming bodyguards who offer a lot of welcome, comic relief.
With Anthony Quinn, Robert Barrat, and Henry Kolker.
Oscar Nomination: Best Special Effects
Cannes Film Festival: Palme d’Or Winner