''How the West Was Won'' is an American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series that starred James Arness,

Eva Marie Saint Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American actress of film, theatre and television. In a career spanning over 70 years, she has won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Brit ...

Fionnula Flanagan Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an Irish stage, television, and film actress. For her contributions to the entertainment industry, she was given the IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Flanagan is known fo ...

Bruce Boxleitner Bruce William Boxleitner (born May 12, 1950) is an American actor and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series '' How the West Was Won'', '' Bring 'Em Back Alive'', ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King ...

, and

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...

. Loosely based on the 1962 Cinerama film of the same name, it began with a two-hour

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

, ''The Macahans'', in 1976, followed by a mini-series in 1977, and a regular series in 1978 and 1979. The show was a great success in Europe, apparently finding a larger and more lasting audience there than in the United States. It has been rebroadcast many times on various European networks, e.g. in France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden, and has built a cult following. It was released on DVD in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in November 2009. A sequence of paintings by

Charles Marion Russell Charles Marion Russell (March 19, 1864 – October 24, 1926), also known as C. M. Russell, Charlie Russell, and "Kid" Russell, was an American artist of the American Old West. He created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Native Americans, an ...

is shown during the end credits.

Episodes

Plot

Zebulon Macahan is a well-known mountain man and scout working for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

in the Indian Territories. The pilot movie shows Zeb not having seen his family for ten years and with the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

approaching, deciding to visit them in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

. As war comes too close to home, Zeb's sister-in-law, Kate, convinces her husband, Zeb's brother Tim, to move their two sons, Seth and Jed (renamed Luke and Josh in the remaining episodes) and two daughters (Jessie and Laura) out west. Eva Marie Saint James Arness The Macahans 1976

Eva Marie Saint James Arness The Macahans 1976

There the family learns that the first battle of the war is likely to occur at Bull Run, near Zeb and Tim's parents' home. Tim returns to Virginia while the family winters in the Indian Territories. Zeb learns that a friend has been murdered by Dutton, who escaped from an Army Guardhouse he was in for murdering innocent Indians. Knowing that Dutton swore vengeance on him and fearing for his family, Zeb attempts to intercept Dutton before he can reach the Macahan homestead. Luke heads east to look for his father and grandparents but gets home, only to find his grandparents were killed by artillery fire that struck their home during the First Battle of Bull Run. He learns that his father was conscripted into a unit of the Union Army heading for Tennessee to the Battle of Shiloh. Luke is also conscripted at Shiloh but is wounded and taken to a field aid station, where he finds his mortally-wounded father dying. Luke tells his superiors that he will no longer serve and is about to be shot as a deserter when shelling nearly kills his entire platoon. Escaping on foot, he reaches Missouri, finding the abandoned horse of a dead soldier and rides the horse until a local sheriff, Martin Stillman, and his men find Luke, accusing him of horse thievery. Luke tries to explain that he is a former Union soldier who found the horse but Stillman and his men, being Confederate sympathizers, try to lynch him. Luke escapes, severely wounding Stillman's arm in the process. Meanwhile, Zeb tracks down and kills Dutton. Luke arrives at the family homestead near the Platte River in western Nebraska and tells his mother Kate not only about Tim's death, but also that he is now an Army deserter as well as an outlaw in Missouri and must leave and be on the run. The pilot episode ends with Luke riding off. The series continues when after a period of relative quiet, a bounty hunter named Captain Grey, an Army Provost Marshal pursuing Union soldiers accused of desertion, arrives at the homestead to arrest Luke. Zeb slashes Grey's arm with a knife and Grey swears he will return. Grey continues to pursue Luke but the war ends and the government grants amnesty to all alleged deserters. Grey resigns his Army commission but keeps tracking Luke due to the reward on him in Missouri over the incident with the sheriff. Grey breaks into the Macahan house and mother Kate fatally shoots him. The first season ends with the family leaving the homestead to travel west to Oregon, which was their original intention. The second season starts with Kate having died in a barn fire. Her sister, a wealthy widow named Molly Culhane, arrives from Chicago to reunite with her only remaining family. Stillman, the former Missouri sheriff, is now a wealthy businessman with a crippled arm and is obsessed with revenge against Luke, but is killed by Zeb in a gunfight. By this time, Luke has gained a reputation as a skilled gunfighter and is continually fleeing pursuit, having not been cleared of the Missouri charges, even at the series finale. The remainder of the series involves Zeb and the family building their ranch in the Grand Tetons area of Wyoming.

Cast

* James Arness as Zebulon "Zeb" Macahan *

as Luke "Seth" Macahan *

William Kirby Cullen William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

as Josh "Jed" Macahan *

as Molly Culhane *

Kathryn Holcomb Kathryn is a feminine given name and comes from the Greek meaning for 'pure'. It is a variant of Katherine. It may refer to: In television and film: * Kathryn Beaumont (born 1938), English voice actress and school teacher best known for her Disn ...

as Laura Macahan *

as Timothy "Tim" Macahan *

Jared Martin Jared Christopher Martin (December 21, 1941 – May 24, 2017) was an American film and television actor. He was best known for his role as Steven "Dusty" Farlow in the 1978 series '' Dallas'' and for roles on two science fiction TV series, ''Th ...

as Frank Grayson *

as Katherine "Kate" Macahan *

Vicki Schreck Vicky, Vicko, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Women * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of German ...

as Jessica "Jessie" Macahan *

Harris Yulin Harris Yulin (born November 5, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Scarface'' (1983), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), '' Looking for Richard' ...

as Deek Peasley In first season, Tim's sons have different names than in the rest of the series. Bruce Boxleitner's character was renamed "Luke", and William Kirby Cullen's character renamed "Josh". Guest stars included Ricardo Montalban as Satangkai, a chief of the Sioux Nation, Ron Hayes as Sheriff Pinter,

Med Flory Meredith Irwin Flory, known professionally as Med Flory (August 27, 1926 – March 12, 2014), was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and actor. Early years Flory was born in Logansport, Indiana, United States. His mother was an organist ...

(three episodes as a sheriff), Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., Harry Lauter as Sheriff Charlie Benton, Gregg Palmer as Loman, Tom Simcox as Marshal Logan,

Read Morgan Read Lawrence Morgan (January 30, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of Sergeant Hapgood Tasker in the American western television series ''The Deputy''. Life and career Morg ...

as Morton in "The Slavers", and John M. Pickard as Colonel Caine, James Stephens as C. L. Bradley (the pilot and two episodes), and Jim Turner (three episodes). Actors Richard Basehart,

Ken Curtis Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the CBS western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Although he appeared on ''Gunsmoke'' earl ...

, Michael Conrad,

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultim ...

and

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...

also guest starred.

Home media

''How the West was Won'' has been released in Scandinavia as ''Familjen Macahan''(Sweden)'' and Familien Macahan''(Norway)(''Macahan Family'') in 5 boxes: * Box 1 - November 25, 2009 (4 episodes including Pilot) * Box 2 - February 24, 2010 (5 episodes) * Box 3 - May 12, 2010 (5 episodes) * Box 4 - September 8, 2010 (5 episodes) * Box 5 - December 1, 2010 (6 episodes). The series was remastered and released in 2012, also in 5 boxes (Box 1 – August 31; Boxes 2-5 - September 25), as well as a complete box November 21, 2012.

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

has released the first two seasons on DVD in Region 1; season 1 was released on July 9, 2013, followed by season 2 on July 15, 2014. The third and final season was released by

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inten ...

as an MOD DVD on April 19, 2016.Possible Date, Early Cover Art for the Final Season on DVD ***UPDATED***
A more accurate list of the 14 episodes from season 2 can be found inside the Season 2 DVD case released in July 2014. This new DVD episode list fixes errors found in most web sites.

Novelization

In January 1978, a nearly 400-page "epic length" paperback

novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...

of a number of early episodes, written by

Lou Cameron Lou Cameron (June 20, 1924 – November 25, 2010) was an American writer and a comic book artist. His work usually boasted muscular, no-nonsense prose through a prism of wry cynicism, sharp observation, and a signature combination of gusto ...

, was published by

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains p ...

. A prolific and versatile paperback scribe whose credits include winning a Western Writers of America

Spur Award Spur Awards are literary prizes awarded annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA). The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West. The Spur awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA wa ...

for his novel ''The Spirit Horses'', Cameron's novelization adapted teleplays and screen stories by

Calvin Clements Calvin may refer to: Names * Calvin (given name) ** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States * Calvin (surname) ** Particularly John Calvin, theologian Places In the United States * Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet * Calvin ...

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...

, Howard Fast, William Kelley, John Mantley,

Katharyn Michaelian Katharyn Michaelian Powers is a television writer who wrote for several television series from the 1970s through the 1990s. Among the series she has written episodes for are ''Charlie's Angels'', '' Fantasy Island'', ''Airwolf'' and ''Stargate SG ...

, Jack Miller and

Earl W. Wallace Earl W. Wallace (October 23, 1942 – May 12, 2018) was an American screen and television writer who began his career in the 1970s writing episodes of the hit CBS Western series ''Gunsmoke'', one of which inspired him, his wife Pamela, and Willia ...

. The novel, sharing the title of the series, is not to be confused with the identically titled 1962 feature film which was itself adapted into a novel by

Louis L'Amour Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels (though he called his work "frontier stories"); however, he also wrote hi ...

References

External links

How the West Was Won fansite
* * *{{IMDb title, 0077027, title=How the West Was Won (1978-79) 1970s Western (genre) television series 1976 American television series debuts 1979 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Live action television shows based on films Television series by MGM Television