How the West Was Won
Movie Quote Quiz

Zeb Rawlings: Take a good look. You wanted a war, mister, you got one. I hope you're the first man killed in it.

Linus Rawlings: Thank ya, ma'am. That's right tasty.
Rebecca Prescott: You've only ate four plates, I was beginning to think you didn't like it.
Linus Rawlings: No, well, it don't pay to eat too much on an empty stomach, ma'am.

Zeb Rawlings: Do you remember the story Pa used to tell us about fightin' that grizzly bear?
Jeremiah Rawlings: Yeah.
Zeb Rawlings: And I asked him, I said, 'Now, why'd you get in such a fix? Do you like fightin' grizzlies?' He said, 'Well, not 'specially. I just wanted to go somewhere and the bear was there first.' I guess I just wanna go somewhere, too.

Roger Morgan: Well, ain't that what I been doin'? Invitin' you? Invitin' you to share my life, Miss Prescott.
Lilith Prescott: I'm sorry, Mr. Morgan.
Roger Morgan: It's somethin' else, ain't it? Must be something else naggin' at ya. Well, I don't aim to let it stop me, Miss Prescott. You can count on that.
Agatha Clegg: What'd he want?
Lilith Prescott: Children.
Agatha Clegg: Children? Well, I'll be... Why didn't he come shoppin' at the right store?

Charlie Gant: There's only one kind of peace I know of, Marshal. That's the kind my brother's got.

Cleve Van Valen: From the first moment I saw you I've known that I couldn't live without you.
Lilith Prescott: Well... I'd hate to be the cause of your death, Mr. Van Valen.

Zeb Rawlings: It ain't quite what I expected. There ain't much glory in lookin' at a man with his guts hanging out.

Zeb Rawlings: Boys, get back from there! Look down there son. Do you know how deep that shaft is?
Prescott Rawlings: Huh uh.
Zeb Rawlings: That's a thousand feet deep. Do you know how deep a thousand feet is? Well, if you had two hundred brothers all standing on your shoulders, you wouldn't be able to see over the top.
Prescott Rawlings: I'd be squooshed.

Mike King: Why did you bring those bodies here?
Jethro Stuart: They're railroaders. I thought somebody in the railroad might be interested.
Mike King: I'm the railroad and I'm not interested.

Charlie Gant: One of these days I'm likely to pay you Rawlingses a little visit.

Zebulon Prescott: O Lord, without consulting with Thee, we have sent thy way some souls whose evil ways passeth all understanding. We ask Thee humbly to receive them... whether you want them or not! Amen.

Continuity mistake: Approximately 46 minutes into the film, Robert Preston is testing a new bullwhip. The whip is in his left hand as he brings his arm back and cracks the whip. He brings the left arm back for a second crack, and the shot changes to a closer angle just as he brings the whip down, only now it is suddenly in his right hand and not the left. The editing, the sound effect, the arm swing all seem perfectly coordinated, except that the whip changed hands between camera set-ups.

More mistakes in How the West Was Won
More trivia for How the West Was Won

Question: The scenes with Zeb and Lou have always puzzled me. Lou is trying to stop Zeb for going after outlaw Gant and the two have a last scene arguing where Zeb says basically that he will use the Law to put away Gant, but that he'll need Gant's help. The next scene is the two on the train to protect the gold from Gant's gang, and Zeb and Lou are working together now. But Lou's got a bandage on his forehead! I think the previous scene might have had a fight scene between the two in which Zeb finally convinces Lou to help him, hence the head injury. There's no other explanation for it. Anyone have any ideas?

Answer: This type of inconsistency is common in film making. More scenes are often filmed and/or they are much longer, but after editing, large portions are often cut out. Although the editing may improve the film's story line and pacing, it leaves small errors behind. This appears to be the case in this movie where a scene was completely deleted, but it left an unexplained detail behind.

raywest

Answer: A scene in with Zeb knocks Lou out in a stable was deleted.

More questions & answers from How the West Was Won
More movie quotes

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.