Denise Darcel died today. She was a popular French actress from the early 50's. She appeared mostly in B pictures, but there were a few gems among them - for example "Battleground", "Veracruz", and one of my all-time favorites, "Westward the Women". Starring Robert Taylor and John McEntire, "Westward the Women" is a terrific picture about a wagon train of women, headed for California to become brides.
Taylor and McEntire are the men guiding them in their journey, and both of them, particularly Taylor, were big stars at the time. But the real stars of the movie are the women themselves, Denise Darcel among them. Along the way they learn to shoot, handle mule teams, and face different hardships, such as untimely death, assaults from bad men and unfriendly Indians, and even childbirth. It also shows how physically demanding such a journey would have been (and let's just say, that after my first viewing, I was mighty glad I was never a pioneer). Just when you think they're never going to make it, the train pulls through, and everyone lives happily ever after. The movie's tagline says it all - "Never underestimate the will of a woman when there's a wedding ring in sight!"
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