The Virginian (1946)

The Virginian is a 1946 American Western film directed by Stuart Gilmore and starring Joel McCrea, Brian Donlevy, Sonny Tufts, and Barbara Britton. Based on the Owen Wister novel of the same name, the film was adapted from the popular 1904 theatrical play Wister had collaborated on with playwright Kirke La Shelle. The Virginian is about an eastern school teacher who comes to Medicine Bow in Wyoming and encounters life on the frontier. The film is a remake of the 1929 movie with Gary Cooper and Walter Huston. There have been several versions of the story, beginning with a 1914 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and including a 1960s television series that bore little relation to the book other than the title. The film was originally distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Synopsis

In 1885, Molly Wood (Barbara Britton) leaves the security (and dullness) of Vermont to be a schoolteacher in frontier Wyoming. On arrival, she becomes frightened by a spooked steer, and is "rescued" by the Virginian (Joel McCrea), only to discover the animal is so mild, it is a little girl's pet. As a result, she takes a strong dislike to the cowboy. He, on the other hand, is smitten with her. When Trampas (Brian Donlevy) voices his scurrilous speculation as to why she came west, the Virginian confronts him and forces him, at gunpoint, to take it back.

Actors