I just watched "How the West Was Won" (1962), the story of Western migration from one family's viewpoint. The film is divided into three segments, directed by John Ford, George Marshall ("Destry Rides Again," "When the Daltons Rode"), and Henry Hathaway respectively. The segments explore various tensions in Western history: (1) mountain men vs. permanent settlers, (2) Indians vs. railroad builders (and the townsfolk who settled in the railroads' wake) and (3) lawmen vs. gunfighters.

The filmmakers had a good idea, but they executed it poorly. In my mind, what stands out about "How The West Was Won" is that Indians hardly appear and blacks don't appear at all. I'd love to see a Western family saga like this made today--only with a family that's American Indian, or black or Chinese, or part of some other group that, according to Hollywood, doesn't merit much attention in the West's history.