While surveying a telegraph line in 1861, Western Union engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is severely injured in an accident. He is discovered by Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott), an outlaw on the run from a posse. Forced to travel on foot after his horse was hurt, Shaw at first considers stealing Creighton's horse, but changes his mind and takes the man with him, saving his life.
Sometime later, following his recovery, Creighton returns to Omaha, Nebraska and plans the construction of a telegraph line from Omaha to Salt Lake City, Utah. Facing considerable opposition to the line from Confederate soldiers, Indians, and outlaws, Creighton elicits the help of his sister Sue (Virginia Gilmore), foreman Pat Grogan (Minor Watson), and assistant Homer Kettle (Chill Wills).
Looking to put his outlaw past behind him, Shaw arrives at Creighton's Western Union office looking for honest work and is hired as a scout by Grogan who is unaware of his past. Creighton recognizes him among the men and allows him to stay despite his suspicions. Creighton also hires tenderfoot Richard Blake (Robert Young), a Harvard-educated engineer as a favor to Blake's father. Shaw and Blake are both attracted to Sue and vie for her attention, but their romantic rivalry is cut short when construction of the telegraph line starts on July 4, 1861.
After work commences on the line, one of the men is killed apparently by a mysterious band of cattle-rustling Indians. Unconvinced that Indians are to blame, Shaw rides out to investigate and follows the rustlers' trail to the camp of Jack Slade, a former friend and cohort, whose gang committed the killing disguised as Indians—the gang Shaw left following his last bank robbery. Slade reveals that they are working for the Confederacy to disrupt Western Union because they believe the telegraph service will help the Union. Shaw rides away and returns to the line. Not wanting to turn in his former friends, Shaw tells Creighton that a large band of Dakota Indians stole the cattle, and recommends that they simply replace the herd and not risk a fight with the Indians.
Sometime later, a confrontation takes place between men working on the forward line and a band of drunken Indians. When one of the Indians tries to steal some equipment, a nervous Blake shoots him, ignoring Shaw's order to remain calm. After word arrives that the main camp is under attack by other Indians, the Western Union men rush back to help with the defense. At the main camp, Slade's men, who are again disguised as Indians, steal the Western Union horses. The company discover the ruse when one of the wounded Indians turns out to be a white man. Forced to buy back their stolen horses from Slade, Creighton becomes suspicious of Shaw's involvement, especially when he admits to knowing the gang.
Soon the U.S. Army arrives and announces the Indians have now refused to allow the telegraph lines to go through their territory in response to Blake's shooting of the drunken Indian. Creighton, Shaw, and Blake ride out to convince Chief Spotted Horse to allow them to build the line through Indian territory, even though the man Blake wounded was Spotted Horse's son. Creighton is finally able to persuade the Indians to allow them passage, and work continues until the company approaches Salt Lake City.
Sometime later, Shaw receives word that Jack Slade wants to meet with him. On the way to see Slade, Shaw is captured and bound by Slade's men. Slade says his group is going to burn down the Western Union camp and they don't want Shaw to interfere. After Slade and his men ride off, Shaw escapes from his ropes but arrives back too late to prevent the fire. He helps rescue some of the Western Union men from the flames and burns his hands in the process.
After the fire, Creighton confronts Shaw for an explanation, but Shaw does not reveal what he knows and is fired by Creighton. As Shaw leaves the camp, he tells Blake that Slade is actually Shaw's brother and that he, Shaw, will find Slade's gang and stop them from interfering with the telegraph project. Shaw rides off and finds Slade and his men in a nearby town. At the barber shop, Shaw confronts his brother, whose gun is concealed under the barber's sheet. Slade shoots Shaw through the sheet. Shaw fights back in spite of his wound, killing some of the gang members, and then dies. Blake arrives and continues the fight with Slade who dies from his wounds. Soon after, the Western Union line is completed and the workers celebrate. When Sue laments the absence of Shaw, Creighton tells her that Shaw can hear them.
拍得太长导致整个剧情很空洞无物，妮可的戏份也不吃重，看上去像是一个半成品
很喜欢，高潮部分我和Lucy以及观众一起流下了眼泪，剧本杂糅着很多元素但是丝毫不像之前索金的作品一样机关枪，而且更加抓人。还有基德曼演绎的偏执人格真的太得我心，简直看到了我自己。
几乎所有类型该有的都有 就是艾伦索金得了命题作文的老毛病 还有赶紧给妮可妈颁个奖吧 让她别憋着个劲演戏了
编剧技巧的全面胜利，闪回如行云流水。但是在这个时代，面对玛吉《暗处的女儿》里对女性自我从情感方面的深度剖析，索金作为白人男性，仍旧是保守的。至于演员，全员工具人，妮可要封后，how dare her！
Nicole的新脸看越久越幻灭 所以不打算看完这片
#金帧9th#HOME4th 20220227
演员演的都很好，但这个形式有点拖垮。Nicole戏中戏里的鸭子音是根据原型来的吗？还是特定年代的演戏样本，可太难受了
丈夫的那句“lucy,i'm home!”，让这个女强人出现了迟疑以及生平第一次“忘词”，真的是忘词吗，应该并不。
结尾的两块手帕在我看来正是又一大败笔。正因为没能力去写一个游移的故事，才需要以明确的真相作为支撑人物行为的动机。这也才有“到这里情感才立住”的感慨，不是终于救场，而是别无他法。
尤其是反高潮结局，原来老婆在乎的一直是老公。女主雨中漫步是在收拾衣服之后。细思恐极的暗线，索金就耐住性子一直憋着。戏中戏和现实和剧本互文这点上曾一度以为抄滨口龙介。
剧本太长了，闪回没有必要。妮可演的很努力，但是她的戏被其他演员吃的七七八八。
索金真的安安心心写剧本就足够了 他的天赋完全不应该浪费在影像上
前2/3就算有奥老师的美颜也很难熬，好在最后情节快了起来。人终身都在为自己的过去买单
1.13补标
整套下来剧本非常扎实，一板一眼，循序渐进，1960年的思想和观念只是一个故事罢了
sorkin一贯的咄咄逼人让人忽略了这部片的似水柔情。许多场戏把lucy作为一个女人遇到的难题写的淋漓尽致。很多台词是二三刷才能明白的妙。
一锅烩饭，味道肯定不会太差。唯一特色（惊喜）是大虾的Nicole，可惜被混乱的妆发搞得分不清哪年哪月。
跟纪录片版（《露西尔与戴斯》）前后就差了几个月，聚焦同样的对象，形成互补，只是这个剧情版的信息量就相对少一些了。
最后妮可的愣神真的演的很棒。一位女演员，在女性意识逐渐苏醒的年代，没有过分标榜自己的女性身份，甚至在丈夫一次次出轨后都默默忍受，只希望能得到丈夫的一句道歉，但在一次次的谎言中她绝望了，摄影棚给了她一种家的错觉，情景剧也不过是宣泄情绪的娱乐品，家庭早已破碎不堪。于是在最后和丈夫的同台表演中她一次又一次的修改剧本，试图重新找回记忆中的那个他，虽然只有短短几秒，但也足以说明曾经的她多么幸福
真好。
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