This saga of the wagon-train journey of a group of Western pioneers from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon along the historic Oregon Trail (from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by A.B. Guthrie, Jr.) is known for its breathtaking photography of the Western expanse (by William H. Clothier). Kirk Douglas portrays a widowed senator who leads the wagon train, and Robert Mitchum plays the troubled trail scout--a man plagued by poor eyesight. The trials of the trail include Indian attacks and the inevitable human conflicts of men and women who are living in close quarters in a volatile, tense and dangerous atmosphere. Among the members of the party: a highly irascible and colorful Richard Widmark, and Sally Field in her first film role.