Western Union Sparknotes

Based on the novel “Western Union,” written by Zane Grey, it is centered on a criminal outlaw, Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott) and the Western Union’s construction of the telegraph line. When Shaw is on the run in the West after committing a bank robbery, he runs into injured Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger), an engineer of the Western Union. Seeing this as an opportunity to get away, Shaw attempts to take Creighton’s horse and supplies. However, seeing as the man was injured, Shaw helped Creighton and took the engineer with him to be healed, saving Creighton’s life. Time passes and Creighton recovers from his injures. He ends up going to Omaha, Nebraska to extend the construction of the telegraph line from Omaha to Salt Lake City, Utah with help from his sister Sue Creighton (Virginia Gilmore). Meanwhile Shaw travel’s to the Western Union, looking for decent, legal, work. He’s hired by Creighton’s assistant, Grogan (Minor Watson) but is immediately recognized by Edward Creighton. However, Shaw isn’t dismissed by the man despite his mysterious past. Creighton also hires tenderfoot Richard Blake (Robert Young) an engineer from Harvard, whose father sent him to Creighton to learn to be a man. Despite his hesitance to hire such a naïve boy, Creighton does hire Blake anyway as a favor to Blake’s’ father who donated money to

When Creighton announces this to his workers, they celebrate their near done job. Meanwhile, while Shae is lured away from camp by one of Blake’s men. When Blake explains to Shaw about his plan of setting fire to the Western Union camp, Shaw is captured and tied up by Black and his men when he refuses to interfere with their plan. After Slade and his Gang ride off to partake in their plans of arson Shaw tried to free himself from his ropes, by blowing on the embers left Slade’s Gang and using the fire to weaken the