The success of The Plainsman was such that Cecil B de Mille was inspired to go West again, with a tale of nasty business interests whipping up trouble among the Indians (who normally would have accepted white expansion peacefully, I'm sure) and Barbara Stanwyck returning as a tomboy with a yen for a hunky cowboy - played here not by Gary Cooper, but the actor you got when you couldn't get Cooper, Joel McCrea.
There's a simple "political action" plot - evil interests are whipping up trouble among the Indians, who are delaying construction on the railway. In one still-shocking scene a train passenger casually shoots a passing Indian through a window. That's not to say Indian characters are given any sort of dimension or complexity, though - they're depicting as hollering savages who are mowed down by the goodies at the end. They're just given a bit more motivation.
There's also a romance plot which is far less simple - Stanwyck loves McCrea, and is loved by dodgy Robert Preston (who would go on to play several variations of this role for de Mille); Stanwyck and McCrea always seem to be about to get together but these contrived situations keep happening where it's stopped. (This feels very Gary Cooper-ish - Cooper was always not getting together with women for weak reasons in his films). It gets confusing and lacks the emotional kick of say Sign of the Cross.
I admit I might be biased because Stanwyck's Irish accent got on my nerves (the only sort of immigrants we really see are the Irish - there are no Chinese). She seems too old and sensible to pine like this. McCrease is okay, Robert Preston is excellent and there's a superb support cast including Anthony Quinn and Akim Tamaroff (basically playing the same role as in The Buccaneer).
The spectacle is tremendous, with some great sets and a fantastic train crash and Indian attack. It's flawed but fun.
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