How the West Was Won is a 1962 American
Metrocolor epic-
Western film. The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned"
epic films made by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. Set between 1839 and 1889, it follows four generations of a family (starting as the Prescotts) as they move ever westward, from western
New York state to the
Pacific Ocean. The picture was filmed in the curved-screen three-projector
Cinerama process.