i doubt if the real story of the development of western union would ever have gain a real audience . instead of talk about the building of the telegraph system out west and it be the story of board room and dominate by one of the most interesting ( and dislike ) of the great robber baron represent jay gould . gould pick up the struggle company and turn it into a communication giant and part of his attempt at a national railway system to rival vanderbilt . but this and while interesting and be not as exciting a the story of the laying of the telegraph line themselves . at least and that be how audience would see it . jay gould die in 1892. have he live into the modern era and and invest in hollywood and he probably would have agree to that assessment too . the film deal with how the laying of the telegraph system be endanger by indian and spur on by one jack slade ( barton maclane ) . slade and a desperado and be not happy with the development of a communication system that will certainly put a crimp in his ability to evade the police in the territory . he be confront by the man in charge of the laying of the telegraph wire and edward creighton ( dean jagger ) and creighton associate richard blake ( robert young ) and and a quasi lawman vance shaw ( randolph scott ) and who be slade brother . blake and an easterner with little understanding of the west and be romance creighton sister sue ( virginia gilmore ) and but find it hard to get use to his new surroundings . but he do become a close friend of shaw and especially in try to confront slade . slade be a real western criminal and by the way and and the subject of a section of mark twain rough it . he be hang in the 1870s . but he do not have any involvement in stir up indian against railroad or telegraph company . however and maclane make him a memorably evil and and totally vicious type . his killing of one of the major character be do suddenly and from behind and he view the corpse a though he have just get rid of an annoyance . but lang be responsible for that and as well a other touch . look at the sequence with chill will and where he be on a telegraph pole repair it . he spit tobacco juice several time while talk to young and who get a little splattered . then there be an indian attack which we watch from the ground level . at the conclusion and young suddenly get splatter again and but it not brown but red that cover him . he look up at the pole top and and there be will with an indian arrow through him . it be an exciting film to watch and and well worth catch .