# The Virginian (1946 film)
**The Virginian** is a 1946 American Technicolor Western directed by Stuart Gilmore for Paramount Pictures, starring [Joel McCrea](https://www.edgepedia.org/joel-mccrea) as a Wyoming ranch foreman torn between his friendship with a cattle rustler and the harsh code of frontier justice. It is the fourth screen adaptation of Owen Wister's 1902 novel *The Virginian*, following silent versions in 1914 and 1923 and the 1929 [Gary Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-cooper) talkie.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / producer | Stuart Gilmore (his first feature); produced by Paul Jones[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN) |
| Principal cast | Joel McCrea (The Virginian), Brian Donlevy (Trampas), Sonny Tufts (Steve Andrews), Barbara Britton (Molly Wood)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN) |
| Writers | Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, and Howard Estabrook, from the novel and play by Owen Wister[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946) |
| Release | 5 April 1946; New York opening 17 April 1946[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN) |
| Technical details | Technicolor, Western Electric sound, 85 to 87 minutes, 9 reels[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN) |
| Box office | Finished 24th among 1946 films, just ahead of *It's a Wonderful Life* at 26th[3](https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/this-week-in-the-west-episode-24-the-virginian-joel-mccrea/) |
| Modern rating | 6.4/10 on IMDb from about 1,500 votes[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-virginian-1946) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story is set in 1885. Molly Wood, a young woman from a prominent Bennington, Vermont family, leaves home to take a post as a schoolteacher at Bear Creek, Wyoming, outside Medicine Bow. On the way, her train is stopped by Box H Ranch cattle being herded by a foreman known as "The Virginian" because of his home state.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN) A spooked steer frightens her on arrival, and the Virginian comes to her rescue; the animal turns out to be a little girl's pet, and Molly takes a dislike to him while he is smitten.[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-virginian-1946)
The Virginian greets his friend Steve Andrews, whom he has not seen in three years, and the two men compete for Molly's affection.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN) Steve falls in with a band of ruthless cattle rustlers led by Trampas, and the Virginian warns him about the company he keeps, telling him he will not cover up rustling.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946) • [5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-virginian-1946) The Virginian finds himself leading a posse after the rustlers, and Molly hates the violent side of frontier life.[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-virginian-1946) The story's pivotal moment is the hanging of an old friend for cattle rustling, a portrayal of frontier justice that remained controversial.[3](https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/this-week-in-the-west-episode-24-the-virginian-joel-mccrea/)
## Production
Paramount shot the film between 6 November and late December 1944, and copyrighted it on 29 January 1946.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN) The title card on the viewed print reads "Owen Wister's American Classic The Virginian."[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN?cxt=filmography) According to the AFI Catalog, screenwriter E. Edward Paramore, Jr. was added to the screenplay credits in early January 1946 but is not credited on the screen or in reviews, and the extent of his contribution has not been determined.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN?cxt=filmography)
**Locations.** Although set in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, the film was shot on California locations including Placerita Canyon and the Paramount ranch at Agoura.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946) Portions were filmed in Placerita Canyon, where 1,200 feet of track had already been laid for the train used in [Cecil B. DeMille](https://www.edgepedia.org/cecil-b-demille)'s *Union Pacific*.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN?cxt=filmography) IMDb also lists Kernville, Monogram Ranch in Newhall, and Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks among the filming locations.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039082/locations/)
**Crew.** Harry Hallenberger was the cinematographer, Everett Douglas the editor, Hans Dreier and John Meehan the production designers, and Daniele Amfitheatrof the composer.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946)
## The famous line
The film contains what Paramount's publicity called "the best-known rejoinder in Western literature": "When you call me that, smile," spoken by the Virginian.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN?cxt=filmography) The 1929 version, in which Gary Cooper first spoke the line on screen, rendered it as "If you want to call me that -- smile"; in the 1946 film McCrea's wording was changed slightly to "When you call me that -- smile."[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946)
## Place in McCrea's career
The film marked a turning point for both its director and its star. Gilmore had begun at Paramount at age 15 as an assistant cutter and became director [Preston Sturges](https://www.edgepedia.org/preston-sturges)' favorite film editor; *The Virginian* was his first feature as director.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946) McCrea was winding up a five-year Paramount contract, in which he had made his first Western, *Wells Fargo*, in 1937. After *The Virginian* he appeared almost exclusively in Westerns for the rest of his film career, which ended in the mid-1970s.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946)
## Reception and legacy
The film performed well commercially, finishing 24th at the 1946 box office, a little ahead of the 26th most popular film, *It's a Wonderful Life*.[3](https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/this-week-in-the-west-episode-24-the-virginian-joel-mccrea/) Contemporary reviews focused on McCrea, whose understated performance is often praised as well suited to Wister's taciturn protagonist; the 1946 retelling is also noted for placing greater emphasis on the Virginian's internal struggle over the necessity of violence to maintain order.[3](https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/this-week-in-the-west-episode-24-the-virginian-joel-mccrea/) Later assessments were cooler: a writer for *Western Films* criticized the 1946 version as "a lethargic remake" with a "watered down" plot and "muted humor with simplified characters," rating it a "reduced routine oater," while praising the 1930-era Cooper version's characterizations.[8](https://www.enotes.com/topics/virginian/in-depth/connections-further-reading/adaptations)
The film belongs to a long adaptation history. Wister's novel, credited with beginning the twentieth-century western craze, was first dramatized for the Broadway stage by Wister himself in 1904, with Dustin Farnum repeating his stage role in Cecil B. DeMille's 1914 silent film.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946) • [9](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/nineteenthcentury-american-fiction-on-screen/an-untypical-typicality-screening-owen-wisters-the-virginian/79260B9E019FC5F84D229DEECF78A93F) A 1923 silent version starred Kenneth Harlan, and [Victor Fleming](https://www.edgepedia.org/victor-fleming) directed the 1929 talkie with Cooper and [Walter Huston](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-huston).[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946) NBC's television series *The Virginian*, starring [James Drury](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-drury), ran from 1962 to 1970 and was then revised as *The Men from Shiloh* (1970 to 1971).[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN?cxt=filmography)
The story takes its material from Wyoming's Johnson County War of 1892, a struggle between cattlemen and homesteaders that likewise served as background material for *Shane* and *[Heaven's Gate](https://www.edgepedia.org/heavens-gate-film)*.[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-virginian-1946) The film remains available on digital rental and purchase and on DVD and Blu-ray.[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-virginian-1946)
## References
1. [The Virginian (1946), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN)
2. [Roger Fristoe, "The Virginian (1946)," Turner Classic Movies, October 28, 2003](https://www.tcm.com/articles/59941/the-virginian-1946)
3. ["This Week in the West, Episode 24: 'The Virginian' & Joel McCrea," National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum](https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/this-week-in-the-west-episode-24-the-virginian-joel-mccrea/)
4. ["The Virginian streaming: where to watch online?" JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-virginian-1946)
5. ["The Virginian (1946) on Netflix," NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-virginian-1946)
6. [The Virginian (1946), History section, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25045-THE-VIRGINIAN?cxt=filmography)
7. ["The Virginian (1946) - Filming & production," IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039082/locations/)
8. ["The Virginian Adaptations," eNotes](https://www.enotes.com/topics/virginian/in-depth/connections-further-reading/adaptations)
9. [R. Barton Palmer, "An untypical typicality: screening Owen Wister's The Virginian," in *Nineteenth-Century American Fiction on Screen*, Cambridge University Press, 2007](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/nineteenthcentury-american-fiction-on-screen/an-untypical-typicality-screening-owen-wisters-the-virginian/79260B9E019FC5F84D229DEECF78A93F)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Westerns before 1980 › Released 1930 to 1960*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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