Agnes Moorehead as Rebecca Prescott in 'How The West Was Won' Designed by Walter Plunkett

Black and beige textured wool long-sleeve period dress, self fabric inset yoke, long, full skirt. [Bias label reads "Agnes Moorehead"]; matching brown straw bonnet with purple ribbon tie.

"Hollywood and History," Edward Maeder, Thames and Hudson, 1987, pg. 217 (photo).

.Agnes Moorehead, gained recognition and awards for her three decades, playing mostly neurotic arrogant supporting characters. She will probably be most remembered for her portrayal as Endora in the Television series “Bewitched,” but her depth and career goes much deeper.

HTWWW was one of MGM’s last epic films and was the last film shot in Cinerama. It was a family saga set between 1839 and 1889 and dealing with the Westward expansion. Moorehead’s character of a pioneer wife and mother meets her end in the first forty minutes of the film when the family’s raft overturns in the rapids. Moorehead was not impressed with her shabby period costumes which covered her from head to toe and felt that all that was required for her role was to strike a few poses, serve breakfast and drown.

It was a massive project for designer Walter Plunket, who had to provide costumes for a huge cast of principal actor, cameo roles and thousands of extra and on top of that to cover a time period of fifty years. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color in 1964 for his work on the film.