Dictionary of Westerns in Cinema

PERFORMING ARTS • FILM HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts, No. 26 VARNER When early filmgoers watched The Great Train Robbery in 1903, many shrieked in terror at the very last clip, when one of the outlaws turned toward the camera and seemingly fired a gun directly at the audience. The puff of WESTERNS smoke was sudden and hand-colored, and it looked real. Today we can look back at that primitive movie and see all the elements of what would evolve HISTORICAL into the Western genre. Perhaps the Western’s early origins—The Great Train DICTIONARY OF Robbery was the first narrative, commercial movie—or its formulaic yet enter- WESTERNS in Cinema taining structure has made the genre so popular. And with the recent success of films like 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the Western appears to be in no danger of disappearing. The story of the Western is told in this Historical Dictionary of Westerns in Cinema through a chronology, a bibliography, an introductory essay, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on cinematographers; com- posers; producers; films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Dances with Wolves, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, High Noon, The Magnificent Seven, The Searchers, Tombstone, and Unforgiven; actors such as Gene Autry, in Cinema Cinema Kirk Douglas, Clint Eastwood, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, and John Wayne; and directors like John Ford and Sergio Leone. PAUL VARNER is professor of English at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. For orders and information please contact the publisher SCARECROW PRESS, INC. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, Maryland 20706 ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5589-2 1-800-462-6420 • fax 717-794-3803 ISBN-10: 0-8108-5589-5 www.scarecrowpress.com 90000 PAUL VARNER Cover photo of John Wayne in The Searchers, 9 780810 855892 © 1956 Warner Bros., Photofest HD Western Cinema.indd 1 4/23/08 5:40:40 PM 08_072_01_Front.qxd 4/17/08 6:22 AM Page i HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES OF LITERATURE AND THE ARTS Jon Woronoff, Series Editor 1. Science Fiction Literature, by Brian Stableford, 2004. 2. Hong Kong Cinema, by Lisa Odham Stokes, 2007. 3. American Radio Soap Operas, by Jim Cox, 2005. 4. Japanese Traditional Theatre, by Samuel L. Leiter, 2006. 5. Fantasy Literature, by Brian Stableford, 2005. 6. Australian and New Zealand Cinema, by Albert Moran and Errol Vieth, 2006. 7. African-American Television, by Kathleen Fearn-Banks, 2006. 8. Lesbian Literature, by Meredith Miller, 2006. 9. Scandinavian Literature and Theater, by Jan Sjåvik, 2006. 10. British Radio, by Seán Street, 2006. 11. German Theater, by William Grange, 2006. 12. African American Cinema, by S. Torriano Berry and Venise Berry, 2006. 13. Sacred Music, by Joseph P. Swain, 2006. 14. Russian Theater, by Laurence Senelick, 2007. 15. French Cinema, by Dayna Oscherwitz and MaryEllen Higgins, 2007. 16. Postmodernist Literature and Theater, by Fran Mason, 2007. 17. Irish Cinema, by Roderick Flynn and Pat Brereton, 2007. 18. Australian Radio and Television, by Albert Moran and Chris Keat- ing, 2007. 19. Polish Cinema, by Marek Haltof, 2007. 20. Old Time Radio, by Robert C. Reinehr and Jon D. Swartz, 2008. 21. Renaissance Art, by Lilian H. Zirpolo, 2008. 22. The Broadway Musical, by William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird, 2008. 23. American Theater: Modernism, by James Fisher and Felicia Hardison Londré, 2008. 24. German Cinema, by Robert C. Reimer and Carol J. Reimer, 2008. 25. Horror Films, by Peter Hutchings, 2008. 26. Westerns in Cinema, by Paul Varner, 2008. 08_072_01_Front.qxd 4/17/08 6:22 AM Page iii Historical Dictionary of Westerns in Cinema Paul Varner Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts, No. 26 The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Maryland • Toronto • Oxford 2008 08_072_01_Front.qxd 4/17/08 6:22 AM Page iv SCARECROW PRESS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Scarecrow Press, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.scarecrowpress.com Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright © 2008 by Paul Varner All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Varner, Paul, 1948– Historical dictionary of westerns in cinema / Paul Varner. p. cm. — (Historical dictionaries of literature and the arts ; no. 26) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5589-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8108-5589-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Western films—Dictionaries. I. Title. PN1995.9.W4V37 2008 791.43'627803—dc22 2007047509 ϱ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America. 08_072_01_Front.qxd 4/17/08 6:22 AM Page v For Jeanine, Bart, and Tess— Thanks. 08_072_01_Front.qxd 4/17/08 6:22 AM Page vi 08_072_01_Front.qxd 4/17/08 6:22 AM Page vii Contents Editor’s Foreword (Jon Woronoff)ix Preface xi Chronology xiii Introduction xxi THE DICTIONARY 1 Bibliography 237 About the Author 259 vii 08_072_01_Front.qxd 4/17/08 6:22 AM Page viii 08_072_01_Front.qxd 4/17/08 6:22 AM Page ix Editor’s Foreword In the world of cinema, some things remain static and some things change. The Western was for a very long time a genre that remained static. In any given Western, it did not take long to identify the good guys and the bad guys; then after a bit of rousing action, the good guys beat the bad guys, righted various wrongs, and rode off into the sunset. At present, that sort of scenario is hardly imaginable and would not be very popular since it is no longer perceived as the real world. Nowadays the good guys have questionable characteristics, the bad guys often pos- sess a streak of decency, and the cast of characters has broadened to in- clude many who were previously nearly invisible. Women, gays, African Americans, and Native Americans finally appear as real people and not just convenient villains. These changes, which mirror changes in society, have given the Western a new lease on life, resulting in films that could not have been produced or conceived of in earlier decades. With this, the Western—one of the oldest of film genres—has man- aged to retain its long-standing popularity and has actually expanded its audience. New films continue to appear, many attracting crowds and winning awards, making it a good time to publish a Historical Dictio- nary of Westerns in Cinema. The chronology charts the genre’s long and impressive history, from the more obvious films of earlier years to the more varied and sometimes surprising ones of the present. This evolu- tion, and what it means for the genre, is then explained in the introduction. The dictionary examines many of the more significant actors, producers and directors, sources and characteristics, locations and themes, and landmark films. Other entries analyze the vast array of types, from early and classic Westerns to a range of alternative Westerns and the hy- brid “spaghetti Western.” The volume concludes with a comprehensive bibliography. ix 08_072_01_Front.qxd 4/17/08 6:22 AM Page x x•EDITOR’S FOREWORD The author of this volume is Paul Varner, who has taught at a num- ber of schools over the years, recently as professor of language and literature at Oklahoma Christian University before moving to Abilene Christian University. He is a specialist in both Westerns in cinema and Westerns in literature, which is convenient because many of the films in this genre are based on novels. Dr. Varner has lectured on the West- ern and also written on some of the more significant authors and characters, his favorite being Hopalong Cassidy. He has also been the area chair of Westerns for several learned societies. Dr. Varner’s accumu- lated and considerable experience with the genre gives him an impressive insight into what the Western once was and what it is in the process of becoming. Jon Woronoff Series Editor 08_072_01_Front.qxd 4/17/08 6:22 AM Page xi Preface This Historical Dictionary of Westerns in Cinema will hopefully be a useful tool for researchers, film critics, students, and other readers in understanding the different ways of viewing and appreciating cinema Westerns. The introduction and chronology will give an overview of how to approach Westerns as postmodern filmgoers and provide the history of Westerns at the beginning of the postmodern era. This book is meant to be a comprehensive source for understanding Westerns, but it is a dictionary rather than an exhaustive encyclopedia. It suggests areas of importance and points to significant people, films, themes, and crucial issues. The body of material examining the history of Westerns as well as specific films, directors, actors, studios, and crucial issues is enormous, and the bibliography at the end should indicate what kind of research is possible in Western film studies. This volume should be the beginning point for anyone involved in serious study and enjoyment of Westerns. Obviously, my criteria for selection of entries in the dictionary is sub- jective. Not all actors, directors, or films will be found here.

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