I share my brother Ted's late life discovery of the Western as a favorite genre.
I should also mention that our Mexican great-grandfather and grandfather actually were cowboys--vaqueros--though that was already long in the past by the time we were born.
In fact, our great-grandfather Juan Jesus Ortiz was shot and killed in a bar in Lost Cabin, Wyoming. Both of his sons were soon supporting their mother by riding cattle drives. Our grandfather quit life on the range and ended up in Los Angeles.
This makes three Gioia brothers who are fans of Westerns. I enjoy many of the classic Westerns, but also get a kick out of the over-the-top schlock found in the lesser-known Spaghetti Westerns. And despite its runtime, I really, really like Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.
This article wasn’t intended as a history of westerns. But you will be happy to know that I will soon publish a guide to 40 essential western films, and Unforgiven is included.
Take a serious look at the collaborations between Antony Mann and James Stewart in WINCHESTER .73, THE NAKED SPUR, THE FAR COUNTRY, and BEND IN THE RIVER, as well as MAN OF THE WEST with Gary Cooper, and THE TIN STAR, with Henry Fonda. These are truly superior, albeit modestly budgeted features that, like John Ford's work, and to a lesser extent that of Budd Boetticher, transcend the genre.
That's true. I have an unpublished article about African-American western films that I will probably share at some point. (My father was friends with Herb Jeffries, who played a key role in the genre—and also sang with the Ellington band. What a career!)
You're right. There are just a few I remember. I'm old enough to remember when Raymond St. Jacques first appeared in Rawhide in 1965. According to IMDB he was in 13 episodes. He's the first black cowboy I remember seeing on TV or movies.
I always thought Roscoe Lee Brown in the John Wayne movie "The Cowboys" was outstanding. There were other movies and TV show with sophisticated characters in the mix, but Mr. Nightlinger was the best.
If you've watched "Death Of Stalin", you'll know that he was a fan of western movies. My guess is that Stalin got out of them what he needed to think that he, too, wore a white hat.
Louis L'Amour's memoir, "Education of a Wandering Man", describes a character about as close as one gets to moral unambiguity. Louis came of age during The Great Depression. That event was about as challenging as it gets in modern times to existential survival, and where Mr. L'Amour found his moral clarity in it.
Stalin was fond of Westerns because he felt it gave him insight into the minds of Western leadership. He also watched a lot of other Hollywood movies aside from Westerns to better understand the Western mindset.
I really dug that show Hell on Wheels..a lot...the transcon railroad, the confederates drifting west after the civil war, injuns...low budget and I enjoyed it a ton
If you want to find out what frontier life was like, you should read "Preserving Populist, the Life of Frank Doster" by Michael J. Broadhead. He happens to be my Great Great Grandfather. Nothing like the movies. He fought for the rights of the people against the overbearing railroads and cattle ranchers. He was a frontier lawyer who later ran for the Senate and was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Kansas. No gunfights, no Indian wars. Kind of boring.
I have recently come across a 12 film BLU-RAY set of some of the Westerns done by Columbia in the 1950s that all starred Randolph Scott. The best of the lot was a film from 1957 called The Tall T. I am proud to say my kids love to watch these films with me. And this one in particular really showed off integrity in the face of very complicated moral dilemmas.
I do think it is good for kids to watch this type of thing.
One other thing. Not in just this set, but so many other Westerns from the era…….they were shot in bright Technicolor. The lighting and color were so intense as to be from a different world. It makes them easy to view. So many, if not most, of our films today are shot in this kind of faded out black or gray with eternal dark. It is very difficult to watch as the characters are often so faded that you cannot follow the plot. So many times today I find myself squinting in the theater or watching our TV at home. This has even caused me to walk out or quit watching mid-stream on so many films. I have no idea why they do this, but it is profoundly annoying.
We want the gunslinger to clean up the town but then …he’s must go like Shane…true today. That said, nothing like reliving your youth at 2 AM in your hospital room lit by black and white reruns of Gunsmoke… aids recovery.
There were a lot of movies on this theme after World War II. The war was a critical battle between good and evil, or at least between us and them. It took hard men and violence to win the war, but now the war was over and it was time for men of peace. You get this in Old Testament with David and Solomon. You get this with Kipling and his take on the British Empire. I'm surprised more people don't pick up on this. While the current administration has a revisionist take on who were the good guys during World War II, that war was where the modern world was built.
Interesting take Ted, I really find examining what our movies, books and television say about our culture through time. You should really check out Paul Anleitner’s work. He has a book coming out on this very topic.
Enjoyed this trip back to when good and bad were mostly black and white. I think there's a point with any genre or TV series where the market is saturated, the creativity of the writers is exhausted, and no one wants to leave the party but it's 3 am. Huge fan of Costner in Silverado and Dances with Wolves- solid rewatch material. The newer stuff- well, more effort required not to sleepwalk through the role.
Gene Rodenberry wrote and directed a few episodes of Have Gun Will Travel. The episode involving Basque sheep ranchers was the first appearance of the dance of The Green Girl.
I share my brother Ted's late life discovery of the Western as a favorite genre.
I should also mention that our Mexican great-grandfather and grandfather actually were cowboys--vaqueros--though that was already long in the past by the time we were born.
In fact, our great-grandfather Juan Jesus Ortiz was shot and killed in a bar in Lost Cabin, Wyoming. Both of his sons were soon supporting their mother by riding cattle drives. Our grandfather quit life on the range and ended up in Los Angeles.
This makes three Gioia brothers who are fans of Westerns. I enjoy many of the classic Westerns, but also get a kick out of the over-the-top schlock found in the lesser-known Spaghetti Westerns. And despite its runtime, I really, really like Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.
Lordy! Three Gioia brothers?! One named Ted is often more than my brain can handle.
Speaking of siblings, are you related to the Talmadge sisters, Norma and Constance, who were stars of the silent film era?
I still re-watch Shane
from time to time and often tear up when he beats hired gun Wilson to the draw and “rides off into the sunset,” leaving the townfolk safe again.
No discussion of the Western genre is complete without mentioning "Unforgiven." Serious oversight there...
This article wasn’t intended as a history of westerns. But you will be happy to know that I will soon publish a guide to 40 essential western films, and Unforgiven is included.
Excellent! Thank you for your reply. Looking forward to the article.
Take a serious look at the collaborations between Antony Mann and James Stewart in WINCHESTER .73, THE NAKED SPUR, THE FAR COUNTRY, and BEND IN THE RIVER, as well as MAN OF THE WEST with Gary Cooper, and THE TIN STAR, with Henry Fonda. These are truly superior, albeit modestly budgeted features that, like John Ford's work, and to a lesser extent that of Budd Boetticher, transcend the genre.
there were quite a few black cowboys in the 19th century post bellum..they never get mentioned much
That's true. I have an unpublished article about African-American western films that I will probably share at some point. (My father was friends with Herb Jeffries, who played a key role in the genre—and also sang with the Ellington band. What a career!)
Herb Jeffries was revered by the Black American community. Herbie Hancock (né Herbert Jeffrey Hancock) was named for him.
You're right. There are just a few I remember. I'm old enough to remember when Raymond St. Jacques first appeared in Rawhide in 1965. According to IMDB he was in 13 episodes. He's the first black cowboy I remember seeing on TV or movies.
I always thought Roscoe Lee Brown in the John Wayne movie "The Cowboys" was outstanding. There were other movies and TV show with sophisticated characters in the mix, but Mr. Nightlinger was the best.
If you've watched "Death Of Stalin", you'll know that he was a fan of western movies. My guess is that Stalin got out of them what he needed to think that he, too, wore a white hat.
Louis L'Amour's memoir, "Education of a Wandering Man", describes a character about as close as one gets to moral unambiguity. Louis came of age during The Great Depression. That event was about as challenging as it gets in modern times to existential survival, and where Mr. L'Amour found his moral clarity in it.
Stalin was fond of Westerns because he felt it gave him insight into the minds of Western leadership. He also watched a lot of other Hollywood movies aside from Westerns to better understand the Western mindset.
i found that same tension between good/bad and nihilism/moral order to be present in the AMC western series "Hell on Wheels," which i enjoyed greatly.
I really dug that show Hell on Wheels..a lot...the transcon railroad, the confederates drifting west after the civil war, injuns...low budget and I enjoyed it a ton
If you want to find out what frontier life was like, you should read "Preserving Populist, the Life of Frank Doster" by Michael J. Broadhead. He happens to be my Great Great Grandfather. Nothing like the movies. He fought for the rights of the people against the overbearing railroads and cattle ranchers. He was a frontier lawyer who later ran for the Senate and was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Kansas. No gunfights, no Indian wars. Kind of boring.
I have recently come across a 12 film BLU-RAY set of some of the Westerns done by Columbia in the 1950s that all starred Randolph Scott. The best of the lot was a film from 1957 called The Tall T. I am proud to say my kids love to watch these films with me. And this one in particular really showed off integrity in the face of very complicated moral dilemmas.
I do think it is good for kids to watch this type of thing.
One other thing. Not in just this set, but so many other Westerns from the era…….they were shot in bright Technicolor. The lighting and color were so intense as to be from a different world. It makes them easy to view. So many, if not most, of our films today are shot in this kind of faded out black or gray with eternal dark. It is very difficult to watch as the characters are often so faded that you cannot follow the plot. So many times today I find myself squinting in the theater or watching our TV at home. This has even caused me to walk out or quit watching mid-stream on so many films. I have no idea why they do this, but it is profoundly annoying.
I have a different view of Yellowstone. I think there are no good guys.
We want the gunslinger to clean up the town but then …he’s must go like Shane…true today. That said, nothing like reliving your youth at 2 AM in your hospital room lit by black and white reruns of Gunsmoke… aids recovery.
There were a lot of movies on this theme after World War II. The war was a critical battle between good and evil, or at least between us and them. It took hard men and violence to win the war, but now the war was over and it was time for men of peace. You get this in Old Testament with David and Solomon. You get this with Kipling and his take on the British Empire. I'm surprised more people don't pick up on this. While the current administration has a revisionist take on who were the good guys during World War II, that war was where the modern world was built.
Movie Bob's recent piece on Hop-Along Cassidy seems relevant. I'd be interested in Ted's thoughts. https://youtu.be/Y4KcKvDer-U?si=IqO7JTQIXDX8KbfG
The other myth we had found expression in “The Wizard of Oz” and “it’s a Wonderful Life.”
Ordinary folk have everything they need to make a good life by way of honest persistence and mutual decency.
It was more or less true in some places for a while. But the limits also always encroached. Dreams survive reality only by effort.
Interesting take Ted, I really find examining what our movies, books and television say about our culture through time. You should really check out Paul Anleitner’s work. He has a book coming out on this very topic.
https://www.amazon.com/Based-True-Story-Deconstruction-Meaning/dp/B0G1Q7VC29/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=18HJCV1MFJD8O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0VXKGWxTcR72P9Q37j0cZreRd649phPazHzf0x8cq9GqXktw3t6u-1oNXTOPDfERQmr7kkXTlpy7Rz0rydaSb1-X4CZw69FKliSqlOJSY-AcTVSCeRT9iyBLFhrYNmnwUtzQx9PVVRe7IbXcXVsj6CLGRVoDPhDx4IIfx23fPb3jpbHr7pdIcAKV4ctFcdJfvSvgdHNOLAV3p763hNcKdw.OHLYBLXR1mtS2szZ8xN1Y2TCt2EYd6Jrx6fBe5I9NAM&dib_tag=se&keywords=based+on+a+true+story+book&qid=1770497745&sprefix=based+on+a+true+story+book%2Caps%2C219&sr=8-1
Enjoyed this trip back to when good and bad were mostly black and white. I think there's a point with any genre or TV series where the market is saturated, the creativity of the writers is exhausted, and no one wants to leave the party but it's 3 am. Huge fan of Costner in Silverado and Dances with Wolves- solid rewatch material. The newer stuff- well, more effort required not to sleepwalk through the role.
Hate to break it to you, Ted, but Star Trek was pitched as "Wagon Train to the stars."
And superheroes had their postmodern moment with THE DARK NIGHT, WATCHMEN, and SANDMAN. The Reagan 80s ruined all American ideals.
Gene Rodenberry wrote and directed a few episodes of Have Gun Will Travel. The episode involving Basque sheep ranchers was the first appearance of the dance of The Green Girl.