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Saddle Up, Skeeter....Mama's Got Her 6-ShooterJun 15 '03 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Clear out the tumbleweed and satch'erself. Movies set in the Wild West have been around since the earliest days of the cinema. Now some of you members of the "younger generation" may not recall of few of the titles on my list. They span back to the year 1949. That means, of course, that I myself did not see them at the height of their success. Thanks to the world of television movies, videos and DVDs, though, I've discovered and enjoyed these films time and again. One of the things that I've noticed is that there are so many different categories of Westerns. There are the ones that make you laugh to the ones that have you hanging on the edge of your seat with suspense. If you'll indulge me here for a bit, I'll tell you of what I consider the Top 10 Categories for Western movies, with my choice of the best for each one. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. The Romantic Western ~ She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, 1949 ~ Hey, this is Nedi writing this review, so I have to begin with the theme that I enjoy the most, a great Romance! The joint efforts of John Ford as Director and John Wayne and Victor McLaglen as actors have brought some of the best Westerns to the screen that I can recall. My personal favorite of the joining of these 3 fellows is with the beautiful Joanne Dru in this film, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" in the role of Olivia. Mr. Wayne plays the role of Calvary Captain Nathan Brittles, who is only days from retirement. Before he can go he must escort the family of their commander to safety with the threat of an Indian uprising imminent. Among this family rescue mission is one Olivia Dandridge, an incurable flirt. She draws the eyes of the underlings of Captain Brittles, Lieutenant Cohill and Lieutenant Penell as well as most of the men in her presence, but she ultimately bestows the "yellow ribbon" to her true love, our own "Duke" himself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. The Humorous Western ~ Little Big Man, 1970 ~ Dustin Hoffman narrates and plays the role of 121 year old Jack Crabb. Jack supposedly is the only white survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn. An historian, William Hickey, has come to interview Mr. Crabb, with the desire to hear the story of someone that had actually lived through the days of the Old West. Jack's reminiscences tell of his adoption by the Cheyenne, his various occupations, but mostly of his "journey into manhood". One of the events of this journey that got me so tickled was when Jack is rescued from the Cheyenne and brought to the home of a Preacher (Reverend Pendrake) and his rather promiscuous wife. In those days Jack gets some Bible lessons and some bathtub lessons with the kind and upright Mrs. Pendrake (Faye Dunaway) wielding the soap-rag. There are some very funny moments to be enjoyed in this one. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. The Family Western ~ Shane, 1953 ~ A true classic in every sense of the word, Shane is the story of a Gunfighter (Alan Ladd) that joins a farm family in an effort to escape his own past. This family, the Starretts, are facing the brutality of a powerful man that uses his hired guns in an attempt to chase away the Homesteaders in the area. It sounds very simplistic and a typical setting for a Western. But there is so much more to the story when all is said and done. Shane faces a growing attraction to Ms. Starrett and paternal feelings towards the son, Joey. The psychological aspect of this mans' choices, along with the honorable and responsible decisions that he must make will have you thinking of this film long after it's over. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. The Star-Studded Western ~ Tombstone, 1993 ~ With an impressive cast including the likes of Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Bill Paxton, Sam Elliott, Powers Boothe, Charlton Heston, Michael Biehn, Jason Priestley, Dana Delany, Billy Bob Thornton and narrated by none other than the wonderful Robert Mitchum, this film is one that can definitely be referred to as "Truly Star-Studded". Tombstone is one of the many re-tellings that have centered around the legendary Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and of the Gunfight at the OK Corral. This version is more modernized and more fictional than many others. In an effort to make it more entertaining there is a bit of glamorizing and romanticizing to be found in it. It wants us to see the Earps as "the good guys", when historical recounts would dispute that fact. Even so, this is a great compilation of talent and worthy of watching. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5. The Vengeful Western ~ Hang 'Em High, 1968 ~ Now what would a list of great Western movies be without at least one of the wonderful offerings by Clint Eastwood? Incomplete, to say the least. Here we see him as Jed Cooper, a man that has been unfairly strung up to die by a group of vigilantes. This group has assumed that Jed is the man that has stolen cattle and killed another man. Jed survives, is found innocent of the theft and murder charges by a Judge. Offered a position as a Marshal, Jed uses his power to follow a path of revenge, searching for and finding the men that had "hung him high". This is one of my favorite Clint Eastwood films. You'll read about the other one in just a moment. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6. The Senior Western ~ True Grit, 1969 ~ This was one of the first films that I watched on the big screen when I was still just a teenager. I can recall moments of the film as clearly today as I did that first time. It was such a transition to make from watching "the Duke" as a young, feisty cowboy to an aging, eye-patched older man. Older, yes, but he still had that fire and spirit of his younger days. John Wayne plays the role of Rooster Cogburn, a notorious figure that is known for bringing in wanted criminals with pure strength and determination...aka, "True Grit". A role, I should mention, that won him both the Oscar and the Golden Globe awards for Best Actor. The story is that of a young woman, Mattie Ross (played by Kim Darby) that requests the help of Rooster in tracking down the killer of her father. This is John Wayne at his best. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7. ~The Dark Western ~ Unforgiven, 1992 ~ Although this film could be considered either "vengeful" or "senior", I thought it deserved its' own category. "Unforgiven" is the other Clint Eastwood movie that I have on this list of favorite Westerns. I'm labelling it "Dark" because of the entire feel of the story. The outdoor scenes of landscape are shown vast and lonely, while most of the scenes taken indoors have the sunlight flooding into their windows, making the interiors dark and gloomy. The plot itself has a dark feel to it. Mr. Eastwood plays the role of William Munny, an aging outlaw that is spending his days as an unsuccessful poor hog farmer, trying to raise his son and daughter alone, after the death of his wife. A young fellow comes to William to tempt him with the bounty offered for the capture of 2 fellows that had beaten and mutilated a young prostitute. This young fellow needs the experience that can be found in William Munny to try to track down these criminals and collect the bounty. As they say, "Money talks"...and William Munny walked...after the bounty. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8. The Documentary Western ~ Wyatt Earp, 1994 ~ Earlier I mentioned the story of the infamous Wyatt Earp in the film "Tombstone". If you would like to know something more informed and something more historically accurate, then this is the film for you. Playing the lead role, Kevin Costner shows a side of Wyatt Earp that isn't always portrayed correctly in other renditions of his life story. I've written more about this film in one of my reviews. The details can be found if you just click here. Although it is not as theatrically entertaining as "Tombstone", you will discover a better insight into the personality and character of Wyatt Earp, both his light-hearted and his dark sides. The role of Doc Holliday played by Dennis Quaid is absolutely outstanding. He makes Kilmers' rendition of this character in Tombstone look sloppy and weak. Doc Holliday was a man dying of TB....Kilmer looked as healthy as a horse, but Quaid displayed the sickly, raspy-voiced, sunken-cheeked doctor/gambler role in a much more believable manner. Hope you check this one out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9. The Adventuresome Western ~ Silverado, 1985 ~ Yes, this one does border on the edge of both of the "humorous" and "star-studded" categories above. It has its' funny moments and the cast is outstanding. Putting Kevin Kline, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover and Jeff Goldblum together was a sure-fire formula for success. I will not even attempt to go into the plot, as it would take an entire review to do this film justice. Each of the characters has his own little agenda...mini-plot, you could say. Eventually they join together to "fight for justice, truth and the American way". Ok, Ok, it's not Superman. But the hearts of these guys is in the same place as Clark Kents' was. They fight for their honor and for what they feel is right. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10. The Suspenseful Western ~ High Noon, 1952 ~ When you hear the plot of "High Noon" it may be difficult to understand why this film received such high acclaim. It sounds like any other typical Western. What makes "High Noon" special is the acting ability of Gary Cooper in his role of Marshal Will Kane. Just after exchanging vows with his new bride, the Marshal receives a telegram informing him that there is someone arriving on the Noon train who wants to meet with him. That someone is a fellow the Marshal had arrested and imprisoned years earlier, and that had sworn revenge one day. All of the townsfolk are frightened and take to hiding. The Good Marshal is left all to his own devises. There is a clock in almost every scene, ticking away the minutes. You can see the sweat pouring from the forehead of the Marshal and feel his tension building as the time gets closer. The sounds of Tex Ritters' voice singing "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling" repeatedly and the scenes of the empty train tracks coming in from the horizon all play a part in the story. You know what's coming....hey, it's a Western!...but the suspense will have you almost holding your breath. This is my absolute favorite Western movie of all time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just a few more for your Viewing Pleasure The Horror Western ~ Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, 1966 ~ technically, his Granddaughter. The Science-Fiction Western ~ Westworld, 1973 ~ Don't look into the eyes!!! The Satirical/Spoof Western ~ Blazing Saddles, 1974 ~ It's twue!! It's Twue!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And Finally Okay now, Pilgrim. That about does it. You've got enough ideas now to fill an entire day of Western Movie adventures, fun, romance and suspense. And in the words of Skeeter, "Watch out for them Spurs!!"  |
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