Westember Day 13: Seven Men from Now (1956)

 

     Today's western in Budd Boetticher's Seven Men from Now, the first film in the Ranown cycle (a six film collaboration between Boetticher and Randolph Scott).

     I like this film more every time I see it. I'll have to get around to reviewing it (and the other Ranown films, which I have yet to see) some time.

     Tomorrow's film is, perhaps, the most highly acclaimed western ever made...

Westember Day 12: Johnny Guitar (1954)

     Well, I'm a day late and a dollar short but I still made it...

     The director of Johnny Guitar is Nicholas Ray, who also directed King of Kings which I reviewed some years ago.

     Stay tuned for the video I uploaded today, covering a much more conventional but no less creative western...

Westember Day 11: Shane (1953)

 

     Today's film is Shane, yet another personal favorite of mine. Based on the popular novel by Jack Schaefer, George Stevens' film attempts to mythologize the western hero.

     Tomorrow we will look at a somewhat more obscure and subversive western...

Westember Day 10: High Noon (1952)

 

     Today's film is another personal favorite of mine (and of many others) Fred Zinnemann's  High Noon (1952).

     Zinnemann aslo directed A Man for All Seasons (1966), another personal favorite which I reviewed during Lent. Like High Noon that film features a protagonist who is abandoned for following his conscience.

     Tomorrow we will look at a far more traditional western...

Westember Day 9: Winchester 73' (1950)

 

Today we look at one of my favorite westerns, Anthony Mann's Winchester 73'.

I reviewed another Mann/Stewart western, The Far Country back in 2017.

Tomorrow I'll cover one of the most highly acclaimed (and controversial) westerns ever made...

Westember Day 8

Today we have two videos once again.

First of all a brief history of the western on TV and the end of the series western.

Secondly Broken Arrow (1950), one of the most successful westerns of the 1950's and one of the most sympathetic portrayals of American Indians onscreen.

For more detailed thoughts on Broken Arrow see my review from last year.

Tomorrow another Jimmy Stewart western...

Westember Day 7: Fort Apache (1948)

 

Today's western is Fort Apache (1948), the first film in John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy.

One of Ford's best films (in my opinion) it's the first of his westerns to take a critical look at white/Indian relations. I love it for Ford's sentimental look at cavalry life.

Tomorrow we look at the emergence of television as the genre entered the 1950's...