The Hero's Trail: Myth and Art in the American Western, 1903-1953
The great American Westerns can be profoundly meaningful when read metaphorically. More than mere shoot 'em up entertainment, they are an essential part of a vibrant, evolving national mythology. Like other versions of the archetypal Hero's Journey, these films are filled with insights about life, love, nature, society, ethics, beauty and what it means to be human, and are key to understanding American culture.

Part film guide, part historical survey, this book explores the mythic and artistic elements in 52 great Westerns—some orthodox, some subversive—from the genre's first half-century. Each film is given detailed critical analysis, from the earliest silent movies to Golden Age classics like Red River (1948), High Noon (1952) and Shane (1953).

1139712555
The Hero's Trail: Myth and Art in the American Western, 1903-1953
The great American Westerns can be profoundly meaningful when read metaphorically. More than mere shoot 'em up entertainment, they are an essential part of a vibrant, evolving national mythology. Like other versions of the archetypal Hero's Journey, these films are filled with insights about life, love, nature, society, ethics, beauty and what it means to be human, and are key to understanding American culture.

Part film guide, part historical survey, this book explores the mythic and artistic elements in 52 great Westerns—some orthodox, some subversive—from the genre's first half-century. Each film is given detailed critical analysis, from the earliest silent movies to Golden Age classics like Red River (1948), High Noon (1952) and Shane (1953).

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The Hero's Trail: Myth and Art in the American Western, 1903-1953

The Hero's Trail: Myth and Art in the American Western, 1903-1953

by Peter C. Mowrey
The Hero's Trail: Myth and Art in the American Western, 1903-1953

The Hero's Trail: Myth and Art in the American Western, 1903-1953

by Peter C. Mowrey

Paperback

$49.95 
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Overview

The great American Westerns can be profoundly meaningful when read metaphorically. More than mere shoot 'em up entertainment, they are an essential part of a vibrant, evolving national mythology. Like other versions of the archetypal Hero's Journey, these films are filled with insights about life, love, nature, society, ethics, beauty and what it means to be human, and are key to understanding American culture.

Part film guide, part historical survey, this book explores the mythic and artistic elements in 52 great Westerns—some orthodox, some subversive—from the genre's first half-century. Each film is given detailed critical analysis, from the earliest silent movies to Golden Age classics like Red River (1948), High Noon (1952) and Shane (1953).


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781476682389
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date: 07/01/2022
Pages: 404
Product dimensions: 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.81(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Peter C. Mowrey is a composer, arranger, pianist, and professor of music living in northeast Ohio.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Preface: On the Ethics of Writing a Book About Westerns 1

Notes on Language and Cast/Credit Charts 3

Introduction 7

Part 1 The Silents

The Great Train Robbery (1903) 22

The Battle of Elderbush Gulch (1913) 28

The Squaw Man (1914) 33

The Bargain (1914) 39

Knight of the Trail (1915) 44

Keno Bates, Liar (1915) 48

Hell's Hinges (1916) 51

The Heart of Texas Ryan (1917) 56

The Covered Wagon (1923) 59

The Iron Horse (1924) 63

The Vanishing American (1925) 71

Tumbleweeds (1925) 78

3 Bad Men (1926) 86

Part 2 The Talkies

In Old Arizona (1928) 94

The Virginian (1929) 99

Hell's Heroes (1929) 104

The Big Trail (1930) 111

Billy the Kid (1930) 117

Cimarron (1931) 122

Viva Villa! (1934) 128

Ruggles of Red Gap (1935) 136

The Plainsman (1936) 141

Jesse James (1939) 149

Part 3 The Golden Age

Stagecoach (1939) 156

Dodge City (1939) 167

Union Pacific (1939) 174

Frontier Marshal (1939) 179

Destry Rides Again (1939) 184

The Westerner (1940) 193

Melody Ranch (1940) 201

They Died with Their Boots On (1941) 204

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) 209

My Darling Clementine (1946) 217

Duel in the Sun (1946) 225

Angel and the Badman (1947) 232

Pursued (1947) 238

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) 244

Fort Apache (1948) 247

Red River (1948) 254

Yellow Sky (1948) 265

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) 273

Wagon Master (1950) 280

The Gunfighter (1950) 286

Winchester '73 (1950) 296

Broken Arrow (1950) 304

Devil's Doorway (1950) 312

Rawhide (1951) 318

Along the Great Divide (1951) 325

Bend of the River (1952) 330

High Noon (1952) 338

The Naked Spur (1953) 349

Shane (1953) 358

Conclusion 366

Appendix: A Western Viewing List, 1903-1953 369

Notes 373

Bibliography 377

Index 381

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