They’re not as common as they were in their Saturday matinee heyday. but some memorable western movies have come out in the last few decades. We’ve rounded up a batch of the best post-’60s frontier films and want you to vote for your favorite.
Read more →Western Movies
Horses, Trains and Carriages: Duel in the Sun (1946)
King Vidor’s Duel in the Sun, with Jennifer Jones and Gregory Peck, was a frontier tale of forbidden love. But it also reflected how the coming of the railroad changed the landscape of the Old West and its inhabitants, according to guest writer Emily Rauber.
Read more →Good Guys Wear Black: 80 Years of Hopalong Cassidy
The year marks the 80th anniversary of William Boyd’s film debut as Hopalong Cassidy. To celebrate, we’ve rounded up a saddle bag full of fun facts and trivia about the black-clad and (occasionally) limping cowboy hero of movies and TV.
Read more →Remembering The Alamo (1960)
This week’s debut of the TV miniseries Texas Rising makes it the perfect time to “remember” writer Irv Slifkin’s classic look back at the 1960 frontier drama The Alamo, director/star John Wayne’s stirring tribute to the 1836 Lone Star State battle.
Read more →Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash Stage A Gunfight (1971)
With their Wild West days behind them, a pair of aging gunslingers (Johnny Cash and Kirk Douglas) decides to stage a final showdown in a bull ring and charge admission. Guest writer Mike Perry reviews the 1971 frontier drama A Gunfight.
Read more →Walter Brennan in The Westerner/My Darling Clementine: Bad Judge/Bad Dad
He was usually a kindly grandfather or loyal sidekick, but he played memorable real-life villains in two classic frontier dramas. For the Great Villain Blogathon, we salute Walter Brennan’s menacing turns in The Westerner and My Darling Clementine.
Read more →Jeffrey Hunter Is The Man from Galveston
Jeffrey Hunter played a circuit-riding attorney in 1880s Texas in The Man from Galveston. Guest writer Laura Grieve lays down the law on the 1963 frontier legal drama, which started out as a TV pilot and lead to Hunter’s short-lived 1963-64 series Temple Houston.
Read more →What’s Your Favorite 1950s Western Film?
More adult themes and complex characters marked the western movie genre in the 1950s. This week MovieFanFare saddles up and asks you to pick your top ’50s-era frontier flick: High Noon, The Searchers, and Shane are among the choices.
Read more →Roy Barcroft: King of the “B” Western Bad Guys
He was the man frontier film fans loved to hate, causing trouble for Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and other cowboy heroes for over 20 years. Perennial western villain Roy Barcroft is MovieFanFare’s latest Scene Stealer.
Read more →Who’s Your Favorite Movie Wyatt Earp?
Henry Fonda, Burt Lancaster, Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner are among the actors who have played frontier lawman Wyatt Earp in movies. This week’s poll asks for your pick for the best big-screen Wyatt.
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