Shooting Stars: Heroes and Heroines of Western Film

by Archie P. McDonald

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0253204151
• ISBN13: 9780253204158
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Length: 265 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Interesting Collection of Biographical Essays on Western Film Stars

This is an interesting collection of essays on the people who worked in front of the camera making western films during the first three-quarters of the twentieth century. Much of the volume presents biographical articles on ten western film stars, with two overview chapters discussing women in westerns and television westerns. The actors profiled include William S. Hart, Ken Maynard, Randolph Scott, Gary Cooper, Gene Autry, John Wayne, Audie Murphy, Burt Lancaster, and Clint Eastwood. Curiously, a chapter on Ronald Reagan seems out of place since he made only six insignificant westerns. Even more curious, such major stars as Tom Mix, Harry Carey, Roy Rogers, and Hopalong Cassidy are absent. What results from this collection is a dramatic building of the western from its earliest representations through its most mature form in the work of John Wayne and Cline Eastwood. Wayne, of course, was the epitome of the western film star, "embodying personal power, flint-like resolution, resourcefulness, uncanny endurance, and above all, heroism" (p. 109), according to essayist Archie P. McDonald. The best essay in the collection may be Gary A. Yoggy's "When Television Wore Six-Guns: Cowboy Heroes on TV." It offers a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of the United States when westerns ruled the airwaves during the 1950s and 1960s. For instance, in 1958 seven of the top ten shows on TV were westerns, and eighteen new westerns began airing that year. Yoggy discusses such stalwarts as "Gunsmoke," "Death Valley Days," "Bonanza," "Rawhide," "Wagon Train," "Maverick," and "The Big Valley." What is it about the America of this era that made these shows so popular? The sense of justice, irreverence, and equality, laced with a certain humor went far in making these shows so popular. This is a very interesting collection of essays on an important topic in the history of film. Also, they are fun to read. Despite the omissions and the lack of an index (unforgivable in a work of non-fiction) this is a truly interesting book. Enjoy.