The Invention of the Western Film

The Invention of the Western Film ranges across literature, visual arts, social history, ideology, and legend to provide, for the first time, an in-depth exploration of the early Western, from short kinetoscopes of the 1890s through classic features of the 1940s. By examining the American Indian's rise and demise during the silent era, B- Westerns of the 1930s, and film noir-influenced Westerns of the 1940s, Scott Simmon's pioneering study silhouettes the genre's evolution against a myriad of cultural forces. This lively, encyclopedic book revitalizes familiar Western icons John Wayne and John Ford, and recovers forgotten masterworks from the Western film's formative years.

Author: Scott Simmon
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 02/19/2004
Pages: 410
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.50lbs
Size: 8.74h x 6.74w x 1.17d
ISBN: 9780521554732

Review Citation(s):
Choice 03/01/2004 pg. 1304