Saturday, March 18 | 11 Films
Since the early days of cinema, the western has proven to be a stalwart of the industry. Even in lean times for the Old West, critics and audiences alike have fallen for Oscar-winning films like Unforgiven (1992) and No Country for Old Men (2007). All of the great Hollywood stars of yore spent some time wheeling and dealing with spurs and holsters, from John Wayne and James Stewart to Elizabeth Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck. Westerns are the bread and butter of the movies.
Dating back to the silent era, before movies got lengthy, The Great Train Robbery (1903) took the country by storm with a story of western outlaws. From there, the West would be continually explored, over and over, from various perspectives. The viewpoints on these movies have sometimes been problematic, with at times questionable, and at other times downright offensive, portrayals of Native Americans. But at its best, the western spins tales that are easily accessible… of good versus evil, of greed versus charity, of the great human need for growth and expansion.
In addition to the two aforementioned modern-day westerns, only Cimarron (1931) and Dances with Wolves (1990) have managed to win the top prize at the Academy Awards, though many other movies in the genre have been honored in the big categories. Cimarron has, unfortunately, shown its age with a parade of racial stereotypes marring its story of the settling of Oklahoma. The land rush sequence at the beginning of the film, however, remains a classic moment in western history.
Wallace Beery starred in Viva Villa! (1934) as Pancho Villa, and while the casting of Beery in the role would not pass muster today, the Academy fell in love with the movie. It was showered with nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound Recording. It also received a nomination for Best Assistant Director, a category that only existed for five years. John Waters (no relation) took home that award. While Waters directed a dozen silent films, his Oscar win did not lead to directing projects, though he would eventually direct a short in 1935 and one feature film. That film, The Mighty McGurk (1947), also starred Beery.
Actors have often had success scoring Oscars in westerns, particularly the record-holder for the Best Supporting Actor category, Walter Brennan. He won the award three times for Come and Get It (1936), the Western-adjacent Kentucky (1938) and The Westerner (1940). Genre-legend Gary Cooper takes on the lead in that film, as he did in many movies that co-starred Brennan, including his own Oscar-winning role in Sargeant York (1941).
John Wayne had been around Hollywood for many years by the time he appeared in Stagecoach (1939), directed by frequent collaborator John Ford, but Stagecoach is what made Wayne a star. The cast also included Claire Trevor and a Best Supporting Actor performance from Thomas Mitchell. A true ensemble piece, Wayne plays the outlaw the Ringo Kid, and from the moment he shows up on screen, he steals the film. Ten years later, when he made She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) for Ford, Wayne was the king of the western and one of the biggest and highest-paid stars. Many of his films were produced in glorious Technicolor, showcasing the scenic vistas of Monument Valley, an Arizona location that was frequently used for westerns, particularly those directed by Ford.
Edna Ferber was the author behind the book Cimarron, and she also wrote the novel that became one of the most popular western adaptations of the 1950s, the George Stevens epic Giant (1956). Truly big in every way, including with its Texas location shoot, huge movie stars (Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean) and in its length, Giant looked like a favorite for the Oscar. Its stiffest competition was Around the World in 80 Days (1956). Giant was primed for Best Picture after Stevens took home the coveted Best Director award. While splits between the director and picture categories are atypical, Around the World in 80 Days took home the top award. Around the World in 80 Days, interestingly, has a long segment that takes place in the Old West. So it is, at least in part, a western. Giant, however, has continued to loom large, with images of its stars frequently used in popular culture. The movie, too, has a timely, and progressive for the period, look at interracial marriage and an indictment of racism.
Tales of trust and deceit were frequent in westerns, with a classic of this side of the genre coming in Anthony Mann’s The Naked Spur (1953), which starred James Stewart and Janet Leigh. Nominated in 1997 to the National Film Registry, The Naked Spur is one of the most acclaimed westerns of all time. The Academy honored it with a Best Original Screenplay nomination, though it lost to Titanic (1953).
Westerns began to see a facelift during the 1960s, when humor and inventive filmmaking techniques were incorporated. The quirky, funny Cat Ballou (1965) is perhaps the sterling example of westerns during this decade. Starring Jane Fonda, the movie brought home an Academy Award for co-star Lee Marvin, who pulled off an impressive dual role. Named the 10th greatest western of all time by the American Film Institute, Cat Ballou features Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye as the “shouters,” a kind of Greek chorus that comments on the action through the seemingly endless song “The Ballad of Cat Ballou,” which was coincidentally the name of the Roy Chanslor novel on which the film was based.
The pessimistic and modern Hud (1963) cast Paul Newman as a Texas rancher, but it was Patricia Neal who earned the lion’s share of awards attention that year, including an Oscar for Best Actress. It also earned a Best Supporting Actor award for Melvyn Douglas. While it did not receive a nomination for Best Picture, Hud did have nominations for Best Director (Martin Ritt), its art direction, adapted screenplay and it won Best Black-and-White Cinematography.
Cinerama was employed for the epic How the West Was Won (1962), which also cast just about every major star in Hollywood, including John Wayne, James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda and Debbie Reynolds. Its original screenplay, film editing and sound all took home Academy Awards, while it also earned nominations for its art direction, cinematography, costume design and musical score. It also captured a nod for Best Picture.
Howard Hawks’ The Big Sky (1952), which stars Kirk Douglas, is a more traditional Old West movie. In the film, Douglas is tasked with keeping a Native American girl safe. In a progressive move for the time, the girl was played by an actual half-Cherokee woman, actress Elizabeth Threatt.
With the success of series like Yellowstone and movies like The Power of the Dog (2021), it’s unlikely that westerns are going anywhere anytime soon. As the last century of films has taught us, there is little moviegoers enjoy more than taking a trip to the Old West.
