Western (Film & TV)

A Western is a fictional story or film which is usually set in the second half of the 19th century United States, west of the Mississippi River. In terms of period and location, Westerns are stories about the American Frontier, also known as the Old West or, perhaps most popularly, the "Wild West". Most Westerns take place sometime between the end of the American Civil War in 1865 and the end of the 19th century, although there are exceptions and some historians define the broader timespan from 1849 (the year of the California Gold Rush) to around 1920 as the frontier period.

Some of the earliest known film reels depict life on the frontier. Made in 1894 by the Edison Company at its Black Maria Studio in New Jersey, they include the short silents Annie Oakley, Bucking Broncho, Buffalo Dance, and Sioux Ghost Dance. These films featured members of Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows performing their various frontier skills.

Silent Westerns

Following the success of The Great Train Robbery, made by Edwin S. Porter for Edison in 1903, the genre became very popular with cinema audiences. Several directors and actors became famous by making Westerns during the silent era.

John Ford and Harry Carey

John Ford (1894–1973) began his career as a director in 1917 when he made nine films. His first was The Tornado, a Western released on 3 March, in which he also starred as Jack Ford. It was a 2-reel short lasting about 25 minutes and now believed to be lost. Ford made two more 2-reel shorts and then The Soul Herder, which lasted 30 minutes and began his long-time collaboration with Harry Carey (1878–1947). The film also featured Hoot Gibson (1892–1962), then a rising star who went on to appear in 13 Ford movies until 1959.

Ford's fifth film in 1917 was Straight Shooting, his feature-length debut which was released on 21 August. Like many future Westerns including the classic Shane, it explored the issue of farming (aka "sodbusting") on the open range with a greedy rancher attempting to prevent the farmer's access to water. The film starred Carey and featured Gibson in a supporting role. Carey played the part of "Cheyenne Harry", a character who was in some ways the genre's first anti-hero in that, although he was an outlaw and a wandering gunfighter (rather like Shane, in fact), he had redeeming features and would take a stand against oppression. Carey reprised the part in 28 films between 1916 and 1919.

Tom Mix

Tom Mix (1880–1940) had been a ranch-hand in real life and, like Ben Johnson later, his riding and wrangling skills won him some good parts which led to him becoming one of the first Western stars. Mix made his film debut in 1909 when he had a supporting role in a short Western called The Cowboy Millionaire for the Selig Polyscope Company. By 1914, Mix had made numerous shorts, mostly 2-reelers. His feature-length debut was In the Days of the Thundering Herd, co-starring Bessie Eyton and Red Wing, who was one of the earliest Native American film stars.

William S. Hart

William S. Hart (1864–1946) made his movie debut in 1914. He appeared in two shorts and then played the lead role in The Bargain, a feature-length film which made his name. Hart was a pioneer in the making of Westerns because he encouraged realism. For example, The Bargain was partly filmed at the Grand Canyon and Hart wore authentic 19th century clothing.

Buck Jones

Buck Jones (1891–1942) was another real-life cowboy who began his movie career by taking Western bit parts. He had his first starring role in The Last Straw (1920), also starring Vivian Rich. The film was a success and Jones became one of the most popular Western stars of the silent era.