The Gunslingers of '69: Western Movies' Greatest Year

by Brian Hannan

Overview

In 1969—the counter-cultural moment when Easy Rider triggered a "youthquake" in audience interests—Westerns proved more dominant than ever at the box office and at the Oscars.

It was a year of masterpieces—The Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Once Upon a Time in the West and True Grit. Robert Redford achieved star status. Old-timers like John Wayne, Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum appeared in two Westerns apiece. Raquel Welch took on the mantle of Queen of the West. Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin tried their hand at a musical (Paint Your Wagon). New directors like George Roy Hill reinvigorated the genre while veteran Sam Peckinpah at last found popular approval. Themes included women's rights, social anxieties about violence and changing attitudes of and towards African-Americans and Native Americans.

All of the 40-plus Westerns released in the U.S. in 1969 are covered in depth, offering a new perspective on the genre.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476679358
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	10/11/2019
Pages:	308
Sales rank:	317,125
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.62(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Brian Hannan writes a regular column for Cinema Retro magazine and gives lectures on film at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
 1. The Sound of Silence: The Stalking Moon
 2. Controversy Runs Wild: 100 Rifles
 3. The Cleverest Lawman in the West: Support Your Local Sheriff
 4. Kill the Messenger: Heaven with a Gun and Smith!
 5. Western as Opera: Once Upon a Time in the West
 6. The Roadshow That Never Was: Mackenna’s Gold
 7. Retread of a Retread: Guns of the Magnificent Seven
 8. Tough Rider: True Grit
 9. Bloody to the Bone: The Wild Bunch
10. The Good, the Bad and the Burt: Young Billy Young • The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
11. One Step Ahead of the Audience: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
12. A Roadshow Too Far: Paint Your Wagon
13. Pedigree Is Not Enough: The Undefeated
14. Cause Célèbre: Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
15. Reissue Fever: A Fistful of Dollars • For a Few Dollars More • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly • Hang ’Em High • Return of the Seven • The Stranger • The Stranger Returns
16. The Last Round Up: The Great Bank Robbery • The Desperados • Death of a Gunfighter • A Talent for Loving • Charro • A Time for Dying • Sam Whiskey • A Man Called Gannon • Journey to Shiloh • Death Rides a Horse • Day of Anger • A Bullet for the General • God Forgives … I Don’t • The Brute and the Beast • The Man from Nowhere • Ace High • Any Gun Can Play • Payment in Blood • More Dead Than Alive • The Ramrodder • Brand of Shame • Hot Spur
Conclusion
Appendix A: ­City-by-City First Run Opening Dates
Appendix B: ­City-by-City First Run Box Office Earnings
Appendix C: Annual Rankings of Westerns at the Box Office, 1960–1969
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Hannan expertly examines the forty-plus westerns of 1969. As usual, author Brian Hannan is the master of statistics. A very good read.”—Cinema Retro

From the Publisher