The Landscapes of Western Movies: A History of Filming on Location, 1900-1970

by Jeremy Agnew

Overview

Western films have often been tributes to place and setting, with the magnificent backdrops mirroring the wildness of the narratives. As the splendid outdoor scenery of Westerns could not be found on a studio back lot or on a Hollywood sound stage, the movies have been filmed in the wide open spaces of the American West and beyond.

This book chronicles the history of filming Westerns on location, from shooting on the East Coast in the early 1900s; through the use of locations in Utah, Arizona, and California in the 1940s and 1950s; and filming Westerns in Mexico, Spain, and other parts of the world in the 1960s. Also studied is the relationship between the filming location timeline and the evolving motion picture industry of the twentieth century, and how these factors shaped audience perceptions of the "Real West."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476679518
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	10/15/2020
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.46(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jeremy Agnew, a biomedical electronics consultant, holds a Ph.D. in engineering and has been involved in the design and manufacture of medical devices for more than 30 years. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has written several books on the Old West.

Table of Contents

Milestones in Filming Western Motion Pictures on Location 1

Preface 3

1 Pre-1900: Romanticizing the Landscape 7

2 The Early 1900s: Shaky Beginnings 26

3 The 1910s: Growth of the Silent Film Industry 50

4 The 1920s: Consolidation on the Coast 69

5 The 1930s: The Rise of the B-Westerns 86

6 The 1940s: Solidly in the Outdoors 109

7 The 1950s: Realistic Locations 138

8 The 1950s: Locations That Moved 165

9 The 1960s and Beyond: The Shift in Power 180

Postscript 203

Chapter Notes 209

Bibliography 216

Index 219