The Old, Wild West had a revival in the 1970s. Which cowboys stake their claim?
Westerns reflected America at the turn of the century, a time when civilization was in its primordial stage. Virtual lawlessness reigned in the remote stretches of outlands, deserts, and ramshackle towns. Survival, greed, justice, and freedom were the common currency in the late 1800s. Cowboys and Native American Indians warring over territories. Bandits robbing the local bank in broad daylight. The cruel, unforgiving power of nature and wilderness trying to be tamed by Manifest Destiny. As a genre, Westerns have endured as historical dramas and thematic pieces of national identity for America and many other cultures.
Traditional Westerns use the conceits of lawful, lawless, indigenous, and antihero characters for the framework of their escapades. The minutiae and milieu underwent a metamorphosis since the heydays of Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood. A subgenre like the acid western has counterculture and anticapitalist sensibilities with an emphasis on the savagery and unpredictable nature of the frontier. Space Westerns (like Outland, a High Noon in space), possibly the most popular subgenre, use science fiction's trappings to extend the propagation of society in every corner of the universe. The 1970s were a decade with some of the most experimental Westerns that explored the undying possibilities of the West from new vantage points, low and high.
Jason Robards is the old prospector, Cable Hogue, in this effusive Western. He turns a desert watering hole into an enterprise in honor of the Wild West of the past. Cable Hogue represents the arbitrary selfish side of the wild frontier through humorous antics. The satirical irony of expanding the West through monetary gain shows how greed and desperation make men irreverent charlatans and cheats. Welcome to modern civilization, where thirst costs you ten cents a head.
Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder (who also starred in the 1979 western, The Frisco Kid with Harrison Ford) make this western expansion spoof timeless. Little plays a Black sheriff, Bart, who is appointed by attorney general Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) as a racist cue to persuade a town to migrate elsewhere to make room for a new railroad. Wilder plays an alcoholic gunslinger, Jim AKA the "Wako Kid", who helps Bart defend himself from the town's hostility and the scheming Lamarr. With a heap of anachronisms and self-aware, historical daring, the American frontier has never been more of a volatile tragicomedy than through the lens of Blazing Saddles.
Michael J. Pollard (off of Bonnie and Clyde) plays the notorious outlaw, Billy the Kid. The revisionist western was also the film debut of Nick Nolte in his uncredited role as the town gang leader. Veering from the grandiose scope of traditional western fare, Dirty Little Billy focuses on the darker elements of realism through the violent early life of William H. Bonney. Though the actor was twice the age of 17-year-old Billy, the portrayal of him as a victim turned madman is uncompromising and bitter.
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The Fain Gang of brother bandits terrorize the ranch of Martha McCandles at the Mexico-United States border. They ride off with her son, Jacob McCandles Jr., and hold him hostage for a $1 million ransom. Texas Rangers and the United States Army offer to intervene, but she instead enlists her estranged husband, Jacob "Big Jake" McCandles (John Wayne), to save his son "Little Jake." The introduction of McCandles is well-written and a well-delivered, terse, matter-of-fact characterization that saddles up for a classic western tale.
Chisum is loosely based on the 1878 Lincoln County War between territorial factions instigated by Billy the Kid. John Wayne plays historical figure, John Chisum, a wealthy cattle baron who is caught up in the turf war in the New Mexico Territory. The atmosphere and action are close at hand in this western with a flamboyant display. The theme song, "The Ballad of John Chisum" completes this powerful image of the landowner.
Franc Nero of Django fame stars as Keoma Shannon, a part-Indian and part-white soldier returning from the American Civil War. He finds his half-brothers have joined gang ruler Caldwell in overrunning his hometown. Keoma, with his father and Black friend, George, fight to restore peace in the postwar West. Keoma is a pseudo-Jesus figure, trying to keep the peace while using his Native American prowess and war tactics to overcome his enemies. Keoma was one of the last Spaghetti Westerns with an engaging character arc and use of cinematography.
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Red Sun is what happens when you team-up one of the Magnificent Seven (Charles Bronson) and one of the Seven Samurai (Toshirō Mifune). In a clash of East and West, this Franco-Italian, multicultural western forces a double-crossed bandit to help a samurai exact revenge on his gang leader and steal back the robbed Japanese sword meant as a gift for the President of the United States of America. The film had a positive reception in Japan and played in Tokyo theaters for 35 weeks straight.
John Bernard "J.B." Books, ex-sheriff and gunfighter, is a dying breed in the wake of western expansion with new inventions like the camera and trolley. The town doctor reveals he has terminal cancer and has only weeks to live. Outlaws from the past catch wind of the-last-of-his-kind shootist, and plan to put Books out of his misery before Books makes his way into the history books. The Shootist was John Wayne's last role; a fitting end to his 200-plus film career.
Brent is an author, educator, and freelancer from Lake Mary, FL. He was born in his local Blockbuster, teething on action, horror, and science fiction VHS tapes. Today, he runs his business, Wiggins' Words, as an editor, tutor, and poet on demand.