"Shooting Cowboys
and Indians: Silent Western Films, American Culture, and the Birth
of Hollywood"
by Andrew Brodie Smith (University Press of Colorado,
2003, 230 pages)
If the title had been simply "Shooting Cowboys
and Indians," the book may appeal to a broader audience,
but when you add "Silent Western Films, American Culture,
and the Birth of Hollywood," it sounds more like a textbook.
Smith's book is not a textbook, although it is an informative
and scholarly study. Don't let the "American Culture"
part of the title mislead you. Smith doesn't try to get into politics
or do a psychological study of the nation at that point in history.
He does, however, give us some insight into the tastes of audiences
in the first 20 or 25 years of the century, the mores that affected
what was being produced for the screen, the criticisms and praises
that the writers of the day had for the westerns, and he takes
an interesting look at the changes that took place in the evolution
of the western film and what most likely brought about those changes.
Although I said it wasn't a textbook, it is educational. How many
times have you heard or read about names such as Harry H. Buckwalter
or knew anything about his influence (before Broncho Billy or
William S. Hart) on the development of the western movie -- or
James Young Deer and Lillian Red Wing, filmmakers and actors whose
role in the development of the early western may be given its
due credit here for the first time. Of course, names such as Broncho
Billy Anderson, William S. Hart and Tom Mix are here, as well
as the early companies who established the western genre on the
screen such as Selig, Essanay, Bison and others. Smith does an
excellent job of giving us a brief but sufficient history of the
development of these companies during the fledgling days of the
movies. The reader gets a real "feel" for the time period
and the role that westerns played in the overall make-up of cinema
history at this time. The book doesn't attempt to be a complete
history, and certainly you won't find the myriad of minor western
stars who churned out pictures, particularly during the 1920's,
here, but you will see those who exerted some influence, helped
lay the foundation that was there by the time sound came in, and
left their indelible mark on the history of the cinema. Smith
deserves credit for his research and also deserves credit for
not providing us a rehashing of the same information that has
been published before. This is good not only for the western fan,
but the fan of early cinema who wants to learn a little more about
this era than you'd get from the typical star's biography.
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