Number range CHAPTER

**THE FAR HORIZONS** (Paramount, 1955, 108 min)

**CHRONICLES OF AMERICA: THE FRONTIER WOMAN** (Yale University, 1926, 40
min)

**ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI** (MGM, 1951, 78 min)

**THE RIFLEMAN: THE DEADEYE KID** (ABC, 1959, 30 min)

**RACHEL AND THE STRANGER** (RKO, 1948, 79 min)

**JEREMIAH JOHNSON** (Warner Bros., 1972, 116 min)

**COLORADO TERRITORY** (Warner Bros., 1949, 94 min)

**THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL** (UA, 1965, 165 min)

*\"See How The West Was Fun!\" is the tagline of this star-studded
western comedy. You should surmise that it is not a politically correct
film. On the other hand it is extremely funny. In 1867, the miners in
Denver realize that winter is setting in and there isn\'t enough
whiskey, so they hire the Irish Teamsters to haul in a wagon train. But
the Temperance Movement catches wind of it and then the Sioux. Add
Calvary to the mix and all chaos ensues. Donald Pleasence is a hoot as
the perennially drunken Oracle Jones and Martin Landau as Chief
Walks-Stooped-Over. Great score by Elmer Bernstein.*

**THE BIG SKY** (Winchester Pictures, 1952, 140 min)

*Jim Deakins is a Kentucky frontiersman and Indian trader who casts his
lot in with a group of fur traders embarking upon a perilous journey up
the Missouri river. The plan is to return a kidnaped Blackfoot princess,
Teal Eye, to her people and thus win their gratitude and trade. Guided
by Teal Eye and a crazy warrior named Poordevil, they encounter hostile
tribes, bandits, and wicked waters. Kirk Douglas gives a strong
performance in this grand frontier tale based on the novel by A.B.
Guthrie. Rousing music by Dimitri Tiomkin.*

**THE FRISCO KID** (Warner Bros., 1979, 95 min)

*This endearing Gene Wilder vehicle is a sterling example of that
all-too-rare genre-the Jewish western! Our hero is a Polish rabbi who
travels from the old country to his new home in San Francisco. His
journey becomes a picaresque trek across the continental United States,
a land of pristine scenic beauty and eccentric inhabitants. A
bittersweet comedy with Wilder in top form.*

**THE OKLAHOMA KID** (Warner Bros., 1939, 85 min)

*Cagney and Bogart trade in their fedoras for ten-gallon hats in one of
their more offbeat outings. The setting is Tulsa in its boomtown days.
The frontier turns out to be as sin-soaked as Gotham, making it a haven
for two tough-guy screen icons. A true curio of the western movie
tradition.*

**KIT CARSON** (Edward Small Productions, 1940, 102 min)

**McCABE AND MRS. MILLER** (Warner Bros., 1971, 120 min)

*This poetic, contemplative, and lushly atmospheric western is one of
Altman\'s greatest works. Warren Beatty\'s McCabe is a
mumbling-to-himself businessman who comes to a Pacific Northwest town
with the idea of opening a high class bordello. Julie Christie\'s Mrs.
Miller is the opium-addicted madame with whom he joins forces.
Accompanied by the wistful songs of Leonard Cohen, Altman shows McCabe
naively taking on an encroaching big corporation, leading to an ending
both inevitable and unforgettable.*

**THE WAY WEST** (UA, 1967, 122 min)

*Hot off the Maurice Chevalier-Dean Jones vehicle* **Monkeys, Go
Home***, director McLaglen sheds dreams of Yvette Mimieux for this
rugged tale of settlers driving through Indian territories. With Robert
Mitchum in a non-singing role.*

**BEND OF THE RIVER** (Universal, 1952, 91 min)

*Glyn McLyntock was once a vicious outlaw, but he\'s trying his best to
turn things around. In this performance, James Stewart shows us what a
tough guy he can be. He guides a wagon train of settlers to the Oregon
territory facing numerous perils along the way - Indians, harsh
elements, hijackers, and gold rush madness. He rescues a former
partner-in-crime from a lynching only to have to confront his wicked
ways later on. It\'s a fight to the death and a plunge into the icy
river. With beautiful scenery - Julie Adams and Rock Hudson vie for
prettiest - this story adapted from the novel* Bend of the Snake *by
Borden Chase holds an unwavering tension.\
*

**DEATH VALLEY DAYS: HOW DEATH VALLEY GOT ITS NAME** (United States
Borax, 1952, 30 min)

**CHEYENNE: DUEL AT JUDAS BASIN** (ABC, 1960, 60 min)

**WESTWARD HO THE WAGONS!** (Walt Disney, 1957, 86 min)

**MAN IN THE WILDERNESS** (Warner Bros., 1971, 104 min)

*In the 1820\'s Northwest territories, frontier scout Zachary Bass(the
late, great Richard Harris) is left for dead by his captain and crew
after being gruesomely mauled by a bear. Vowing revenge on his
deserters, Bass travels many miles to find them; but in the process of
his long journey he undergoes a transformation. A mystical, fantastic
yet true story, including the hauling of Lewis and Clark\'s original
ship across dry land.*

**ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST** (Italy, 1968, 165 min)

*Man. Woman. Blood. Guns. Revenge. Eyeballs bigger than pancakes. If
this movie had a smell it would stink of all of these and you\'d like
it. See it in widescreen ecstasy, buzz to Ennio Morricone\'s fuzz-guitar
score, and you just might get a hint of that phantom smell*

**THE DONNER PARTY** (PBS, 1992, 90 min)

*Ric Burns\' acclaimed documentary chronicles the harrowing tale of the
ill-fated emigrant group who set out for the promised land of California
in the spring of 1846, only to meet with disaster in the snows of the
Sierra Nevada the following winter. Narrated by David McCullough*

**YOU ARE THERE: LEWIS AND CLARK AT THE GREAT DIVIDE** (CBS, 1971, 30
min)

**WAGON TRAIN: THE CHARLES AVERY STORY** (Revue, 1957, 60 min)

**STORIES OF THE CENTURY: SAM BASS** (Republic, 1954, 25 min)

**BONANZA: THE PURSUED** (NBC, 1966, 100 min)

**FORT APACHE** (Argosy, 1948, 125 min)

*This film has long been both a critics\' favorite and a crowd pleaser
due to its gorgeous scenery, Archie Stout\'s matchless cinematography,
Richard Hageman\'s tremendous musical score, and a stellar cast headed
by the Duke himself. Primarily, it is a display of John Ford\'s
directorial gifts at their peak. Works like* **Fort Apache** *made Ford
the supreme mythmaker and film poet of the American West.*

**THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON** (Warner Bros., 1941, 140 min)

*Warner Bros.\' take on the George Armstrong Custer story was never
noted for its sensitivity or its historical accuracy. Its raison d\'être
was big-budget, slam-bang excitement. Impressive locations, a
suspenseful story, plus extras and horsemen galore enliven one of the
most effective spectacles released during Errol Flynn\'s reign as king
of the action film.\
*

**SHALAKO** (UK, 1968, 113 min)

**WESTWARD THE WOMEN** (MGM, 1951, 118 min)

*In 1851, the ranch hands in California were lonely and cold at night
owing to a scarcity of women. So ranch-owner John McIntyre devises a
harebrained scheme to find wives for his men. He heads to Chicago with a
photo of each man in his pocket and then advertises for 100 good women
who then pick their feller and sign up for the long haul. Robert Taylor
tries his best to dissuade his boss, but fails, and reluctantly signs on
to guide them. So with a wagon load of 150 prospective wives (they
expect casualties) they head 2,000 miles across country only to be set
upon by Indians, floods, hunger and thirst. They bury their dead, birth
their babies, and shoot the rapists. And when the men desert, the women
take over showing their mettle. With Frank Capra as the story writer you
can expect plenty of noble and comic moments.*

**CALAMITY JANE** (Warner Bros., 1953, 101 min)

*Welcome to Deadwood, Dakota Territory, where civilization is still
unknown and gender roles are as mutable as the prairie breeze. An
androgynous Doris Day gives her most dynamic performance as the
legendary frontierswoman. The infectious songs are by Sammy Fain and
Paul Francis Webster; the vivid cinematography (in Technicolor, natch)
by Wilfrid M. Cline.*

**ROCK ISLAND TRAIL** (Republic, 1950, 90 min)

**SERGEANT RUTLEDGE** (Warner Bros., 1960, 111 min)

*Woody Strode stars as an African-American soldier standing trial at a
frontier outpost. He is one of a group of black recruits helping the
predominantly white community subdue the local Native American
population. James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck\'s screenplay
explores the always timely theme of race relations in America.*

**ALONG THE OREGON TRAIL** (Republic, 1947, 64 min)

**SILVERADO** (Columbia, 1985, 127 min)

*This film is one of Hollywood\'s big attempts in the 1980s at bringing
back the popularity of the classic American Western. Big budget, all
star cast, and hot director were all thrown together to try to score a
big hit for Columbia Pictures, but alas, the film only was modestly
successful at the box office. This film is worth a second look for the
beautiful visuals of big sky country and its charming attempt to
re-create the classic western.*

**HEARTLAND** (Filmhaus, 1979, 96 min)

**RIVER OF NO RETURN** (20^th^ Century-Fox, 1954, 91 min)

*Following an unjust prison term, Matt Calder returns to the wilderness
to be reunited with his son and plans for his farm. But one day a
troublesome couple arrives on a raft seeking help, the gambler Weston
and his wife Kay - a saloon singer, no less. Weston is eager to get down
river and file a claim on a gold mine that he has won in a poker game.
So he steals Calder\'s gun and his horse and abandons the wife (Marilyn
Monroe!), leaving the three helpless to face hostile Indians. They flee
to the unruly river and it becomes a journey where angers are purged and
love rediscovered. Absolutely gorgeous scenery shot in Alberta and the
songs are sweet.*

**DAYS OF HEAVEN** (Paramount, 1978, 95 min)