The Encyclopedia of Westerns

In the cinema, the West is a mythical place, where heroes, anti-heroes, villains, and a range of stock characters play out the never-ending conflict between good and evil. This book covers the history of the Western movie, from The Great Train Robbery in 1902 to the most recent Hollywood hits. Each of the more than 3,500 entries includes the film's vital statistics--title, year released, director, writers and screenwriters, cast, and running time--along with a summary, and a critical analysis of the more significant films. Also includes information on popular western serials and film series. Additional features include: spaghetti westerns, so-called because most were produced in Europe and financed by Italian companies; more than 100 black-and-white photographs; a historical overview of western movies at the Oscars; an appendix citing literary sources for western films. --From publisher description.