The Western through a Monocle: Fritz Lang's Examination of Western Mythology

In his Westerns The Return of Frank James (1940), Western Union (1941), and Rancho Notorious (1952), director Fritz Lang interrogated Western genre tropes. By examining the theatricality of Westerns, the presentation of Native Americans in Westerns, and the frames used by Western storytellers, Lang...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:JCMS : Journal of cinema and media studies 2023-09, Vol.63 (1), p.80-99
Main Author: Roberts, Justin J
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In his Westerns The Return of Frank James (1940), Western Union (1941), and Rancho Notorious (1952), director Fritz Lang interrogated Western genre tropes. By examining the theatricality of Westerns, the presentation of Native Americans in Westerns, and the frames used by Western storytellers, Lang questioned the nature of Hollywood Westerns. Later filmmakers, particularly Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood, have shown their debt to Lang's films by alluding to them in their own films.
ISSN:2578-4900
2578-4919
2578-4919
DOI:10.1353/cj.2023.a910939