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THITE, STALE AND PROFITABLE?
JACK NATTEFORD & LUCI WARD
IN OUR limited experience with Westerns, and with the production executives thereof (for all of whom we have not yet written) , it has frequently been a source of surprise to find our efforts circumscribed more by Hollywood dogma than by the real, inherent limitations of the medium.
What is a Western? Obviously, it is an outdoor action picture set in the background and spirit of the American frontier. Within this range are several highly specialized sub-divisions.
The series Western, featuring a star, is sold by the series of eight or six pictures a year. Among its limitations are the taboos affecting the star, who cannot drink, smoke, or make a pass at a lady. The series Western derives from three major literary sources: the modern detective story, challenging audience curiosity with whodunit and how; the Morte d'Arthur, tales of knight-errantry; and the exploits of an outlaw who always, in the last reel, has been carrying the star of a United States Marshal concealed in his boot. Frequently, the man-in-the-hole formula is used.
The modern Western sometimes occurs in a typical series, and creates its own frontier spirit by the anachronistic employment of holstered death on the hips of men who croon for radio and operate airplanes. (Incidentally, the state of Arizona outlawed hipgun toting in 1904.) History and the heavy both take a beating in the series Western, which is usually shot in 6 to 18 shooting
JACK NATTEFORD & LUCI WARD, although married and currently teamed, usually work as individual writers. They have been credited with many feature screenplays, as well as
scores of Westerns.
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