The mortal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the wounding of director Joel Souza on the set of “Rust,” an independent western movie, by Alec Baldwin is a tragedy too profound for words.
Westerns have been part of storytelling cinema since “The Great Train Robbery” was filmed in 1903. The 12 minute flick includes a final scene with a revolver pointed toward and directly fired at the camera, much the same way Baldwin enacted the accidental fatal scene the “Rust” company was shooting (https://youtu.be/SqBNHH6KJyI).
The western genre has been universally accepted as a stand-in for the American experience, both good and bad.
My father spent his young adult years in Danzig (Gdansk) when it was a heavily German enclave before the Second World War. I have no doubt he saw American westerns there.
He loved watching westerns, movies or network shows like “Gunsmoke,” on television. As we approached home at the end of a day visiting family or friends he would serenade my brother, sister and me with a hearty rendition of Gene Autry singing, “Home, Home on the Range.”
I’m still a devotee of westerns. Not in any order but here is a list of westerns you should see if you have not already:
Heart of the West
The Westerner
Shane
Will Penny
Lonely Are the Brave
My Darling Clementine
Fort Apache
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
The Searchers
Red River
Stagecoach (John Wayne version)
The Rider
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Ox-Bow Incident
Unforgiven (Burt Lancaster version)
Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood version)
Lonely Are the Brave
Will Penny
Drums Along the Mohawk
Last of the Mohicans (Randolph Scott version)
Last of the Mohicans (Daniel Day Lewis version)
The Gunfighter
Destry Rides Again
Friendly Persuasion
Along Came Jones
The Horse Soldiers
The Gold Rush (watch this one with the kids as it is a Charlie Chaplin silent classic)
Blazing Saddles
