Eons ago, I started a project at my old blog of writing about the five hit Western movies released in 1939 that led to the genre’s revitalizing in the 1940s and ’50s. I never finished the project, writing about only three of the movies, but I’m starting it up again—first by digging up and revising the three posts I did finish. So I’ll begin with, let’s see … Destry Rides Again.

It may sound strange to people unfamiliar with film history, but for a good stretch of the Golden Age of Hollywood—the 1930s—the Western was at a low point in popularity, almost as low as during the 1980s. For most of the decade, “A” picture Westerns were almost unknown; the genre was restricted to low-budget “B” status and thought to be mostly for kiddies.

Continue reading “Westerns ‘39: Destry Rides Again” →