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Movies on the Radio: Best In The Western

WUNC | By Laura Pellicer,
Frank Stasio
Published March 1, 2017 at 12:26 PM EST
John Wayne stars alongside Claire Trevor in the 1939 American Western film 'Stagecoach'.
Wikimedia Commons
John Wayne stars alongside Claire Trevor in the 1939 American Western film 'Stagecoach'.
John Wayne stars alongside Claire Trevor in the 1939 American Western film 'Stagecoach'.
Credit Wikimedia Commons
/
Wikimedia Commons
John Wayne stars alongside Claire Trevor in the 1939 American Western film 'Stagecoach'.

A gun-slinging cowboy on a mission of revenge takes down the enemy in a quick-draw duel.  He then rides off on his trusted steed with the setting sun casting long shadows on the rugged landscape. This is one of the iconic narratives in Western film, a genre which has gone through a massive evolution since its “good versus evil” and “cowboys versus Indians” days.

Film professor Marsha Gordon and film curator Laura Boyes talk about the American Western on this edition of Movies on the Radio.

In this episode of Movies on the Radio, listeners discuss their favorite Western films. Host Frank Stasio talks with experts Marsha Gordon, film professor at North Carolina State University, and Laura Boyes, film curator at the North Carolina Museum of Art, about the how Westerns have evolved from the lone-ranger narrative, to a platform for critiques about race, gender, and capitalism. Here are some of the films discussed in today's show:

Stagecoach, 1933

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE-VWDsdkwM

High Noon, 1952

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZil728hUy0

The Professionals, 1966

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzowE5YwXps

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 1966

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCN5JJY_wiA

Once Upon A Time In the West, 1968

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kD54-q1uFM

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=501Afs54cso

The Frisco Kid, 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jsvTn65_I

Unforgiven, 1992

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftTX4FoBWlE

Bad Girls, 1994

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b69nY28Rkk

Serenity, 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8JNjmK5lfk

Hell or High Water, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQoqsKoJVDw

Copyright 2017 North Carolina Public Radio
Laura Pellicer
Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.
See stories by Laura Pellicer
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio