Search found 14 matches

by David Meuel
July 26th, 2015, 9:41 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi Mr. Arkadin, I agree with you -- as the times have become more cynical, so have the westerns. Our art almost always reflects our times and concerns. And, as we changed after World War II and afterwards, so did various aspects of our art. Since the 1960s, I believe that the noir sensibility has vi...
by David Meuel
July 26th, 2015, 11:43 am
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi Christy, Thank YOU for a great experience here on the SSO. I've thoroughly enjoyed myself. You asked a question about Raoul Walsh, about why he's not nearly as well known as people such as Ford, Hawks, and Hitchcock. One theory that I find very believable is that the box office failure of Walsh's...
by David Meuel
July 25th, 2015, 6:54 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi again, Christy! Such interesting questions I’m getting! I really appreciate not being asked: “Who’s your favorite cowboy?” 1. Yes, Budd Boetticher definitely had an eye for spotting young acting talent. In his Randolph Scott westerns alone, we see some great actors right at the beginning of their...
by David Meuel
July 25th, 2015, 6:37 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi again, TopBilled, And thanks again for another thought-provoking question. The use of color in western noir is an interesting subject. But it's been a while since I've seen "Canyon Passage," and I have't seen the film with Ruth Roman. Also, while I like "Stars in My Crown" a l...
by David Meuel
July 25th, 2015, 3:19 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi again, Moira, Thanks for your continuing curiosity! 1. Yes, you are absolutely right about the returning war veteran themes in both urban noir and noir westerns. The Civil War seemed to work to portray disillusioned veterans just was well as World War II did. Two noir westerns I found this subjec...
by David Meuel
July 25th, 2015, 2:07 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi Christy, Yes, I think you'll like "Forty Guns." Stanwyck is always good, and Barry Sullivan has a lot of gravitas in it. He's a good match for Barbara's tough character. It is a Sam Fuller film, too, and people tend either to really love Fuller films or to really hate them. Like coffee ...
by David Meuel
July 25th, 2015, 1:12 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi Christy, I see that you’ve been posting lots of wonderful photos. Thanks a bunch for that! Now to your latest questions… 1. For me, the term “diva western” refers more to the larger-than-life actresses who starred in these films than the actual subject matter of the stories. These films were vehi...
by David Meuel
July 25th, 2015, 12:36 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi Moira, It’s a pleasure to be here, and I’m delighted people are asking these questions. Now, in response to your latest round… 1. Yes, just as in an urban crime noir, landscape is critical in a western. I write about this in some detail in my book. One nice thing about natural wilderness landscap...
by David Meuel
July 25th, 2015, 11:47 am
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi kingrat, Thanks for your interest and questions! I hope I can supply you with some satisfactory answers. 1. Yes, I think that the auteurists still have some work to do with Anthony Mann. “Devil’s Doorway,” “The Furies,” and westerns he made after he and James Stewart parted the ways, particularly...
by David Meuel
July 24th, 2015, 10:39 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi Moira! And thanks for these two thought-provoking questions. I could write about the first question for a couple of days. But I would need a lot of coffee to do that, so I’ll have to confine myself to a couple of paragraphs. Yes, I did develop a particular fondness for most of the directors featu...
by David Meuel
July 24th, 2015, 9:12 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hello TopBilled, Thanks for your interesting question about women in western noir. To be honest, femme fatale characters don’t appear very often in noir westerns. Certainly, Veronica Lake’s character of Connie in “Ramrod” is one of the most prominent examples, but she is more the exception than the ...
by David Meuel
July 24th, 2015, 3:08 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi Christy, Thanks for another intriguing question. Yes, there was something special about a Budd Boetticher film when Burt Kennedy was the screenwriter. Of course, it helps with "The Tall T" that it's also based on a short story by the great Elmore Leonard. But, along with "The Tall ...
by David Meuel
July 24th, 2015, 11:20 am
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi ChiO, Thanks for your four very thoughtful questions. I will try to do them justice in my responses. 1. My definitions of what constitutes a film noir and what constitutes a film western are fairly conventional. I go into them in great detail in the Introduction in my book, so I’ll spare you all ...
by David Meuel
July 24th, 2015, 10:21 am
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western
Replies: 31
Views: 62343

Re: The Q & A with David Meuel, author of The Noir Western

Hi Christy! And thanks for your question. The idea for the book began to take shape about three years ago after I’d taken a continuing studies class at a local university on the film western between 1939 and 1959. The teacher began with “Stagecoach,” and after that many of the films became quite dar...