There’s a blogging event going on this week that you know I just couldn’t miss: Legends of Western Cinema Week, hosted by Hamlette of Hamlette’s Soliloquy, Olivia of Meanwhile, In Rivendell, and Heidi of Along the Brandywine—a week-long celebration of anything and everything to do with Western film. I’ve got at least one more fun post coming up later in the week, but today I’m kicking off my participation by answering the event blog tag.

All three event hosts are having giveaways too, and you can visit any of their introductory posts (linked above) to find the ongoing list of participants’ posts.

Now, let the games begin!

– the tag –

1) Do you tolerate, like, or love westerns?

Love, of course! Read ’em, watch ’em, and write ’em.

2) What do you enjoy about them and, more broadly, the west itself (e.g. the history, accompanying paraphernalia, etc)?

Aside from all the horses, which I think were one of the first big draws when I was a kid, I guess my original reasons for enjoying Westerns were the sense of adventure involved in the storylines, and…well, the romance of the wide-open spaces, if you want to indulge in a cliché. But I think the history was always a big part of it too, perhaps more than I realized at the time. Looking back, I can recall that I always enjoyed stuff about the American frontier, from the Little House series and the “Kirsten” American Girl books to the Oregon Trail computer game. And that interest has only grown as I’ve grown older. I find the logistics and details of ranching, homesteading, and railroading fascinating in themselves; and in a broader sense, I think it’s still that sense of adventure and unpredictability in the partly-settled West that still appeals to me—that, and the colorful variety in its landscapes, characters, and events.

3) What’s the first western you can remember watching?

You know, I honestly don’t know. I guess it was too early to remember. It was probably either a John Wayne film or an episode of Bonanza.

4) Who are your favorite western stars, the ones whose presence in a western will make you pick it up off the shelf?

To be honest, I don’t typically pick out movies based on the top-billed stars. These days I’m more inclined to go for a new-to-me film based on the director or the amount of good character actors in the supporting cast. But I will say that when it comes to Westerns, Ben Johnson is always a plus. With his Oklahoma drawl and splendid horsemanship, he’s the closest thing to a real-McCoy cowboy on the screen, and his characters always seem to be among the most believable, too, whether he’s playing a good guy or a bad guy.

5) What’s your favorite performance by an actress in a western?

Olivia de Havilland as Linnet Moore in The Proud Rebel. Partly because I like the character, but I think de Haviland’s performance is wonderful, too, as she gradually transforms from seeming rather tough and brusque to showing her character’s caring and gentler side. It’s not so much a dramatic character change as it is a portrait of a woman who’s been used to fighting all her own battles, learning to let her guard down and let her whole personality blossom once she has a friend to stand by her. Plus, Linnet just seems to me like a more generally realistic portrayal of a frontier woman than a lot of the female characters in Western movies.

(Runner-up: Jean Simmons as Julie Maragon in The Big Country. Even though it’s not one of my personal favorite movies, I loved her character.)

6) What is your ‘go-to’ western, the one you’ll typically reach for?

Rio Grande (1950). Most others I have to be in the right mood for, but Rio Grande is my longtime personal favorite and one that I’ll nearly always be willing to watch.

7) Do your family/friends share your interest in westerns, or are you a lone ranger (pun completely intended)?

My immediate family are all usually game for watching a good Western if they happen to be in the right mood for it, though I don’t think any of them have as lively an interest in the genre/era for its own sake as I do.

8) Pick one western to live inside for a week, and explain why you chose it.

I think I would have to say Shane, simply because of the Wyoming setting. It would almost be worth dodging a few gunfighters to spend a week in the Grand Tetons. And in their more peaceful moments the settlers in Shane seem to have a friendly, close-knit little community among themselves, which is something I’d like being a part of.

9) What are some of your favorite lines from western movies? Are there any you quote regularly?

“That ain’t in my department” from She Wore A Yellow Ribbon is one of my go-to lines. Also for some reason, “We’re gonna have ’em all wore out passin’ ’em back and forth!” from Red River gets a surprising amount of mileage in everyday situations.