Movies set in and revolving around the American West hit the big screen as early as 1903, with silent pictures featuring train robberies, gun-slinging cowboys, and damsels in distress. (Aleph, 2014). Before films were synchronised with sound and music, these “silent” films were often accompanied by live musicians to provide a more theatrical experiences for audiences. As technology for sound synchronization became available, however, Westerns, like other kinds of films, began to produce movies with sound and music. (Cooke, 2008).

The Great Train Robbery, directed by Edwin S. Porter, a cameraman for Edison Studios, was the first motion picture to be set in the American West and features tropes that are still seen in Western films today.

Janice Hocker Rushing, professor of Communication and film theorist at the University of Colorado, categories Western films made before the 1960s and the release of “A Fistful of Dollars” into two categories, one which emphasizes the role of community and one which reaffirms that role as important to the American West. She argues that Westerns of the sixties ushered in an era of individualism, clearly exemplified by “Fistful”’s protagonist, the “Man with No Name.” The brooding, tough-guy who rides from town to town in search of trouble or justice became a trope of the Western film during and after the 1960s. Previously, the hero of a film (almost never a heroine), worked with local law enforcement or a group of dedicated ranchers to catch the bad guys and bring justice to the community. (Rushing, 1983, 15-17).

The first Western film with sound was In Old Arizona (1928), a year after the first “talkie” film The Jazz Singer (1927). In the 1930s, “horse operas,” featuring singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were popularized, and were produced at a rapid speed to entertain young children at matinee films. Talkie Westerns featured many Hollywood stars known for other genres, such as Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper. Films in the 1940s were often characterized by dark, intense themes during and following World War Two. (Dirks, 1996). Films in the 1950s and 1960s began to characterize “Western film music” as fully orchestrated soundscapes, often including percussion that imitated Native American tribal music. Some famous composers of the era included Dimitri Tiomkin, Elmer Bernstein, and Jerome Moross. Tiomkin’s use of strings, loud volume, and fast tempos invoked images of cowboys and their trusty steeds galloping across a vast, natural landscape. His style of orchestration became very influential in characterizing Western film scores. (Schrems, 2010).

A sample of Dimitri Tomkin’s score for High Noon (1952). This clip begins with the song “Do Not Forsake Me, oh, My Darling,” which sounds very different from anything Ennio Morricone wrote for Fistful. The dramatic strings, horns, and piano towards the end of the clip resemble the score to epic films that follow heroes and their adventures across treacherous terrain.

Before Morricone’s iconic score for A Fistful of Dollars in 1964, Western film music featured full-sounding orchestras and fast, loud movements that accompanied the wild, dangerous setting of the American West.

Images/Videos Courtesy of:

Gillian Seed, YouTube

Soundtrack Fred, YouTube