The Real West

Series: PROJECT 20.

Duration: 54

Year Published: 1961

Creator: INFORMATION INTERNATIONAL

Format: 16mm

Color: B&W

Sound: sound

Description: Alternates between scenes of the narrator, Gary Cooper, in a setting of a deserted Western town, and a series of still photographs which record portions of a colorful American era that began about 1860 and terminated about 1900. This era took place geographically west of a division roughly marking 20 inches or less of annual rainfall. Shows pictures of Western settlers and relates the challenges which they faced. Refers to the cattlemen, criminals, farmers, cowboys, and others who populated the Real West. Considers factors which were important in attracting settlers to the West, and forces which helped stabilize and enrich life in the area. Concludes with a sequence dealing with the Indians and their displacement., A story of the American West, using vintage photographs and new film. Tells about hardship, hunger, failure, and murder, the wild fun of gold rushes, the cow towns, and the peace officers who were cowards; describes an army whose task it was to vanquish a people fighting for its homeland and worthless men who have become heroes on television.