Barry Atkinson
Like Scott, Murphy, McCrea and Montgomery, the subjects ofvolume one, the four actors showcased in this second volume, RoryCalhoun, Rod Cameron, Sterling Hayden and Richard Widmark,were all perfectly capable of playing their tough roles with ease becauseof their hard, uncompromising upbringing (especially truein Calhoun’s case). ey were also naturals in the saddle, born toride, even Hayden, their combined output in the eld an enduringreminder of how, many, many years ago, the Western movie reignedsupreme over all others. So let’s hit four divergent trails out Westwith four contrasting meaner-than-hell hombres and see how theycoped, in true Western tradition, with bad guys (when they weren’tbeing bad guys themselves), Indians on the warpath, sexy saloondames, trigger-happy gunmen, cavalry detachments, double-crossingpartners, devious land-grabbers, crooked logging-grabbers, corruptlawmen, ladies (and tomboys) in peril, dishonest town o cials,the construction of railroads on schedule across hostile terrain, thefelling of timber and, in two instances, the legendary battle of theAlamo, all lmed in and around America’s breathtaking untamed,rocky native scenery. You won’t be bored for a single second!
