Decade of the Month: Tom “vomas” Morton on 3 BAD MEN
Looking back at John Ford’s 3 Bad Men today, it would be easy to call…
Year of the Month: MY DARLING CLEMENTINE
Conventional wisdom is the Western changed forever sometime in the late ‘60s, dividing the genre…
Year of the Month: Son of Griff on SERGEANT RUTLEDGE
I would hazard a guess that contemporary cultural politics hasn’t been kind to Sergeant Rutledge,…
How Green Was My Valley (Year Of The Month)
Here at The Solute, we talk about resonance a lot – emotions and perspectives in…
To Dust We Return: Persia on THE GRAPES OF WRATH in a Pandemic
From the perspective of 2020, it’s hard to believe how quickly John Steinbeck’s novel The…
Year of the Month: Son of Griff on the Westerns of 1962
In 1962 many viewers thought that Westerns, and the Hollywood studios, were in decline. The…
Year of the Month: FORT APACHE
It’s a Western truism that the cavalry always saves the day. But who will save…
Criterion Capsule Review: My Darling Clementine
The Film: The Criterion Collection has released a restored version of American director John Ford’s Western,…
My Darling Clementine and the Myth of The American Hero
SCENE: A dusty cow-town. Our hero, an honest man despite sometimes being on the wrong…