The modern Western is so intent on portraying the West as it really was that the end product comes across as a tedious, dimly photographed exercise in grime, gloom and doom. Westerns of the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s may not have been entirely accurate in their depiction of the Old West, but they moved like wildfire and entertained prewar and postwar audiences by the millions. Sadly, the classic American Western no longer exists-where good guys were good and bad guys were bad. The great Western hero actors of the past have holstered their six-shooters and ridden off into the fading sunset. Author Atkinson looks at the Western career of four of Hollywood's often overlooked cowpokes: Randolph Scott, Audie Murphy, Joel McCrea and George Montgomery, What these hombres have left behind is a vast body of work that continues to bring pleasure and enjoyment to many, many fans of a certain age, and may even garner a few younger devotees.
