Exploring the construction and representation of masculinity in low-budget Western movies made from the 1930s to the early 1950s, this book combines the author's childhood fascination with this genre with an interdisciplinary scholarly exploration of the films' influence on modern views of masculinity.

Contains some of the greatest western films and legendary stars of the 20th Century.

Old Barn Dance. Autry and his buddies have a horse selling business which is threatened by a tractor company which claims horses are out of date. Man from Music Mountain. A fake mining promoter uses the opening of Boulder Dam as an excuse to sell worthless stock. Autry and his pal see through the plan and try to warn the buyers who refuse to listen. Oh, Susanna. While riding to Mineral Springs Autry is robbed by thieves and then tossed off the train. Rim...

As a youth, Shorty McAdoo participated in a massacre of Indians. Fifty years later, still suffering from guilt, he is approached by a filmmaker to tell his story. A chance to make amends--or get exploited.

Mac and Dal, two brothers who fought on opposite sides in the Civil War, return home to Texas to discover that their sisters and Dal's sweetheart have been kidnapped by rampaging Rebel guerrillas refusing to accept the defeat of the Confederacy. With the help of their notorious uncle, Mac and Dal must rescue the women before they can be sold into a Mexican brothel.

The year is 1878, Lincoln County. John Tunstall, a British ranchowner, hires six rebellious boys as "regulators" to protect his ranch against the ruthless Santa Fe Ring. When Tunstall is killed in an ambush, the Regulators declare war on the Ring. As their vendetta turns into a bloody rampage, they are branded outlaws, becoming the objects of the largest manhunt in Western history.