Professor Myrna Monllor
English 124
©MyrnaMonllor August 2014
All images were taken from the WWW for educational purposes
The Western
 Latter half of the 19th century  Archetypal characters  Modernity encroaching on a
primitive way of life  The values of honor and sacrifice  Codes of honor  No social
order Final conflict reestablishes moral order  Morality tales 
All the archetypes
Cattle/Railroad baron
The Pinkerton Detective
The Determined homesteader
The sheriff
The outlaw
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WesternCharacters
Stagecoach 1939 John Ford
Unforgiven 1992 Clint Eastwood
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 1966
Sergio Leone
New Vision: Revisionist Westerns
2008
Neo-western 2007
2012
Elmore Leonard
1925-2013
“Try to leave out
the parts
that readers tend to
skip”
3:10 to Yuma
Get Shorty
Be Cool
Out of Sight
Jackie Brown (Rum Punch)
“If it sounds like writing,
I rewrite it.”
Story
How does the
story begin?
What is the
main theme?
Where are
we? What is
the situation?
How does the
story end?
Who are the
characters?
What is the
conflict?
How is the
story told?
The Beginning
“He had picked up his prisoner at Fort
Huachuca shortly after midnight and now, in a
silent early morning mist, they approached
Contention. The two riders moved slowly, one
behind the other.”
WHAT IS THE MAIN CONFLICT?
Conflict/Theme
Jim Kidd: “How much do you make, Marshal?”
Paul Scallen: “A hundred and fifty a month,
some expenses, and a dollar bounty for every
arrest against Bisbee ordinance in the town
limits.”
“ Have you figured out yet what my price is?”
“ You don’t have enough money, Jim.”
What roles do they play?
Is there a hero? A villain?
WHO ARE THE CHARACTERS IN THE
STORY?
Paul
Scallen
The antagonist
The hero
Characters
What does each symbolize?
Jim
Kidd
Mr.
Timpey
Bob
Moons
+ his
men
All of the characters are
contrasted with Paul Scallen,
who represents the law.
What values does Jim
Kidd represent?
Characterization
• Paul Scallen "I'm only one man, Mr. Timpey, and I've got to get him there.”
• Jim Kidd "You don't take any chances, do you? Where's your sporting
blood?”
"Something that makes sense. You said before I didn't mean a thing to you
personally, what you're doing is just a job. Well, you figure out if it's worth
getting killed for.
• Mr. Timpey “I don't see why I have to get dragged into this. My job's got
nothing to do with law enforcement ....”
• Charlie Prince
Is Mr. Timpey similar
• Bob Moons
to Mr. Butterfield?
What has just happened
when Bob enters the room?
How does making Paul Scallen a
marshall change the meaning of the
story as compared to the film?
Paul Scallen
“He wanted to get Jim Kidd on that train…but he
was afraid. He was afraid of what he might do
once they were on the street. Even now his
breath was short and occasionally he would
inhale and let the air out slowly to calm himself.
And he kept asking himself if it was worth it.”
“Scallen knew fear at that moment as fear had
never gripped him before”
Writing Style
• During the action scenes, sentences are short
to create tension.
He fired hurriedly. Wait for a target. Words in his
mind…That one! Get him quick!
• Paul Scallen’s thoughts are placed in italics.
Ending
Kidd studied the deputy for some minutes.
Finally he said, “ You know, you really earn
your hundred and a half.”
… He felt as if all his strength had been
sapped, but he couldn’t help smiling at Jim
Kidd. He was thinking pretty much the same
thing.
What elements from the story did
the screenplay writers take?
A prisoner being
taken to Yuma.
Can principles
be bought?
The shoot out
James Mangold
•
•
•
•
•
The Wolverine (2013)
Knight and Day (2010)
Walk the Line (2005)
Identity (2003)
Kate and Leopold
(2001)
• Girl Interrupted (1999)
3:10 to Yuma
(2007)
• Screenplay
– Halsted Welles
– Michael Brandt
– Derek Hass
• Nominated
– Best Achievement in Music
– Best Achievement in Sound
– Remake of a 1957 film
• Budget
55 million
The Music
Gunshots
Cracking whips
Whistle
Voices
Electric Guitar
Marco Beltrami
Ennio Morricone
The Music 1957
The Music: Ennio Morricone
The Music: Marco Beltrami
The Music: Marco Beltrami
The Music : Marco Beltrami
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkXDLNRV
MxY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFa1-kciCb4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVTJUiiPJUY
&feature=related
What is the first sound you hear as the movie begins?
Who is the first character that we see?
What is he doing?
What had he been doing?
HOW DOES THE FILM BEGIN?
The Film: Beginning
What is the
importance of our
first seeing William
instead of Dan?
The Film: Beginning
Establishing the theme
How does
William view
his father?
How does Dan
react towards his
son?
What do we learn?
•
Establishing the Conflict
Losing
family’s
respect
Owing Mr.
Hollister
money
Father-Son
Antagonism
Regaining
respect
Taking
Ben to the
train
The Landscape
The Landscape
Characterization
WILLIAM
Witnessing the crime
“He’s fast.”
What did William
take from the
crime scene?
Characterization: Will
“I ain't ever walking in your shoes. “
William
“There’s a wildness in his eyes.”
Why didn’t
William shoot
Ben Wade at
the end?
“You did it, pa.”
Characterization
DAN
Could Dan be a
Christ figure?
What do we
learn about
Dan the first
time we see
him?
Characterization: Dan
“I've been standing on one leg for three damn years
waiting for God to do me a favor... and He ain't
listening. “
“Sometimes a man has to be big enough to see
how small he is”
Mr. Hollander
Characterization: Dan’s Family
Mark, William, and Alice
Alice and Mark
“You lied to me.”
Alice Evans: Don't do it, Dan. No one will think less of you.
Dan Evans: No one can think less of me.
Characterization
BEN WADE
What is Ben
doing the first
time we see
him?
Could Ben
be the
Devil?
Characterization: Ben Wade
Proverbs 13:3. "He that keepeth his mouth, keepeth his life. He that
opens his lips too wide shall bring on his own destruction".
“
“I don’t mess around with doing good things.”
Ben Wade
Ben Wade’s Family
Velvet
Jump out that back window with me now.
All of man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord
ponders the heart. Proverbs 21:2
I want to thank you for your hospitality, hope I can
send your husband back alright.
“even bad men love their mammas.”
I read that Bible from cover to cover. It took me
three days.
Parallel Characters
The villain
The hero
Father Figures
Dan
Ben
Brave, but
handicapped. In debt.
Principled. Seems
weak.
Folk-hero. Lawless. Bible
quoting. Draws. Unforgiving.
Strong.
Confession: Was shot
by one of his own men
while retreating.
Confession: His father was
killed. His mother abandoned
him in a train station.
Hero. Debts are paid.
Son honors father,
follows righteous path.
Becomes an example.
Remains a hero. Kills his
darker side through the
symbolic death of Charlie
Prince.
Characterization
CHARLIE PRINCE
Characterization: Charlie Prince
You’ve forgotten what he done for us.
Parallel Characters : Sons
Charlie Prince
Will
The Others
Is Mr. Butterfield a
coward?
Why does Dan return
the Marshall’s badge?
Oh, I'll be walking with you...
every step of the way. You have
my word on that, Dan.
What about Byron McElroy
and Tucker?
Before the water touches your land, it resides and flows on mine.
And as such, I can do with it as I f… please. Mr. Hollister
Mr. Hollister
Doc Potter
What purpose do these
characters serve?
Velvet
Foreshadowing in dialogue
• Do you need it (the money) bad enough to
die?
• You do one good deed…Imagine it’s habit
forming.
• Sorry, mister, but I’m not going to die here
today.
Symbol: The Money
Symbol: The Hand of God
Ben Wade to Tucker,” Be careful with that thing, it’s got a curse on it.
Symbol: Alice’s Brooch
“Sometimes a man has to be big enough to see how small he is.”-Hollander
Symbol: The Drawings
Symbol:The Landscape
Turning Point
“Just you left, Dan. Just you and your boy.”
Now, you see Dan, generally pretty much everyone
wants to live. That means Butterfield, too. He's gonna
walk out on you. He's gonna come back up here, and
he's gonna walk out on you. Now, what you gotta figure
is why you and your boy are gonna die.
That's what the government gave me for my leg - 198
dollars 36 cents and the funny thing is that... when you
think about it, which I have been lately, is they weren't
paying me to walk away, they were paying me so they
could walk away.
Ending
What examples of suspension
of disbelief can you provide?
Bibliography
• Most wanted western movies
http://www.most-wanted-westernmovies.com/western_movie_themes.html
• Western movie themes
http://www.emusic.com/album/Various-Artists-Western-MovieThemes-MP3-Download/11108363.html
• For a Few for Guitars More
http://www.pollodelmar.com/mart/morricone/
• Western Genre
http://www.lycos.com/info/western-genre.html