The Western Films of Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum was—and still is—one of Hollywood’s defining stars of Western film. For more than 30 years, the actor played the weary and cynical cowboy, and his rough-and-tough presence on-screen was no different than his one off-screen. With a personality fit for western-noir, Robert Mitchum dominated the genre during the mid-20th century, and returned as the anti-hero again during the 1990s before his death. This book lays down the life of Mitchum and the films that established him as one of Hollywood’s strongest and smartest horsemen. Going through early classics like Pursued (1947) and Blood on the Moon (1948) to more recent cult favorites like Tombstone (1993) and Dead Man (1995), Freese shows how Mitchum’s nuanced portrayals of the iconic anti-hero of the West earned him his spot in the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Gene Freese is a screenwriter living in Chandler, Arizona. He has written books on TV cowboy Jock Mahoney, character actor Richard Jaeckel, and Hollywood stunt performers from cinema’s Golden Age.

Gene Freese
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 244
Bibliographic Info: 81 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7849-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3746-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vii
Preface 1
Introduction 3
Bona Fides 9
The Films: 1940s–1970s 13
Off the Trail 179
The Films: 1990s 199
Adios, Amigo 209
Bibliography 217
Index 225

• “One of the most thoroughly researched ‘Westerns of’ book ever written. There’s a film by film analysis with a plethora of detailed asides and fascinating trivia on the casts, stunts, locations and horses… Freese astutely provides a thought-provoking analysis into the perpetually laconic man of action… Freese knowledgeably lays down Mitchum’s life and the Westerns he made.”—Western Clippings

• “Sharp analysis of Mitchum’s Western film career… Good stuff for Mitchum fans”—Roundup Magazine

• “This book is one of the rare times when you get more than what the title suggests…a fresh and honest look”—Teepee 12