Steve Carver Western Portraits Of Great Character Actors: The Unsung Heroes & Villains of the Silver Screen.

Text and Filmographies by C. Courtney Joyner. Original Edition in English. Approx. 288 pp with over 150 pictures in b/w and color. Hardcover with extra strong boards. Format 21 × 26.4 cm.

The American West as we imagine it is strongly defined by film. The birth of film was not too far away from the end of the American Civil War and the merging of the railway lines at Promontory Point. Audiences were still aware of all this when THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, the first Western, was shown in 1903. And as we know, the creation of a myth is at least as important as the brutal reality. Just as the reporter in John Ford's THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE says to Jimmy Stuart: "This is the Wild West. When the legend becomes fact, the legend prints."

Designed in period colouring, much like the immortal photographs of one Edward S. Curtis, the WESTERN PORTRAITS OF GREAT CHARACTER ACTORS show the aura and myth of the Wild West in authentic settings, with weapons and costumes.

We learn a lot of previously unknown facts about the epic Hollywood westerns and TV series in this comprehensive illustrated book based on the anecdotes and biographies about the actors.

The list of over 80 actors includes legends such as Karl Malden, David Carradine, Denver Pyle, R.G. Armstrong, L.Q. Jones, Horst Buchholz, Henry Silva, Ruta Lee, Morgan Woodward, Bo Hopkins, Clu Gulager and 72 others.

The illustrated book offers a never-before-seen collection of portraits compiled over decades. The film genre Western, for years no longer "in fashion", has been very much in vogue again for the past year. WESTERN PORTRAITS will trigger a flood of nostalgic feelings and serves as a source on the subject of Hollywood film.

The American West, as we know it, is defined by the movies, and the Western is the oldest film genre. When the movies were born, it was not that long after Promontory Point and the Civil War, so those memories were still there in the minds of the very first movie audiences as they watched The Great Train Robbery. And the myth-making is as important as the brutal truths of history. As the reporter tells Jimmy Stewart in Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

Rendered in rare, evocative tones reminiscent of Edward Sheriff Curtis's immortal photographs, Western Portraits of Great Character Actors provides readers with a collection of stylized portraits that capture the allure and mystique of the Old West, complete with authentic costuming, weaponry and settings.

From the epic feature film to the TV series and serial, this coffee table book will put the story of character actors and the significance of their memorable roles into an entertaining perspective.

The subjects include such popular, recognisable actors as Karl Malden, David Carradine, Denver Pyle, R.G. Armstrong, L.Q. Jones, Horst Buchholz, Henry Silva, Ruta Lee, Morgan Woodward, Bo Hopkins, Clu Gulager and 72 others.