麻豆社

Mel Brooks's 1974 spoof western Blazing Saddles has all the classic ingredients of the Wild West movie, a handsome hero, an alcoholic gunslinger and a tart-with-a-heart.

But how did the figure of the cowboy, a poorly paid, uneducated, itinerant labourer with no heroic traits at all, become a film star and a symbol of nobility and purity for all Americans?

Journalist Gerry Northam explores the history behind the cinematic versions of our past.

Contributors:

Don Reeves
David Darey
David Murdoch
Gary Anderson
Al Hotardo

Producer: John Byrne

First broadcast on 麻豆社 Radio 4 in February 2003.