ABSTRACT

Focus films: Gunfight at the OK Corral (John Sturges, 1957, Paramount) and

Bad Day at Black Rock (Sturges, 1955, MGM).

At this point, we will return to the concept of genre discussed in the

Introduction and attempt to apply aspects of genre theory to two films

directed by John Sturges. One aspect of genre theory is the suggestion that

each film type has its own iconography: characteristic props, costumes and

settings, for example, that act as visual signifiers alerting the audience to the

genre of the film they are watching.1 This visual context is very obvious in

Gunfight at the OK Corral wherein the men ride horses, wear classic Western-

film-style cowboy boots and hats, and carry handguns. Just a couple of

minutes into the film as three strangers enter the saloon, the camera focuses

in ominous close-up on the gun and holster on the hip of one of the men.