ABSTRACT
Epic Westerns are A features, frequently expensive 'prestige' Westerns that commonly exceed even standard A features in length, scale and spectacle. The emergence of the series Western form by the 1920s and its prominence during the 1930s served to make a final distinction. Epic Westerns also share a legendary and mythical landscape. The great wagon train journeys across the continent in the 1840s and 1850s by groups of pioneers provide opportunity to explore the foundation myth for many more Westerns. The Western has as much affection for the journey West as it has for settlement there, for surviving the journey proves the worth of the settlers and the case for manifest destiny. The Western credentials of the hero and heroine are affirmed in opposition to Eastern villainy, and the hero must gradually overcome the heroine's false suspicions aroused by jealous competitors.
