The Western film genre has always been popular in Europe, and the rise of
so-called Spaghetti Westerns is largely tied to the fact that the genre
fell out of favor in the US during the late 1960s (perhaps partly because
their were plenty of Westerns then on American TV). To satisy European
demand in the face of this Hollywood dearth literally hundreds of Westerns
were produced in Europe during those decades, most of them filmed in Spain.
Few of those ever reached American screens unless they featured an American
actor--relatively obscure character actors, like Clint Eastwood, who would
later become stars, or former stars then in the twilight of their careers
and unemployable in Hollywood. Of course, the fact that some very talented
directors like Sergio Leone were involved didn't hurt, either.





                                                                                                                                       
                      Ron May                                                                                                          
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                      HISTORICAL                                                                                                       
                      ARCHAEOLOGY                                                                                                      
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                      09/12/2007 08:16                                                                                                 
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                      HISTORICAL                                                                                                       
                      ARCHAEOLOGY                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                       




Let us not forget the Italians and their love of the American West. They
churned out a long string of what we affectionately call "spaghetti
westerns" in
the 1970s. My favorite is still Fist Full of Dollars, but once again, I
imagine  the archaeology of those sets could really skew history.

Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.



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