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Hold on to your hats, folks! On this episode, we're taking an in-depth look at some of the greatest Western movie hats of all time. You'll hear about iconic hats worn by John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Burt Lancaster, Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Lee Marvin, and many more of your favorite stars. Joining us to talk about Western hats is actor Travis Eller, who owns and operates Ugly Outlaw Hats, a custom hat shop that specializes in creating authentic Western-style hats. Visit Ugly Outlaw Hats to browse their collection, and contact Travis directly to order your very own Western hat. Tell 'em How the West Was 'Cast sent ya!

Think about your favorite Western and chances are you can practically hear the rousing theme music playing in your head. On this melodious new episode, musician Mark Swan, from the band Natalie Pryce, joins us to discuss six Western film scores that we highly recommend. It’s an entertaining look at classic movie music from the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘90s. We also chat about Mark’s amazing new album, Frontera USA, which is the soundtrack to an imaginary Spaghetti Western! So get ready to hum along with some of the greatest Western film scores ever composed.To purchase and download a copy of Mark’s album, Frontera USA, visit the Natalie Pryce Bandcamp page. This episode is brought to you in part by Ugly Outlaw Hats. Visit their online store today to browse their collection of authentic handmade Western-style cowboy hats. 

On this supersized episode, we’re discussing animated Westerns! From the charming 1956 Disney short A Cowboy Needs a Horse to the dazzling 2011 Oscar-winner Rango, you'll hear about many of the most beloved animated Westerns of all time. And joining us to talk about his own amazing contribution to the genre is acclaimed animator and director Phil Nibbelink, whose 1991 classic An American Tail: Fievel Goes West remains one of the most popular movies of its kind. It’s an "animated" conversation you won’t want to miss!

Later this month, the Pioneertown International Film Festival makes its debut in California’s High Desert region, kicking off three days of classic Westerns, world premieres, documentaries, shorts, concerts and live workshops. On this special bonus episode, we chat with Julian Pinder, the co-founder of the festival, and Todd Luoto, the festival’s head programmer, to find out more about the exciting Western-themed events they’re planning! For tickets to the festival, or for info about the screening schedule, visit their website.  This special bonus episode is brought to you in part by Outlaw Soaps. Visit their website to purchase their fantastic hand-made soaps, body washes, lotions, colognes and more.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of High Noon. To celebrate that auspicious occasion, we’ve invited award-winning author, professor and cultural historian Austin Fisher on the show to talk about the film’s reputation as the quintessential Cold War-era Western. Is High Noon really an allegory for the Hollywood blacklist and the anti-communist investigations of the 1940s and ‘50s? Or has that popular reading been overstated to a large degree? We discuss that topic, and much more, on this provocative new episode. Also, stay tuned until the very end of the show for a lively chat with the founders of Outlaw Soap, who’ve sponsored our High Noon episode. Austin Fisher’s essay Revisiting the Blacklist Western: A Reception Study of High Noon is published by the Journal of Cinema and Media Studies. And very special thanks to songstress Sarah Vista for allowing us to use her brilliant cover version of the theme to High Noon on the podcast. 

More than 40 years after its initial release, Michael Cimino's ambitious Western epic Heaven's Gate remains one of the most divisive films of all time. Some still see it as a colossal failure in every way, while others (like our very own Matthew Chernov) regard it as an astonishing work of art. On this special episode, we speak with author Charles Elton about his new book Cimino: The Deer Hunter, Heaven's Gate, and the Price of a Vision. Join us for a revealing interview about the controversial Oscar-winning director whose full life story has been shrouded in mystery... until now.Charles Elton's Cimino: The Deer Hunter, Heaven's Gate, and the Price of a Vision is available in hardcover, audiobook and ebook from Abrams Press. 

If it's true that revenge is a dish best served cold, then this episode of How the West Was Cast is damn near frozen! Join us as we welcome author Tony Healey for a look at some of our favorite revenge-themed Westerns. You'll hear about films like Valdez is Coming, Hannie Caulder, Open Range, and many more. We also discuss Tony's recent novels in the popular Ralph Compton Western series. So put on your headphones and prepare for retribution! For further study on the subject of this episode, here are links to three books that Andrew Patrick Nelson cites during the show:Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study by Alexandra Heller-NicholsThe New Avengers: Feminism, Femininity, and the Rape-Revenge Cycle by Jacinta ReadShowdown: Confronting Modern America in the Western Film by John H. Lenihan

If there's a quaternity of artists whose work in the Western genre continues to attract legions of fans and inspire generations of filmmakers, it's most certainly John Ford, John Wayne, Sergio Leone, and Clint Eastwood.  On this episode, co-host Andrew Patrick Nelson discusses the profound impact these four giants had on the genre, and reveals that many of the popular notions we have about them may not paint the full picture. It's a fascinating lecture that was originally delivered at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in November of 2017, and has been revised and rerecorded for this episode.For more information about the original multidisciplinary museum exhibition, titled "Once Upon a Time... The Western," visit the MMFA website. To learn more about the award-winning publication that accompanied the show (and to buy your own copy), visit Amazon.

Join us for a frank and funny conversation with filmmaker Courtney Hoffman, who discusses the dazzling costumes she designed for Jared Moshe's DEAD MAN'S BURDEN and Quentin Tarantino's THE HATEFUL EIGHT. We also talk about THE GOOD TIME GIRLS, an acclaimed short Western starring Laura Dern and Garret Dillahunt that Courtney both wrote and directed. It's a lively interview with one of the genre's brightest new stars.THE GOOD TIME GIRLS is currently available to watch on YouTube and at Courtney's website - courtneyhoffmandirects.com.

Join us for a conversation with esteemed film critic Joe Leydon about the new "100 Greatest Western Movies" list he compiled for Cowboys & Indians Magazine. During the episode, Joe reveals why certain films ranked high, while others - like "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," for example - don't appear at all. It's a lively discussion with one of the foremost authorities on the Western film genre. 

On this side-splitting episode, co-hosts Andrew Patrick Nelson and Matthew Chernov look at six comedy Westerns made between 1925 and 1998. From a silent classic about the friendship between a man and a cow to the final film of a Saturday Night Live legend, this rollicking roundup of titles is guaranteed to tickle your funny bone. It's the only podcast you'll ever hear that spends as much time talking about drag queen Divine as it does discussing John Wayne. 

Join us for an interview with award-winning writer-director Maggie Greenwald, whose superb movie "The Ballad of Little Jo" is one of the best Westerns of the '90s. We discuss Maggie's love of the genre, her early work as an indie filmmaker, and we get the inside story about the making of her acclaimed Western. It's a conversation you won't want to miss!

Film historian Andrew Patrick Nelson provides an illuminating look at the cinematic representation of Jesse James by examining six of the most successful and best-known Westerns about the legendary outlaw. From Henry King's 1939 classic "Jesse James" to Andrew Dominik's Oscar-nominated drama "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" from 2007, Nelson reveals the complex role that media played in shaping James' public persona.

On this episode, we're heading south of the border to discuss the influential 1954 classic "Vera Cruz." Joining us on the show is award-winning recording artist Sarah Vista, whose brand new album - Songs From the Silver Screen - is already a Western fan favorite. In addition to sharing her thoughts on the film, the incomparable Ms. Vista gives us an inside look at her latest release. It's a conversation you can't afford to miss!

John Wayne's beloved 1953 classic HONDO is arguably the greatest Western the actor made that *wasn't* directed by either John Ford or Howard Hawks. Join co-hosts Andrew Patrick Nelson and Matthew Chernov as they discuss a film that's part frontier adventure, part romantic love story, and part 3D extravaganza. If you're a fan of the Duke, you won't want to miss this super-sized episode!

Thirsty for a new episode? Then pour yourself a shot of whiskey and join Andrew Patrick Nelson and Matthew Chernov as they discuss their favorite saloon girls, bartenders, and bar fights. From the outrageously brutal barroom slugfest in John Wayne’s 1942 classic “The Spoilers” to Marilyn Monroe’s sultry performance as a saloon singer in the 1954 adventure “River of No Return,” we explore some of the greatest bar scenes in movie history. And as an added bonus, we've got a surprise interview at the very end of the show that you won't want to miss.

In celebration of the Halloween season, join Andrew Patrick Nelson and Matthew Chernov as they take a terrifying look at some of the weirdest, wildest, and just plain scariest Horror Westerns of the past six decades. From a zero-budget quickie released in 1958 to an obscure TV movie broadcast in 1971 to a fiendish anthology film made in 1990, these six Westerns are guaranteed to give you a nightmare or two. Listen at your own risk!

Hi-Yo, Silver! Join us as we discuss the 1981 box office flop "The Legend of the Lone Ranger." Is it the cinematic atrocity that critics claimed it was when it first premiered, or could there be more to this soft-focus homage to Hollywood's B-Westerns than was originally thought? Co-hosts Andrew Patrick Nelson and Matthew Chernov analyze everything from the film's magnificent score, to its spectacular stunt work, to its lackluster poster, to its controversial lead performance, plus so much more. If you're a fan of the Masked Rider of the Plains, you won't want to miss this episode!

An interview with acclaimed writer/director Jared Moshe about his two dynamic Westerns, "Dead Man's Burden" and "The Ballad of Lefty Brown." Among the many topics covered, Jared discusses his introduction to the Western genre, why he decided to shoot in Montana on 35mm, and what it was like to work with Bill Pullman, Peter Fonda, and Kathy Baker on his latest movie. He also provides a tantalizing hint about a potential third Western that he's hoping to write and direct in the future. Don't miss this episode!

On this bonus episode, Andrew Patrick Nelson delivers a lecture on the ways in which the makers of recent Westerns like MEEK'S CUTOFF (2010) and HOSTILES (2017) discuss their work in relation to classics like WAGON MASTER (1950) and THE SEARCHERS (1956). How their understanding of the genre influences the movies they make, and what it means for our understanding of the Western's rich history, are just two of the intriguing topics covered in this exploration of the current state of the Western movie.