B Western Actor's Encyclopedia: Facts, Photos and Filmographies for More Than 250 Familiar Faces (McFarland Classics) [Paperback]

Ted Holland (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786404752 | ISBN-13: 978-0786404759 | Publication Date: November 1997

Dashing heroes, dastardly villains, lovely ladies in distress and comical sidekicks-this was the formula for the westerns so popular through the fifties and sixties. This nostalgic reference work covers the heroes (90+ western stars), the sidekicks (60+ saddle pals), the cowgirls (60+ leading ladies), the bad guys (40+ villains), plus miscellaneous other players. A biographical sketch and career description with photographs and a filmography is given for each performer.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Like newsreels, serials, and double features, B-Westerns (low-budget) are things of film's past. Their fans, while not legion, are exceptionally devoted. Holland provides entries on over 250 performers, divided into four categories: Heroes, Sidekicks, Cowgirls, and Bad Guys. Each entry includes a biographical sketch and a filmography cross-referenced to other entries. The writing is cliched but enthusiastic. There are some misspellings of non-Western names and the book sorely lacks a strong introduction to give the genre some definition and context, particularly for younger readers unfamiliar with Westerns except through films like Blazing Saddles. Thomas Wiener, formerly with "American Film," Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The book well fulfills its promise to provide encyclopedic information" -- ARBA

"a well illustrated reference source...highly recommended" -- Choice

"an invaluable A-Z...superbly researched" -- Film Review

"invaluable...the book well fulfills its promise to provide encyclopedic information" -- ARBA

"over 250 performers...enthusiastic" -- Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 493 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786404752
• ISBN-13: 978-0786404759
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,497,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A major disappointment, July 26, 2000

By 

Hans J. Wollstein (Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: B Western Actor's Encyclopedia: Facts, Photos and Filmographies for More Than 250 Familiar Faces (McFarland Classics) (Paperback)

A quote from a review reprinted above characterizes this disappointing book as "superbly researched." The reviewer must not be all that familiar with B-Westerns to have come to that bizarre conclusion. In fact, B Western Actors Encyclopedia doesn't seem to have been researched at all. And not only that, author Holland could hardly have used the volumes he quotes in his bibliography and still have managed to misspell the names of important genre director Spencer Gordon Bennet and popular heroine Lucile Browne. (The latter, almost needless to say, becomes Lucille Brown). Nitpicking? I don't think so. This, after all, is a volume that calls itself an encyclopedia. As a matter of fact, most fans of the genre will find themselves in the unusual situation of knowing more about the subject matter than the author. Someone once published a book debunking a recent biography of Errol Flynn. To compile a list of errors and omissions in B WESTERN ACTORS ENCYCLOPEDIA would probably prove just as exhausting. My one star is for McFarland's handsome design and several quite wonderful stills.

5.0 out of 5 stars B Western Actors Encyclopedia, May 4, 2011

By 

john r. tracy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: B Western Actor's Encyclopedia: Facts, Photos and Filmographies for More Than 250 Familiar Faces (McFarland Classics) (Paperback)

Ted Holland's B Western Actors Encyclopedia is the best book of it's kind I've read. It is full of info on actors and actress of bygone years. A great reference book. A must have for all western fans. John R. Tracy

1.0 out of 5 stars Good idea, bad exection., July 12, 2010

By 

Lt. Brannigan "A Duke fan forever" (Idaho.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: B Western Actors Encyclopedia: Facts, Photos and Filmographies for More Than 250 Familiar Faces (Library Binding)

In theory a book like this would be awesome, but when you get someone who clearly has not done much in depth research and has no idea on how to present his poorly researched data you get a mess.

The most glaring misinformation I found indicated that John Wayne played Singin' Sandy Saunders in numerous westerns. Now this wouldn't be too bad if this was the first book of any kind with info on John Wayne's B Westerns but seeing as how several other books printed well before this have the correct information it's inexcusable.

The other things that irk me, is how the filmography is presented. It's very hard to read it, as it's presented as almost as more of a sentence than any type of list. For instance (Let's just make a pretend listing)

Ben Cutter
(1935) Thunder Riders of the Golden West, The Phantom of the Golden Spitoon, A Wronged Hero and a big fight and a last shootout, (1936) Cattlemen vs the wild cupcakes, Strawberry Shortcake takes on Strawberry Rustlers, and the no plot but at least Gabby is here.

And the listings are broken up into two separate sections for those who started out as a hero then switched over to sidekick status. So it makes for a very incoherent book.