Western (genre) and retribution, which is often dispensed through a shootout or quick-draw duel. The Western was the most popular Hollywood genre from the early 20th century to the 1960s. Western films first became well-attended in the 1930s. John Ford's landmark Western adventure "Stagecoach" became one of the biggest hits in 1939 and it made John Wayne a mainstream screen star. Westerns were very popular throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the most acclaimed Westerns were released during this time, including "High Noon" (1952), "Shane" (1953), "The Searchers" (1956), and "The Wild Bunch" (1969). Classic Westerns such as these have been
Backlash (1956 film) his hand. Carson's men ride in and fatally shoot him just before Jim steps out in the open. Backlash (1956 film) Backlash is a 1956 Technicolor Western film directed by John Sturges starring Richard Widmark and Donna Reed. It was directed by John Sturges (with whom Widmark would also make another western "The Law and Jake Wade"), and unfolds in the vein of the psychological Western (a subgenre that has yielded many films, e.g. those of Anthony Mann, with whose films this bears comparison). It delivers an unconventional story, written by Borden Chase, that sometimes crosses into film noir, as