Day of the Outlaw

As a result of when Day of the Outlaw was filmed, 1959, women are seen more as human beings and less as objects, showing the effects of the civil rights movement. When the outlaws take over the town, Captain Jack Bruhn does not let his men hurt any of the women, although he allows his men to dance with them. Bruhn sees the women as people and does not let his men rape them, as what happens to many helpless females in westerns. The women also do their best to fight off the outlaws when they try to kiss them, and even slap them.

Helen Crane also breaks the mold of the traditional western female. When Blaise confesses his love to her she does not take him back but stays loyal to her husband. Most females in westerns show their weakness through their feelings, but Helen does not let her feelings for Blaise affect her marriage. She stands by the vows she made to her husband, rejecting Blaise.

Day of the Outlaw Blog

In the Western film, The Day of the Outlaw we can see the change in the role of the woman. In this film women are still associated with the typical house wife personality, but they are given more respect than in other Western films. An example of this in the film was when Tex and Pace had to ask for permission to go after the girls. This shows that they are starting to make steps towards equality and have more power than women in other Westerns. Although the women are still on the sidelines in this film, they are treated with more respect by the men. Women in this movie also try to stand up to some of the outlaws, signaling a stronger woman being created in this film. During the time this film was created, the United States was starting to make steps towards gender equality. This shows the beginning of this era as the women slowly stand up to men and are treated with more respect. The women standing up to the outlaws in this film can be compared to women standing up for their rights in America. The women in the film and in America during the 1950's still are not even close to being equal to men, but this film shows the beginning steps of the women's equality movement.

Days of the Outlaw

In Days of the Outlaw, we see a social change for the better for the women of the town. Despite still performing many of the traditional jobs around the house and in the town, the women are given a higher level of respect. They are treated as persons instead of objects, like many other western films. Examples of when Tex and Pace must as Bruhn to have relations with the girls of the town shows the fact that she has a power over them and is respected by them as a voice of reason and knowledge. Women have a central role as they almost carry the story throughout the film. They move away from the genre of being secondary characters or the others, and step into the roles of the voices of reason, dedication, and dependability throughout the film. The film, made in the 1950’s was just at the beginning of the Women’s movement and mirrored the feelings and desires of women wanting to be respected, empowered, and responsible in the eyes of men. The film tried to show them that they too could be powerful characters.

Guitar Johnny/ Two Mules

Johnny Guitar is a different type of western film with respect to the alpha male cowboy and his general demeanor. Throughout the film, Johnny Logan is forced to change his ways to appeal to Vienna and try and win her back. A different storyline than typical, Johnny guitar shows the alpha male cowboy changing from the “other” to someone more appealing to Vienna. The women in the film are described as the others (more or less all but the alpha male cowboy is an other) for the fact that they seem to bog down the characters of the men because they dominate the roles and the actions that have taken place in the film. They find was to create a sense of power over the males in their characters. This is relevant to the time period of the mid 1950’s and the fact that the roles of women as housewives had begun to change after WWII as they proved that they could do things just as well as a man in his absence.
Two Mules for Sister Sarah is more of a different type of otherness. Sarah, a prostitute in disguise, has been tricking and coxing Hogan into helping her. However, she also manages to save his life twice and contribute to their overall journey. Sarah is a strong character because she is able to stand up in times of need and be brave and needed. But at the same time, she plays into the role of the other by disguising her true identity, along with lying to Hogan about who she is and what she is really doing. This film, made in 1970, is just after the civil rights movement and plays towards the role of women having a stronger role in society. They have found that at times, you need to disguise who you are in order to accomplish things and gain respect from others.

Blog #6 - The Day of the Outlaw

The Day of the Outlaw recognizes the changing role of women during the late 1950s. In this film, a dispute between ranchers and cowboys is interrupted when a foreign threat, a group of outlaws rolls through town seeking a place to stay for a bit. The ranchers and cowboys unite together to make sure the outlaws cause as little damage to their town and women as possible, which, during this period, symbolizes the uniting of all Americans against the Communist threat during the Cold War.
The leader of the band of outlaws is an ex-army officer by the name of Jack Bruhn. Bruhn wants as little trouble as possible to come to the members of the town and thus tell the town members to hide the alcohol and that his men will not bother the towns women. While the women of the town stick up to some of the devious outlaws and are respected, they still require the protection of the town men and even Jack Bruhn.
While the women in the film are more independent than women of the past, they are still powerless against the will of the outlaws and the men of the town. They do as they are told and respect the men. In this film, one woman in particular sticks out as a strong woman. Helen defends her marriage and is a key player in the effort to resolve the issue between the ranchers and the cowboys. However, in the end the alpha male cowboy Starrett must take responsibility to save the town from the outlaws. He sacrifices himself and leads the outlaws down a harsh path in an attempt to have the outlaws kill each other off. In the face of true adversity, the alpha male is still called upon to make things right. While women in the 1950s were fighting for civil rights, the men still dominated society.

Day of the Outlaw

In Day of the Outlaw, filmed in 1959, women have leading roles. The film centers on women, which is different from the traditional western. Women have a hold on the men, and are also protected by them. Helen Crane is a woman who once had an affair with Blaise. Helen is now married, and Blaise wants her back. Helen tells him it is too late and that she will be married to Mr. Crane for the rest of her life. Helen made her own decision and the alpha-male cowboy didn’t have much say. This shows a change in women’s role within society. Women were beginning to have voices, and were able to make their own decisions rather than the men controlling everything. One similarity that Day of the Outlaw has with the traditional western films is, however, is the fact that women are still viewed as “pleasures;” the outlaws, Tex and Pace, are kept away from the women because of their sexual drives. This shows that even though women were gaining rights during this period, they were not yet considered equals and were still degraded. Another similarity is that women still depended on men. Helen depended on her husband, and the other women depended on men for protection. During the late 50s and early 60s, the second wave of the Women's Rights Movement began and the status of women were beginning to change. Yet, they didn’t change completely.

The Day of the Outlaw

Love is infiltrated more into westerns due to the predominance of women, older generations of westerns revolved mostly on the interactions between alpha male and his comrades, the change in relationship status from men to men, to women to men shows the equal footing of both genders. Blaise the alpha male wants to win the love of his young love, yet she had moved on and married a farmer named Hal. Blaise expects to sweep Helen of her feet, without any considerations to her moral obligations to her martial spouse. But still pertaining to traditional values she maintains her loyalty to her husband, as she had said her vows. Choosing loyalty over lover, a factor most related to alpha males intimes of crisis. Due to the movie being made in 1959 five years before the civil rights act, women have began to get more equal footing, thus women now have the same obligations as men, and have the strength to stick by them.