From The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: The Western, edited by Phil Hardy. The Overlook Press, 1995 pp. 188-271.
Phil Hardy calls this chapter "Indians and Psychopaths." Films of this period were most influenced by Broken Arrow for its sympathetic if patronizing view of indigenous people, and High Noon, which focused on social issues. As the genre matured, so did its audience, while series and B Westerns went into decline, no longer a cash cow for the studios, and young audiences (at least those who weren't staying home watching TV, where Westerns thrived) were largely viewing science fiction and horror, although Westerns aimed at adolescent angst such as The True Story of Jesse James were also released. Hardy cites directors such as Budd Boetticher, John Ford, Anthony Mann, Delmer Daves, Allan Dwan, Samuel Fuller, Howard Hawks, Fritz Lang, Arthur Penn, Nicholas Ray, John Sturges, Jacques Tourneur, and Raoul Walsh creating masterpieces of the genre increasing psychological realism.
