1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,960 Speaker 1: Hey, folks, erin here today, I am the bearer of 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: bad news. This episode of Grim and Mile Presents will 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 1: be the last, not just of this season, but of 4 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,559 Speaker 1: the show. We've covered so much over the past four seasons, 5 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: and I hope that our journey through the high seas 6 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,279 Speaker 1: and the back roads of America have helped you gain 7 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 1: a better understanding of who we are as a people 8 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: and how nuanced and textured our history is as a nation. 9 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: If this storytelling style is something that you have connected 10 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: with over the past couple of years, fear not. There 11 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: are other shows of mine that you can jump right into. 12 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: Cabinet of Curiosities is still going strong, over one hundred 13 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: twenty million downloads into its journey, and of course, my 14 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 1: dark history podcast Lore is quickly approaching its ninth anniversary 15 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: with close to three hundred episodes that are guaranteed to 16 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: leave you feeling a few chills down your spine. There 17 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 1: are others too. Back in August, the Grim and Mile 18 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: team and I launched a brand new weekly show called 19 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: That's Just Weird, covering weird news from the past and present, 20 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: along with one big weird news story EA and our 21 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: brand new show called Harlots, which explores the intersection of 22 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: sex and power throughout history, is wrapping up its first 23 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: season in just a few weeks. Here and all of 24 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: those shows, Lore, Cabinet of Curiosities, That's Just Weird, and 25 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: Harlots are all available everywhere you get your podcasts. You 26 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: can learn more about all of those shows and so 27 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: many others from our past over at Grimandmild dot com, 28 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: and now on with the show. To American settlers, the 29 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: West was a land of opportunity. Its soil was rich 30 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:41,839 Speaker 1: with nutrients for growing all kinds of crops. Its hills 31 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 1: and mountains were teeming with fortune just one heave of 32 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: the pickaxe away. But even after the gold Rush had 33 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: ended and East Coast transplants moved back home with their 34 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: sifting pans between their legs, California still had more to offer. 35 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifteen, a whole new group of people set 36 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: out west to seek their fortune and their freedom. Thanks 37 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: to one man, Thomas Edison, filmmakers had gotten their start 38 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: in Fort Lee, New Jersey, which was right across the 39 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: Hudson River from New York. The land was cheaper than 40 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: it was in the city, yet still close enough for 41 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: Broadway actors to take the ferry over to make movies. 42 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: But New Jersey was also home to the kinescope patent 43 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: holder Thomas Edison. The kinescope was the first motion picture 44 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:29,120 Speaker 1: camera invented, primarily by Edison's employee William Kennedy Dixon, but 45 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: Edison held the patent, and he wielded it, along with 46 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: many others, like a sword against every filmmaker on the 47 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: East Coast. In nineteen oh seven, Edison partnered with several 48 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: other patent holders, like camera company Biograph and film manufacturer 49 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: Easpin Kodak to create the Motion Picture Patent's Company, otherwise 50 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: known as the Edison Trust. This cartel licensed its patents 51 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: out to six of America's largest filmmakers so they could 52 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: make their movies, but those films could not be sold 53 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: directly to distributors. All films had to be rented from 54 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: the Trust, and because all aspects of the process were 55 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: owned essentially by one man, that meant that Edison now 56 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: had a monopoly on filmmaking, and he went after anyone 57 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: caught violating his patents too. Movie houses that showed non 58 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: MPPC films were technically violating the law thanks to a 59 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: nineteen oh seven court case, and sometimes they found themselves 60 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: shut down by US marshals for doing so. If a 61 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: filmmaker or distributor still didn't get the hint, Edison would 62 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,799 Speaker 1: send gangsters and hired goons to remind them about the patents. 63 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: There were also arbitrary and punitive rules dictating film lengths 64 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: and what kind of movies could even be made. They 65 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 1: was stifling, as you can imagine, so filmmakers started looking 66 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: for a way out, and around nineteen fifteen they found 67 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: it three thousand miles away in California, which was the 68 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: ideal location for movie making. The weather was perfect for 69 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: filming year round, the landscape was diverse, land was cheap, 70 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: and there was plenty of labor to help build the 71 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: new industry in a new place, far from the miserly 72 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: grasp of Thomas Edison. And what's more, California's court system 73 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: often sited with small independent outfits over large companies when 74 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,840 Speaker 1: it came to patent disputes, and enforcing those patents from 75 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: across the country was going to be almost impossible for 76 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,799 Speaker 1: Edison and his trust. The final blow to the inventor's 77 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 1: choke hold on the film industry came that same year 78 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: when the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the MPPC. 79 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: It said a patentee may simply enforce his right to 80 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: exclude infringement, but he must not use his patent as 81 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:41,039 Speaker 1: a weapon to disable a rival contestant or to drive 82 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: him from the field, for he cannot justify such use. 83 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:49,720 Speaker 1: In other words, Edison's reign of terror was over. Filmmakers 84 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: were now free to make the kinds of movies they wanted, 85 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: and now they could do it in the ideal location, 86 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: one that harkened back to a time not so long 87 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: before cowboys roam the range. I'm Aaron Mankee and Welcome 88 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: to the Wild West. In nineteen sixty two, Paramount Pictures 89 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: released the John Ford western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. 90 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,480 Speaker 1: The film stars Jimmy Stewart as an old frontier lawman 91 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: who tries to bring in a local outlaw without resorting 92 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,039 Speaker 1: to violence. When the outlaw played by Lee Marvin, is 93 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: shot dead in a fight, Stuart's character believes that he 94 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: has done the deed, and in reality, his friend played 95 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: by John Wayne, had killed the outlaw to save the 96 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: law man's life. Stuart's character eventually confesses the truth to 97 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: an editor at his hometown newspaper, but the editor refuses 98 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: to print it. When asked why, the editor says, this 99 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print 100 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: the legend. Throughout this fourth season of Grim and Maal Present, 101 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,560 Speaker 1: we have examined the beloved tropes of Western culture, back 102 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: when good men walked tall and wore ten stars on 103 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: their chests. But that image of the lone gunslinger protecting 104 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: his town from the criminal element is fiction, a legend. 105 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: It's the product of nostalgia for good old days that 106 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:21,280 Speaker 1: never really existed. They were painted into our memories by 107 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 1: directors like Ford or Sergio Leone or Howard Hawks, directors 108 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:27,239 Speaker 1: who didn't know it at the time, but were shaping 109 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: the way that the Wild West would be remembered for 110 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: years to come. That period feels like a glitch in 111 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: the timeline, both older than it really was and yet 112 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: close enough to be romanticized. According to the US Census 113 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: Bureau of eighteen ninety, the country still had a frontier 114 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,039 Speaker 1: up at that time, and then suddenly it didn't. Three 115 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: years later, the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago featured a 116 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,599 Speaker 1: city illuminated by electricity, as well as a two hundred 117 00:06:54,640 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: and sixty four foot tall observation wheel, the original Ferris wheel. Meanwhile, 118 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: well as the exposition pulsed with current, the American Historical 119 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: Association was conducting a meeting not too far away and 120 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: somewhere in a sweltering room, A young professor named Frederick 121 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: Jackson Turner stood up to speak, and I've mentioned him 122 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: in previous episodes this season, but let's go deeper into 123 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: his story. He was only thirty one years old at 124 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: the time, but wise beyond his years. Turner believed that 125 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,880 Speaker 1: the frontiers of the Midwest and western United States had 126 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: been the catalyst for true independence for the American people. 127 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 1: To him, the wild West had been an outlet for 128 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: the violent tendencies of Westerners, and that without it, Americans 129 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: would lose the heartiness that allowed them to be self 130 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: reliant go getters. Turner's audience, however, was indifferent to his message, 131 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: likely wondering if they'd be done in time to catch 132 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: Buffalo Bill's last performance. Turner's frontier thesis didn't make much 133 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: of a splash at first. It was lost amongst the 134 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: other news coming out of the exposition, but after several 135 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: years his idea finally found its way into everything from 136 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: American politics to high school history and literature. His theory 137 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: was well on its way to reshaping and rewriting American life, 138 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: which was exactly what he had wanted at first. By 139 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: the time his Frontier thesis had reached public consciousness, he 140 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: had already realized that he was wrong the whole time, 141 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: and as with many ideas, once it got out, there 142 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: was no putting it back. Those ideas eventually leached into 143 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: everything from dime store novels and radio shows about life 144 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: on the Range to wild West shows. Audiences flocked to 145 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: see Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley put on the 146 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: root teutonist live performances in the country, ones that romanticized 147 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 1: the frontier while making light of the Native American's plight. 148 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: Those who couldn't make it to a live show or 149 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: didn't care to read, could listen to tales of honor 150 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:55,200 Speaker 1: and justice each week on the radio. These audio plays 151 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:58,719 Speaker 1: followed the same formula as their dime novel counterparts. There 152 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: was always a hero, Julie, a man who stood as 153 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,600 Speaker 1: the law in a lawless town. Maybe he was the 154 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 1: marshal or a sheriff or a lone ranger using his 155 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: wits and his sharpshooting skills to keep outlaws and bandits 156 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 1: at bay. And in the process, the Western as a 157 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,560 Speaker 1: genre became the quintessential venue for a showdown between good 158 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 1: and evil, and as the entertainment industry shifted its focus 159 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,319 Speaker 1: from radio to film, those showdowns got a whole lot 160 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:30,080 Speaker 1: more dramatic. Early silent films weren't just vehicles for fictional gunslingers. 161 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: Edison's earliest shorts captured re enactments from Buffalo Bill's Wild 162 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: West Show. Viewers could catch a glimpse of Annie Oakley 163 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: giving a demo of her sharpshooting skills, or of a 164 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: Native American performing a traditional buffalo dance before John Wayne 165 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 1: or Gary Cooper put on their spurs. Americans got to 166 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: see a version of the Wild West that they had 167 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: only dreamed about. Not long after these Edison films debuted, 168 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 1: Edwin s Porter filmed the very first Western, The Great 169 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: Train Robbery. At only eleven minutes long, it told the 170 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: sordid and bloody story of a violent robbery aboard a locomotive, 171 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 1: and it was only the beginning too. The Great Train 172 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:11,840 Speaker 1: Robbery led the way for an entire genre of motion 173 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 1: pictures that appealed to all kinds of people, but mostly 174 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: conservative Americans longing for the good old days when men 175 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 1: were men and the law was respected. At least that's 176 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: how they saw it. In reality, the Western was about 177 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: to become a metaphor for doing the right thing against 178 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: a corrupt system of oppression, a standing alone for what 179 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: was right when everyone else was saying that it was wrong. 180 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: Toward the end of the nineteen twenties, as silent films 181 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 1: evolved into talkies, the Western genre remained a mainstay of 182 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: the medium. It consistently brought comfort and peace to a 183 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: nation contending with the socio political strife of an economic 184 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:02,559 Speaker 1: depression and war. As the world continued to change, Americans 185 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: turned to westerns to feed their nostalgic cravings for a 186 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:10,440 Speaker 1: time that never really existed, and Hollywood was only too 187 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 1: happy to oblige. The genre was deceptively deep, allowing writers 188 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 1: and directors to inject their stories with agendas and messages 189 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 1: meant to sway the movie going public toward their causes. 190 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,560 Speaker 1: An audience could find just about anything they liked, be 191 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 1: it romance, gunfights, or even horror. When we think of 192 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 1: Hollywood westerns, we think of their Golden Age, namely the 193 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:34,200 Speaker 1: period from the nineteen fifties through the mid nineteen seventies. 194 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: This is when actors such as John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, 195 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:40,480 Speaker 1: and Clint Eastwood donned their stets and hats and six 196 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:44,839 Speaker 1: shooters to protect small one horse towns. The wild West 197 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:47,800 Speaker 1: of these Golden Age films, though, was truly a frontier 198 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:51,319 Speaker 1: for freedom for white Americans. They embodied the promise of 199 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:55,199 Speaker 1: manifest destiny, but only on the surface. Behind the scenes, 200 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: that appearance of freedom came at a great cost, thanks 201 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:01,080 Speaker 1: to the Hayes Code. The Hayes Code was a set 202 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,720 Speaker 1: of rules that Hollywood imposed on itself to appease powerful 203 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:08,679 Speaker 1: religious organizations who believe the movie industry was nothing but 204 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:12,679 Speaker 1: a den of sin. Before the Code, filmmakers depicted sex 205 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 1: and violence on film without much regard for who might 206 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: be watching. After nineteen thirty six, offensive language, sex, adultery, sacrilege, 207 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 1: and extreme violence were outlawed. Thanks to the code's strict governance. 208 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: Of course, some films managed to slip through the cracks 209 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 1: with content that otherwise would not have been approved, and 210 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: the Code itself was updated over time, but for two decades, 211 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,439 Speaker 1: if a director wanted to get his movie seen by 212 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: American audiences, it had to get the green light from 213 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 1: the Hayes Office. Over time, Hollywood's self censorship became less 214 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,680 Speaker 1: of a priority. Don't get me wrong, the Hayes Code 215 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,080 Speaker 1: was still being enforced well into the nineteen sixties. But 216 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:55,000 Speaker 1: there was another threat waiting in the wings, one that, 217 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:57,959 Speaker 1: according to the United States Government, was even more sinister 218 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:00,720 Speaker 1: than a pistol full of blanks and role of thirty 219 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 1: five millimeter film communism. America's opposition to communism began during 220 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirties, but took off in earnest following World 221 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,560 Speaker 1: War II. The Soviet Union had been our allies during 222 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 1: the war, but things changed when all the nations returned 223 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: to their respective corners of the world. A task force 224 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: was formed called the House on American Activities Committee or HUAC. 225 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:26,839 Speaker 1: It was charged with flushing out communists and communist sympathizers 226 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:30,320 Speaker 1: from all facets of American life, including the government itself 227 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:34,880 Speaker 1: and Hollywood. Now, the House on American Activities Committee couldn't 228 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: punish anyone for being a communist. Thanks to the First Amendment, 229 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:42,319 Speaker 1: but they could hold individuals in contempt for refusing to testify, 230 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:45,360 Speaker 1: and people who invoked their Fifth Amendment right to avoid 231 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 1: self incrimination or who did not hand over the names 232 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: of other alleged communists were blacklisted by their employers. And 233 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 1: perhaps no one is more remembered for such a thing 234 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,680 Speaker 1: than the Hollywood Ten, a group of ten screenwriters who 235 00:13:58,679 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 1: refused to testify before the House on American Activities Committee 236 00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:06,199 Speaker 1: and then name names because they held firmed their principles. 237 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 1: The Hollywood Ten were cited for contempt of Congress and 238 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,839 Speaker 1: spent a whole year in prison, but things didn't get 239 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: any better once they were released. Some of the men 240 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: left the industry entirely, while others continued to write under 241 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: fake names. For example, one guy named Dalton Trumbo wrote 242 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 1: the nineteen fifty sixth film The Brave One under the 243 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: pseudonym Robert Rich. So how did one screenwriter find himself 244 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: in the crosshairs of the House on American Activities Committee 245 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 1: during the Red Scare, especially when he was writing one 246 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:38,600 Speaker 1: of the greatest American Western films of all time. After all, 247 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: it featured an honorable law man standing alone against evil, 248 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:46,760 Speaker 1: an ideal example of the genre spirit. Well, not everyone 249 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 1: thought so, especially one conservative actor known for his portrayal 250 00:14:51,160 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: of macho cowboys and for his questionable beliefs. Carl Foreman 251 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 1: had written a number of films before nineteen fifty one, 252 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 1: including war pictures, noirs, and literary adaptations. He was a 253 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: skilled screenwriter who knew how to tell a good story, 254 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 1: and one year after the end of World War Two 255 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: he decided to tell a new kind. He drafted a 256 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: four page outline of a revisionist western about a loan 257 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: sheriff standing up against a band of outlaws. Now, for 258 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:28,160 Speaker 1: those that don't know, revisionist westerns sort of tossed aside 259 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 1: the American individualism and ideals of the older films within 260 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: the genre, choosing instead to bring light to the corruption 261 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: and moral ambiguity of the bygone era. Foreman had a 262 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: solid narrative in his back pocket, but by nineteen forty 263 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,080 Speaker 1: seven it became clear that it was very similar to 264 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: another story, a work of short fiction published in Colliers 265 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: by John Cunningham titled The Tin Star. So Foreman bought 266 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: the rights to the story and got to work on 267 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: a screenplay, pulling from both his outline and Cunningham's piece. 268 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: It was called High Noon, and it was about more 269 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: than just good versus evil. This was an allegory about 270 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: global unification against tyranny. It was a statement in support 271 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 1: of democracy. Now we don't need to understand the intricacies here, 272 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: but just know this. Such a plot would have been 273 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,600 Speaker 1: plenty popular during the war, but after rampant anti Communist 274 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: attitudes took hold in the late forties, things had changed. 275 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,560 Speaker 1: Foreman was at the top of his game in nineteen 276 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: fifty one, and he continued to plug away at the script. 277 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 1: He was working for a well regarded production company. He'd 278 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: been nominated twice for Best Screenplay, and he had just 279 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 1: moved into a Brentwood college once owned by Orson Wells 280 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: and Rita Hayworth. And then it happened. Foreman opened his 281 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 1: mailbox to a letter printed on pink paper. It had 282 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 1: come from Washington. He had been summoned to testify before 283 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: the House on American Activities Committee. Now Foreman had two options. 284 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: He could fully cooperate with their investigation and give up 285 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 1: the names of any supposed Communists that he might know, 286 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: or he could lie, hide and try to muddle the 287 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 1: truth as much as possible. Unfortunately, the proof was already there. 288 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:09,880 Speaker 1: Carl Foreman had been a member of the American Communist 289 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: Party from the years nineteen thirty eight until nineteen forty two, 290 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:16,280 Speaker 1: and he hadn't been the only one. A number of 291 00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 1: Hollywood writers and actors had joined the party around that time, 292 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 1: but Foreman left after he enlisted to serve in World 293 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:25,159 Speaker 1: War Two. Now he had to choose between being a 294 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:29,400 Speaker 1: rat or killing his career, and neither option was ideal. 295 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: Luckily for him, he didn't have to appear right away. 296 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:36,119 Speaker 1: His appointment with Congress wouldn't be for another few months, 297 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:39,159 Speaker 1: so he continued to work on High Noon, and the 298 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 1: more he considered the story, the more he thought of 299 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: his immigrant family, of his socialist mother, of the Great Depression, 300 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: and how it had ended their business and wiped out 301 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: their fortunes. They had swung hard left politically because of 302 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,399 Speaker 1: the crash, and Foreman was no different. He knew that 303 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,440 Speaker 1: the Blacklist was going to devastate Hollywood and the country 304 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 1: as a whole. So he came to a decision, one 305 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,439 Speaker 1: that would change his life and the landscape of the 306 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 1: western genre in Hollywood Forever. He tweaked the plot of 307 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 1: High Noon to reflect the current American political climate. His protagonist, 308 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:16,479 Speaker 1: a Marshal named Will Caine, would represent Foreman himself, a 309 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:20,199 Speaker 1: solitary force of good going up against the bandits of 310 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: the House on American Activities Committee. The townspeople that Caine 311 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,240 Speaker 1: failed to recruit to help him take on the outsider 312 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:30,440 Speaker 1: threat were now Foreman's fellow screenwriters and other professionals who 313 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 1: stood idly by as the government brought its boot down 314 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:37,000 Speaker 1: on him. But Carl Foreman had a supporter who also 315 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:40,879 Speaker 1: felt the pressure of Washington's anti Communist committee. His name 316 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 1: was Stanley Kramer. Kramer was the producer of the film 317 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:47,679 Speaker 1: and Foreman's friend. He had signed a five year, thirty 318 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,679 Speaker 1: film deal with Columbia Pictures, which had been a major 319 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,399 Speaker 1: milestone for his fledgling company. But Foreman now had a 320 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,720 Speaker 1: major target on his back, and every day he continued 321 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,600 Speaker 1: to work on the project that Bullseye White a little 322 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 1: more to include Kramer himself. But just like Carl Foreman, 323 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: Stanley Kramer had a choice to make. He could stay 324 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 1: true to his friend and risk his production company, or 325 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: cut Foreman loose and destroy the man's career. It didn't 326 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:17,080 Speaker 1: help that Karl had never written a Western before and 327 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 1: the Pictures director Fred Zeinerman had never directed one. But 328 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:23,840 Speaker 1: this wasn't a shoot him up like the westerns of old. 329 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,239 Speaker 1: This was a character driven story with sharp dialogue and 330 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 1: tightly wound suspense, the latter of which was emphasized by 331 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:34,400 Speaker 1: the frequent appearance of ticking clocks throughout the film, each 332 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,120 Speaker 1: of them counting down to the twelve pm mark, when 333 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 1: the protagonist's enemy was scheduled to finally make his appearance. 334 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:45,200 Speaker 1: To play the Harry Marshall will Kine Kramer hired Gary Cooper. 335 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: Cooper had been a big star in the years prior, 336 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 1: but hadn't been doing so well career wise for some time, 337 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: and saw great potential in High Noon script. His love 338 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: interest was played by an up and comer that you 339 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: may or may not have heard of, Grace Kelly, the 340 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: future Princess of Monaco. While the producer secured the cast 341 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,119 Speaker 1: and prepared the shoot, Carl Foreman's date with the House 342 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 1: on American Activities Committee began to draw closer. Gary Cooper 343 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: wound up befriending Carl over the course of their working 344 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:15,359 Speaker 1: together on the film, and even volunteered to speak before 345 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,919 Speaker 1: the committee on his behalf but Foreman's lawyers refused to 346 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: allow it. Finally, Stanley Kramer had had enough. Washington had 347 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:25,280 Speaker 1: been breathing down his neck for some time, so he 348 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,760 Speaker 1: confronted Carl Foreman with two demands. First, he needed to 349 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,680 Speaker 1: resign from High Noon, and second, he had to sell 350 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:35,119 Speaker 1: off his stock options in the picture. Foreman refused, though, 351 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,439 Speaker 1: which led to Kramer firing him anyway. But there was 352 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,440 Speaker 1: just one problem. Foreman hadn't signed a contract deferring his salary. 353 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:45,800 Speaker 1: This meant that the bank providing the film's financing could 354 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:49,480 Speaker 1: cut off access at any time, bringing production to a halt. 355 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:53,359 Speaker 1: Kramer's hand was forced. He re hired Foreman as writer 356 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:58,479 Speaker 1: and associate producer, but their friendship would never recover. On 357 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,040 Speaker 1: September twenty fourth of nineteen fifty one, Foreman's judgment day 358 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:05,120 Speaker 1: had finally arrived. He drove himself to the Los Angeles 359 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:07,720 Speaker 1: Federal Building for his hearing with the House on American 360 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:10,399 Speaker 1: Activities Committee. They asked him if he was a member 361 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: of the Communist Party, which he answered truthfully. He was 362 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,560 Speaker 1: not currently a member of the party, as evidenced by 363 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:19,360 Speaker 1: the loyalty oath that he had just signed, but when 364 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:21,280 Speaker 1: he was asked if he had ever been a member 365 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: prior to nineteen fifty, Foreman pled the fifth. He also 366 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: wouldn't give up the names of any other Communists that 367 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:31,439 Speaker 1: he knew. His testimony led to disastrous consequences for his career, 368 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:35,680 Speaker 1: with stakeholders and company directors of High Noon legally removing 369 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,520 Speaker 1: all traces of him from the picture. Foreman also accepted 370 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: one hundred fifty thousand dollars in exchange for his associate 371 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,879 Speaker 1: producer credit. Some felt that he should have held firm, 372 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:48,879 Speaker 1: but he needed the money. It didn't matter that he 373 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: was one of the best screenwriters Hollywood had to offer. 374 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: He was officially blacklisted, and now he was out of 375 00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:03,760 Speaker 1: a job. Of course, Carl Foreman was not the only 376 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:07,240 Speaker 1: victim of the House on American Activities Committee. Around five 377 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: hundred members of the motion picture industry found themselves out 378 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 1: of work for a decade or more. Some took their 379 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: lives through suicide as a result, while others died from 380 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 1: the stress. Studios also stopped pouring money into films that 381 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: they felt had a political agenda. They simply didn't want 382 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 1: to deal with the headaches from Washington, leaving movies like 383 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:30,480 Speaker 1: High Noon a rarity, but Stanley Kramer eventually saw the 384 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:34,119 Speaker 1: lights after his partnership with Columbia dissolved. He went on 385 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,720 Speaker 1: to make nineteen fifty eight s The Defiant Ones with 386 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 1: blacklisted screenwriter Nedrick Young, and when Young won the Academy 387 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:44,359 Speaker 1: Award for Best Screenplay alongside his co writer Harold Jacob Smith, 388 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: his identity remained public. Foreman, on the other hand, had 389 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:51,280 Speaker 1: to flee the United States and ended up in London. 390 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:53,720 Speaker 1: He went on to write Bridge on the River Qui 391 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,720 Speaker 1: in Secret along with his fellow blacklisted writer Michael Wilson. 392 00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:00,920 Speaker 1: That film won the Oscar for Best Quarsplay as well, 393 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,200 Speaker 1: but Foreman didn't receive credit for it until more than 394 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: thirty years later. And meanwhile, High Noon had been a 395 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: roaring success. It remained a popular Western for decades. Some, however, 396 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:16,360 Speaker 1: didn't appreciate its not so subtle message, namely John Wayne. 397 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,000 Speaker 1: Wayne was a staunch conservative and an outspoken member of 398 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:23,399 Speaker 1: an anti communist group called the Motion Picture Alliance for 399 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 1: the Preservation of American Ideals. He led conservative Hollywood in 400 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: a campaign against High Noon, calling it then, I quote, 401 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:34,320 Speaker 1: the most Unamerican thing I've seen in my whole life. 402 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 1: He'd even been offered the role of will Kine, but 403 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 1: had turned it down because of what he considered to 404 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 1: be the film's pro communist sentiments, although it could be 405 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,919 Speaker 1: argued that exercising one's First Amendment right to comment on 406 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 1: the country's failings at the expense of freedom was probably 407 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:53,760 Speaker 1: the most American thing someone could do. Well. Despite Wayne's 408 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:56,280 Speaker 1: vocal opposition of the film, Hi Noon went on to 409 00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 1: be nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, 410 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: and Best Screenplay, but there was a problem when the 411 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 1: winners for the Best Actor category were announced. Gary Cooper, 412 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:10,119 Speaker 1: who had played the Marshall will Kine in the film, 413 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,919 Speaker 1: was overseas filming another project. Unable to accept the award himself, 414 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 1: he asked a good friend to go on stage in 415 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,920 Speaker 1: his behalf, knowing that that friend would be in the audience, 416 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: and so as the name Gary Cooper rang in everyone's ears, 417 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,359 Speaker 1: one man rose from his seat and traveled down the 418 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 1: aisle to the stage. He took hold of the golden statue, 419 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,680 Speaker 1: smiled and said, I'm glad to see that they're giving 420 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,000 Speaker 1: this to a man who is not only most deserving, 421 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:38,120 Speaker 1: but has conducted himself throughout his years in our business 422 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,199 Speaker 1: in a manner we can all be proud of. At 423 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:43,879 Speaker 1: the end of his speech, the audience applauded and the 424 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:47,280 Speaker 1: man sauntered off the stage. Oh and the name of 425 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:49,480 Speaker 1: that friend that Gary Cooper had called in to take 426 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: his place? It was the film's biggest critic and opponent, 427 00:24:53,640 --> 00:25:03,639 Speaker 1: fellow actor and Western legend John Wayne. I truly do 428 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,359 Speaker 1: hope that you've enjoyed our journey through the Wild West 429 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 1: over the past thirteen episodes. It's a misunderstood and misrepresented 430 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 1: period of American history, but my team and I firmly 431 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:17,359 Speaker 1: believe that the stories we presented to you offer a 432 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:20,640 Speaker 1: more accurate and more nuanced look at what really happened. 433 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 1: And if you enjoyed today's exploration of how Hollywood catched 434 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,400 Speaker 1: in on the myth of the West, then you'll want 435 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,360 Speaker 1: to stick around through the sponsored break. We've saved one 436 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:34,120 Speaker 1: more powerful story, and my teammates Ali Stead will tell 437 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: you all about it. 438 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 2: Nostalgia for the Wild West doesn't live in a vacuum, 439 00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 2: nor has it disappeared. It's still all around us, evident 440 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 2: in television shows like Yellowstone, which presents a modern take 441 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:59,720 Speaker 2: on the sanitized whitewashed and ultraviolent version of what men 442 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:03,280 Speaker 2: like John Wayne thought the Wild West was actually like. 443 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,400 Speaker 2: Or in Westworld, where the audiences can live vicariously through 444 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:11,679 Speaker 2: characters who get to explore their wildest Wild West fantasies. 445 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:15,920 Speaker 2: Above all else, these shows leave viewers wondering, would I 446 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:18,080 Speaker 2: have been a hero with a badge on my chest? 447 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 2: Or would I have been the outlaw clad in all 448 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:22,959 Speaker 2: black and taking what I wanted? 449 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:24,160 Speaker 1: Well? 450 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,479 Speaker 2: Once upon a time, for a little while, that question 451 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:31,359 Speaker 2: could have been easily answered in a place called Palisade, Nevada. 452 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,720 Speaker 2: It all started in the eighteen forties when a new 453 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,520 Speaker 2: railroad was proposed that would connect the East and the 454 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:42,240 Speaker 2: West coasts. Railroad executives didn't have time to waste on 455 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:46,720 Speaker 2: figuring out treaties or territorial rights, so they just started 456 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:51,680 Speaker 2: petitioning Congress. The concept was rejected year after year until 457 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,360 Speaker 2: the passage of the Railroad Act of eighteen sixty two, 458 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:57,560 Speaker 2: which allowed the new track to be laid. The plan 459 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:00,560 Speaker 2: was to have the Central Railroad Company of cal California 460 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,480 Speaker 2: meet the newly created Union Pacific Railroad in the middle 461 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 2: of the country. Construction began in eighteen sixty three, with 462 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,439 Speaker 2: much of the labor being performed by immigrants from China 463 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:15,120 Speaker 2: and Ireland. Meanwhile, the government worked out with the railroad 464 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:19,200 Speaker 2: companies where new stations and therefore new towns would be built. 465 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:22,760 Speaker 2: There was no rhyme or reason to it. Pins were 466 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,879 Speaker 2: tossed onto maps with little regard for the viability of 467 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 2: the towns that were being proposed. Some would thrive, while 468 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:33,840 Speaker 2: others would succumb to the dangers of frontier living. Gold 469 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 2: fever back in the eighteen forties had helped flood the 470 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 2: West with fresh blood, but towns that sprouted overnight seemed 471 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,120 Speaker 2: to disappear almost as quickly when those gilded promises were 472 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,920 Speaker 2: washed away like grit in the river. One town named 473 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:51,440 Speaker 2: Palisade was founded in eighteen sixty eight. It was meant 474 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:53,920 Speaker 2: to be a stop on the Central Pacific Railroad, which 475 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,879 Speaker 2: would bring people to and from Nevada. This included wealthy 476 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 2: investors in the nearby silver mine. Palisade promised to become 477 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,120 Speaker 2: a prominent destination, with folks coming through on their way 478 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:10,560 Speaker 2: to Chicago or San Francisco. Unfortunately, few passengers really stuck 479 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 2: around and spent money there. It was a small town 480 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 2: with a population of only six hundred people, and other 481 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,400 Speaker 2: than the silver mine, there wasn't a lot to do. 482 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,359 Speaker 2: Word of their guests disappointment made it back to the townsfolk, 483 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 2: who understood what was missing the full wild West experience. 484 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 2: You see, years earlier, pioneers had traveled out west and 485 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:38,280 Speaker 2: written to their friends and family, and even to newspapers 486 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:42,880 Speaker 2: back east about their exciting adventures. Their readers had gotten 487 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 2: a taste of the lawlessness and danger that was apparently 488 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 2: prevalent in the western boom towns like Palisade. Unfortunately, when 489 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,480 Speaker 2: those visitors checked out, they didn't exactly get the experience 490 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 2: they were hoping for. So the citizens of Palisade decided 491 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,000 Speaker 2: to take matters into their own hands. In the early 492 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:06,400 Speaker 2: eighteen seventies, when trains pulled into Palisade Station, passengers could 493 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,600 Speaker 2: expect to see lawmen and outlaws having shootouts at high 494 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,880 Speaker 2: noon in the middle of the street. Bodies hit the 495 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,280 Speaker 2: floor while bank robbers made daring escapes in broad daylight. 496 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:19,760 Speaker 2: It was exactly what they read about the news articles 497 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 2: and dime novels, and it was completely fake. The whole 498 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:27,880 Speaker 2: town was in on it, including the pistols, the bank robberies. 499 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 2: They'd even gotten animal blood from nearby slaughterhouses to sell 500 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:35,400 Speaker 2: the grizzly death scenes. No one missed out on the fun. 501 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 2: Even the local Shoshoni tribe members got in on the 502 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:42,640 Speaker 2: action by performing raids on the town, really selling battles 503 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,160 Speaker 2: with locals and pretending to scalp them at the end. 504 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 2: Even railroad employees were known to sneak actors onto the 505 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 2: trains to set everyone up before they pulled into Palisade. 506 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 2: Funnily enough, despite the town's notoriety as a den of 507 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:01,160 Speaker 2: sin and violence, it had no sheriff. Over the course 508 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:05,360 Speaker 2: of these reenactments, more people were killed in Palisade than 509 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,920 Speaker 2: actually lived there, and the travelers were none to observant. 510 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 2: They never noticed that they themselves weren't the targets of 511 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 2: these ruthless outlaws. Over time, as the West was settled 512 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,520 Speaker 2: and fewer and fewer people were coming through looking for 513 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 2: a show, Palisade and other boomtowns folded up shop. The 514 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 2: pops of gunshots were soon replaced with the eerie sound 515 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 2: of wind whistling through a ghost town. A flood in 516 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:36,600 Speaker 2: nineteen ten decimated the area, and by the nineteen thirties 517 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:40,920 Speaker 2: the railroad had shut down as well. Buildings disappeared, leaving 518 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:45,400 Speaker 2: nothing behind but the land. But the name Palisade would 519 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,800 Speaker 2: grace American's lips a couple of more times before fading 520 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:53,960 Speaker 2: into complete obscurity. According to one legend, President Herbert Hoover 521 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 2: was passing through in nineteen thirty two when his train 522 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:02,120 Speaker 2: was overcome by strangers armed with two dozen sticks of dynamite. 523 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 2: Two men reportedly scuffled with the railroad inspector before running off. 524 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 2: One inspector claimed there hadn't even been dynamite to begin with. Finally, 525 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 2: in two thousand and five, the heir to the town 526 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,440 Speaker 2: of Palisades sold it at auction for one hundred and 527 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:21,080 Speaker 2: fifty thousand dollars. It's not known who bought it, but 528 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:24,520 Speaker 2: according to one article, a whole lot of nothing in 529 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,240 Speaker 2: the middle of nowhere sold for one hundred and fifty thousand, 530 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:33,400 Speaker 2: the most money ever paid for nothing that anyone could remember. Sadly, 531 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:36,680 Speaker 2: that's what remains of the wild West today, romantic notions 532 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 2: of a time that never really existed. In other words, 533 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 2: a whole lot of nothing. 534 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:47,959 Speaker 1: Grim and Maud Presents The Wild West was executive produced 535 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:50,840 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Mankey and hosted by Aaron Mankey and 536 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:54,960 Speaker 1: Alexandra Steed. Writing for this season was provided by Michelle Mudo, 537 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,920 Speaker 1: with research by Alexandra Steed, Sam Alberty, Cassandra de Alba, 538 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:02,520 Speaker 1: and Harry Marx. Fact Checking was performed by Jamie Vargas, 539 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: with sensitivity reading by Stacy Parshall Jensen. Production assistance was 540 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:11,160 Speaker 1: provided by Josh Stain, Jesse Funk, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. 541 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:13,760 Speaker 1: To learn more about this and other shows from Grim 542 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:49,640 Speaker 1: and Mild and iHeartRadio, visit Grimandmild dot com