About the Author
Henry C. Parke
Henry’s first book, The Greatest Westerns Ever Made, and the People Who Made Them, was published by TwoDot in 2024. The Brooklyn-born, L.A.-based writer has contributed articles to the INSP blog since 2016, been Film Editor for True West since 2015, and has written Henry’s Western Round-up, the online report on Western film production, since 2010. His screenwriting credits include Speedtrap (1977) and Double Cross (1994). He’s the first writer welcomed into the Western Writers of America for his work in electronic media. He’s done audio commentary on over thirty Spaghetti and domestic Westerns.
Stories by Henry C. Parke
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Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey: Two Western Titans
While legendary Western authors Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour flourished at opposite ends of the 20th Century, similar forces formed both men.
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Zane Grey and the Western Movie
The novels of Zane Grey, father of the Western genre, have been adapted for film nearly 120 times. What are the timeless elements that set them apart, even though it has been 30 years since his last movie?
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Westerns at the Drive-in: Watching Movies in the Great Outdoors
By Henry C. Parke One of the few benefits of the Covid pandemic was a temporary revival of the drive-in movie-going experience. Whether it involved the re-opening of a long-shuttered venue, or a make-shift theatre…
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What TV and Movies Get Right and Wrong About Cowboys
By Henry C. Parke Since 2008, the fourth Saturday in July has been celebrated as National Day of the Cowboy. There are a dozen times “whereas” appears in Senate Resolution 450, the first being, “Whereas…
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What Makes a Great Western Movie?
Key Takeaways Always focus on one particular mission There must be a general understanding of history Why we stop short of saying there are nine ingredients What are the key ingredients for making a great…
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The Gunsmoke Auction Recap
By Henry C. Parke In Westerns, big-screen or small, auctions can only mean one thing: some poor sodbuster—or else Claudia Cardinale—is being forced by the land baron, banker, or whoever Lee Marvin is working for,…
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What Janet Arness Thinks of the Gunsmoke Auction
By Henry C. Parke On Nov. 15, Julien’s Auctions will conduct the Gunsmoke & Western Legends Auction, in which 568 lots, over 230 of them from the estate of Gunsmoke star James Arness, will each…
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Cowboys and Native Americans Aren’t Always Enemies
While cowboys and Native Americans are traditionally enemies rather than friends in Western films and TV, here are some excellent exceptions.
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Bid on a Piece of Gunsmoke History
By Henry C. Parke How would you like the original Gunsmoke U.S. Marshal Office sign on your wall? How’d you like to own the jail-cell keys? Or a complete James Arness, Matt Dillon costume? Or…
