One of the most interesting features of action scenarios is their ability to adapt to the genres in which they are situated. This is specifically the case with the western and how it refashions the speed, fight and transfer scenarios. All such genre specific variations can be found in Dodge City (1939), including the saloon brawl, a staple of the western genre.
Antoine Fuqua’s remake of The Magnificent Seven (1960), itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954) that inserts its plot within the narrative context of the western, follows its predecessors by allocating the bulk of its action to the fourth act, as attested by its atypically high AAD ratio
Straight Shooting (1917) was made during a period when the film conventions of the western genre were solidifying. Among these conventions was the duel that takes on a different complexion in the film given it is neither a fast draw nor involves pistols. Instead Cheyenne Harry, the protagonist of the film, and Placer Fremont a hired gunslinger, use rifles and engage with each other by stealth.
Despite being a late entry into the western genre, given its long history, The Wild Bunch (1969) manifests action scenario variations revealing how they are shaped by genre. Amongst the most notable of these is the dragged-by-a-horse stunt, a variation of the speed scenario, that often showcases its danger for both stuntperson and character.
