Lesson 21-1 William S. Hart and the early 'Western' film
William S. hart was, perhaps, the greatest of all Western stars, for unlike Gary Cooper and John Wayne he appeared in nothing but Westerns. From 1914 to 1924 he was supreme and unchallenged. It was Hart who created the basic formula of the Western film, and devised the protagonist he played in every film he made, the good- bad man, the accidental-noble outlaw, or the honest-but-framed cowboy, or the sheriff made suspect by vicious gossip; in short, the individual in conflict with himself and his frontier environment.
Unlike most of his contemporaries in Hollywood, Hart actually knew something of the old West. He had lived in it as a child when it was already disappearing, and his hero was firmly rooted in his memories and experiences, and in both the history and the mythology of the vanished frontier.
supreme /suːˈpriːm/ 首屈一指的， (级别或地位）最高的，至高无上的;
protagonist /prəˈtæɡənɪst/ 主角;主人公;
devise /dɪˈvaɪz/ 设计;发明;想出
accidental /ˌæksɪˈdentl/ 意外的;偶然的
outlaw /ˈaʊtlɔː/ 亡命徒，逃犯
framed /freɪmd/ 遭到陷害的;
sheriff /ˈʃerɪf/ 警长;(苏格兰)法官;县治安官，
vicious /ˈvɪʃəs/ 恶毒的;恶劣的;残酷的
gossip /ˈɡɑːsɪp/ 流言蜚语;闲聊;闲言碎语
suspect /səˈspekt / 犯罪嫌疑人;嫌疑犯;嫌疑分子,有违法嫌疑的
in short 总而言之、一句话
conflict /ˈkɑːnflɪkt/ 冲突;矛盾;
frontier /frʌnˈtɪr/ 尚待开发的边缘区域，边境;边界;
contemporary /kənˈtempəreri/ 同代人;同龄人, 当代的;现代的;同一时代的;
mythology /mɪˈθɑːlədʒi/ 神话;神话学
vanished /ˈvænɪʃt/ 消失了;消亡;绝迹;
be rooted in 扎根于
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