''Western von gestern'' (lit.: "Yesterday's Western") was a

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

movie showcase series that aired on the

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

network from May 1978 to July 1986.

Concept

''Western von gestern'' was the collective showcase title for a number of American black-and-white

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

films and serials from the 1930s to the 1950s. The adaptation script was written by Joe Hembus and Eydo von Hadeln, and the music (which featured original soundtracks, rather than using the originals' musical scores) was composed by Fred Strittmatter and Quirin Amper Jr.. The featured list includes ''

Zorro's Black Whip ''Zorro's Black Whip'' is a 1944 12-chapter film serial by Republic Pictures starring Linda Stirling. The film was made after the 1940 20th Century-Fox remake of '' The Mark of Zorro'' in order to capitalize on it. Republic was not able to u ...

'' and several early films with John Wayne,

Al St. John Al St. John (also credited as Al Saint John and "Fuzzy" St. John; September 10, 1892 – January 21, 1963) was an early American motion-picture comedian. He was a nephew of silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, with whom he often performed on ...

(in his popular role as "Fuzzy Jones"),

Buster Crabbe Clarence Linden Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983), known professionally as Buster Crabbe, was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimmi ...

and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

(''

Days of Jesse James ''Days of Jesse James'' is a 1939 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Roy Rogers. Cast *Roy Rogers as Roy Rogers * George 'Gabby' Hayes as Gabby Whittaker * Don 'Red' Barry as Jesse James *Pauline Moore as Mary Whittaker ...

'').''Western von Gestern'' website
(German) However, to accommodate the German TV format, many of the films and serials were edited from their usual 60-minute down to 25-minute features or divided into episodes of similar length. A total of 155 episodes were aired. One of the show's particularly striking features was the use of Justus D. Barnes' iconic shooting scene from the silent film western ''The Great Train Robbery'' - with additionally inserted sound effects - for its intro and final credit sequences.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id =2757036 , title =Western von gestern
''Western von Gestern'' website
Motion picture television series 1978 German television series debuts 1986 German television series endings 1970s Western (genre) television series German-language television shows ZDF original programming 1980s Western (genre) television series

Concept

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