Maureen O'Hara
Frontier Gal

by: June Parker Beck

    Preface: The Western theme in motion pictures presented the opportunity to portray Americana with endless possibilities of adventure and storylines. True, Hollywood's version of documented historical events sometimes took a turn into more fantasy than fact, but the Wild West, its characters and its settlement provided a vast stage on which to present the adventures of common man; right vs. wrong, good over evil. People needed heroes and heroines to escape from their own reality. The Hollywood Western was a wonderful vehicle for that escape. The stars, character actors, stuntmen and crews were some of the most colorful and talented in Hollywood history. They were good, honest people. Maureen O'Hara was fortunate enough to be a part of this wonderful group.
    Maureen O'Hara had the admirable ability to perform beautifully in any genre of film that came her way. And in the studio days of Hollywood actors being owned like ball players, that was to her advantage. An actor had to have the ability to take even the weakest script and make something out of it. However, with John Ford and Duke Wayne as two of her best friends, it was understandable that Maureen would be invited to co-star in some quality Western films. An extremely athletic woman, Maureen particularly loved the action of Western films................