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The termFlorida Western is used to describe a genre of films and literary works set in the 19th century, particularly around the time of theSecond Seminole War. A relatively small number of Florida Westerns have been produced, as genre Westerns are usually located in other regions of the United States, particularly the former frontier territories of "the West".
A series of novels about Florida in the 19th century and theirFlorida cracker characters have also been calledcracker Westerns.[1][2]
In 1895Frederic Remington andOwen Wister traveled to Florida to write a story on Florida's cowboys forHarper's Weekly.[3]
In the 1990s a series of cracker Westerns by several authors were published.[4]
Rough Edges Press publishedPalmetto Empire by David Hardy in 2014. This novel follows the fictional adventures of backwoodsmen, outlaws, and rebels in the era of theFirst Seminole War.
It was during the 1950s that most of these films were produced and many included a fictional andstereotypical portrayal of the real lifeSeminole leader,Osceola, who resisted American expansion intoFlorida during the late 1830s. The filmDistant Drums (1951), which was one of the earliest Florida Westerns made, even changed his name to Oscala and portrayed him as a malevolent savage, filled with a constant bloodlust who fed living prisoners toalligators.
One of the advantages of these types of films, however, was that the producers often used the FloridaEverglades as a backdrop. Now a contemporary audience has the benefit of glimpsing this wilderness in its mid-20th century form. The producers ofDistant Drums even used the historicCastillo de San Marcos fort as a backdrop for the story. It was depicted as a fictitious stronghold forSpanishgunrunners selling armaments to the Seminole on the west coast of Florida, although it is actually located on the east coast.
Films which were made and could be consideredFlorida Westerns include:
