The discovery of the many street photos of Vivian Maier, along with the story of her life and work, are really fascinating.
In a lot of ways, this has almost nothing to do with 50s Westerns, aside from the boy’s Roy Rogers jacket. But since we all seem to be consumed by at least part of a bygone era, and since these photos show us the cultural context of something like Jubal (1958), they should be of interest.
There are powerful photos. About the photo above, if I don’t sound too corny — the West for many of us is a gateway to dreams. These kids look like they need the dream of the idealized West, and I’m sure it was (and is) that way for many of us.
Tom Mix said that the West was whatever we wanted it to be. I don’t know what the boy wearing the Roy Rogers jacket thought about Roy and cowboy days when he put it on, but it was probably one of the best things in his life.