horse opera

horse opera

A film or theatrical production about the American West (i.e., a western), especially one that is clichéd or formulaic. My grandfather and I had a tradition of watching old horse operas every Sunday on TV.
See also: horse, opera
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

horse opera

n. a Western movie. (see also oater.) They’re showing a series of old horse operas at the theater tonight.
See also: horse, opera
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • hoss opera
  • oat opera
  • oater
  • opera
  • read it and weep
  • read 'em and weep
  • get (the hell) out of Dodge
  • get out of Dodge
  • outta
  • Who goes there?
References in periodicals archive
It is an easy recommendation for the contemporary adult reader who enjoys the Western horse opera style and feel.
Gorden's Bookshelf
On the other hand, Hollywood hasn't had a socko horse opera that would test the international waters.
H'wood hot for horse operas: Lackluster B.O. can't quash Western nostalgia
Destined mainly for upscale cultural webs, this video feature for TV of the iconoclastic Welsh filmmaker's debut as librettist and opera director with "Rosa, a Horse Opera" will perappeal most to admirers of Greenaway's conceptual art and to avant-garde music aficionados.
THE DEATH OF A COMPOSER: ROSA, A HORSE DRAMA
Madden's also interested in helming the Miramax horse opera "St.
`SILK' GLADDENS MADDEN
The production will feature longtime British stage heavyweight Sian Phillips as Dietrich, the screen star of such legendary pics as 1958's "Touch of Evil," 1948's "Foreign Affair," 1935's "The Devil Is a Woman" and the 1939 horse opera "Destry Rides Again." The show is set in Paris toward the end of Dietrich's career, and features songs from her concert act.
`MARLENE' EYES BROADWAY
Sean is one very headstrong guy, moping around in this horse opera looking to be in desperate need of a mint julep.
Legacy
evil horse opera where good looks and good shots come together for the good of mankind.
The Magnificent Seven
Kevin Costner and Kevin Kline shine in the first of the former's horse operas.
FILMS OF THE WEEK
In addition, the laconic storytelling yields an undercurrent of humor that one does not normally see in horse operas.
Genre films that break new ground: 'A Girl Cut in Two' is a thriller with surreal twists; 'Appaloosa' is an offbeat Western
Even in their heyday, cowboys were undervalued and often unfairly dismissed as mere 'horse operas'.
Review: Films: Back to the wild, wild west
On top of this, TV networks in the '50s produced a glut of horse operas, filling their programming schedules with frontier tales of marshals ("Gunsmoke"), ranchers ("Bonanza"), gunslingers ("Have Gun, Will Travel"), and covered wagons ("Wagon Train").
Things aren't so great at the OK Corral
Show business discovered the cowboy: Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows gave way to Tom Tix horse operas, and Mix himself gave way to cowboys Cooper and Wayne and Eastwood--and each new generation of audiences applauded and realized you didn't have to endure a sixmonth cattle drive to yearn for a hat, a pair of boots, and some jeans.
A cowboy Christmas
Then came a moment reminiscent of all those Hollywood horse operas where, to thunderous cheers, the US Cavalry rides in for a last-minute rescue.
Time to remember: When horse power reigned; Time to remember
Gone is the saga of the taming of the West (an ethnocentric concept if ever there was one), and with it the horse operas of cowboys and Indians, redolent of sagebrush and exuding optimism.
Relations of Rescue: The Search for Female Moral Authority in the American West
THURSDAY HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER ITV4 10PM One of Clint Eastwood's finest horse operas, he plays a gunslinger asked to protect the townsfolk of Lago against a gang.
FILMS OF THE WEEK