NL "The Day of the Outlaw"

The 1959 film The Day of the Outlaw clearly represents a time in history where women's rights has become something of discussion and value, but not yet fully blossomed into an organized movement. There were many elements of the film that demonstrated a precursor to the women's rights movement of the 1960's and a deviation from the complete indifference towards women of the earlier Western film.

In The Day of the Outlaw, there is an objectification of women that holds true to the previous Westerns. Bruhn's gang treats women as mere objects for their own gratification: they certainly do not treat them as people. Furthermore, not only are women made to be objects in the eyes of Bruhn's men, but also the men of the town. The town men were responsible for protecting the women; women were not strong enough in the film to protect themselves in any way. This is something that is progress, but not full progress.

The reason why the previous Western, women would be basically left by the men. Look at Red River where Tom leaves his sweetheart to die to an Indian raid, this is certainly something that is a pre-women's rights reflection in a Western. Later films however, such as The Ballad of Little Jo features women who need no protection: the women are capable of handling a gun and defending themselves on their own. This middle-ground in the way women were objectified, yet at the same time defended, really demonstrates how this was a Western reflecting the thoughts moving towards women's rights.