Why The First Western Movie Actually Wasn’t An American Film

The Western is considered one of the most quintessentially American genres in the movie industry, but surprisingly, the first known Western film isn’t even of American origin. Westerns have been ingrained in the fabric of cinema for almost as long as movies have been made, dating back to the late 19th century. In popular culture, the first Western movie is widely believed to be the 1903 silent film The Great Train Robbery, which was both a massive commercial success and greatly influenced the entries in the genre that followed it. However, the idea of The Great Train Robbery being the first Western movie is actually a misconception.