Sub,the old "B" westerns,"singing cowboy" movies etc. are really more of a sub-genre and I don't equate them with the more realistic and "horse opera" type. They are fantasy and for shear entertainment. They were made for kids to be shown at Saturday Matinees before television and Saturday morning cartoons. I like the cheesiness, cheap production, and moral of the story.

The story line is always predictable. They all had a similar template. A damsel in distress inherits a ranch or silver mine. The local greedy cattleman or land baron tries to extort her land. The hero and his sidekick happen to be riding through town to save the day. He never kisses the girl in the end (but it was OK for him to kiss his horse). So I'm not speaking of adult westerns.

On the other hand, John Ford made a lot of classics. The original "Stagecoach" comes to mind. It's hard for me to watch the Indian chase scene because several horses were killed making that scene. Ford got into a lot of trouble for that.

My all time favorite adult western has to be "Lonesome Dove", plus all of the MCmurtry spin-offs.

I also like the comedies from the 60's. "Paint Your Wagon", "Support Your Local Sheriff", Support Your Local Gun Fighter" etc. Lee Marvin could play a "heavy" like "Liberty Valance" and also be very funny in western comedies.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=400209
http://guitar.answers.com/guitar/playing-a-right-handed-guitar-left-handed-upside-down
http://lefthandedguitarplayer.blogspot.com/