JPF Home Page Forums Creative Arts Forums Acting, Theater, Film and TV Forum Greatesest Westerns All Time Favorites (re-visited)

I have added a least a hundred more westerns to my awesome collection. Funny thing about Westerns is there ALL good, maybe not great but you hardly see a bad one lol

The 1950's RULES when it comes to this genre, but there are great ones throughout...

Here are some favorites and MUST see Westerns, not Calvary war
movies but Westerns..

1. Shane 50's
2. High Noon 50's
3. The Searchers 50's
4. Tombstone 1996
5. Unforgiven 1992
6. The Magnificent Seven 60's
7. Last Train From Gun Hill 50's
8. Seven Men From Now 50's
9. Big Country 50's
10. 3:10 To Yuma (both) 50's 2009
11. Tin Star 50's
12. Hang em High 60's
13. Pale Rider 80's
14. Open Range 2003
15. Silverado 80's
16. Wild Bunch 60's
17. Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid 60's
18. Destry Rides Again 40's
19. Winchester 73 50's
20. The Gunfighter 50's

Plenty, plenty more.

Here are some more.....

21. Gunfight At OK Corral - Lancaster/Douglas 50's
22. Broken Arrow 50's
23. The Professionals 60's
24. The Bravados 50's
25. The Violent Men 50's
26. Rio Bravo 60's
27. Battle At Apache Pass 50's
28. Fist Full Of Dollars 60's
29. Few Dollars More 60's
30. Terror In A Texas Town - Sterling Hayden 50's
31. The Tall T 50's
32. Appaloosa 2009
33. Outlaw Joesy Whales 70's
34. Oxbow Incident 40's
35. StageCoach 40's

Humm,
While a couple stand out, HIGH NOON and SHANE it was the B-Westerns that were seen most of the time in the Movies. Rocky Lane, Johhny Mac Brown, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, the Cisco Kid, were a few that played.

The Oxbow Incident is conspicuous in its absence here

Well, I know you can't overload it with movies starring Clint

But "High Plains Drifter" and "Good, Bad and the Ugly" are also on my list.

Another good movie was "Bad Day at Black Rock" starring Spencer Tracy. probably doesn't qualify as a western because it was set in the 40's or 50's. But as far as the plot goes, classic western!

Scott

Hi John

Very good movie and highly regarded as well. It was just toooo
slow for me, way to slow. But maybe some pills another look

Fonda in "Tin Star" was very good along with Anthony Perkins, was less of trial movie. The Oxbow reminded me of that other movie with Fonda and the jury.. 12 Men

"Jubal" was another good movie that didn't feel like a Western at all. Just set in the period.

Scott

I didn't want to fill it with Clint movies lol as I love and own them all. "Few Dollars More" especially. But there all good High Plains, Good the Bad, Josey Whales. The weak ones are Joe Kidd, Two Mules, and that silly Bronco Billy lol

See I know them all.....

No, no, 40's and 50's more than qualify it's the 50's that DOMINATE the genre completely. Just like Rock & Pop does in the 60's & 70's COMPLETELY!

Totally Ray

When I watch them now the B' movies they are all still good but do not stand out like the others naturally. No staying power and most not even cult like as in B Horror movies and even Sci Fi.

But I'm sure there's a following somewhere as is with most things

I've really been into Buster Keaton lately, extraordinary guy.

Here are some more.....

Gunfight At OK Corral - Lancaster/Douglas
Broken Arrow
The Violent Men
The Professionals
Rio Bravo
Battle At Apache Pass
The Bravados
Fist Full Of Dollars
Few Dollars More
Terror In A Texas Town - Sterling Hayden
The Tall T
Appaloosa

Glad to see Rio Bravo in there, that's one of my favourites

What about The Ballad of Cable Hogue and Big Deal at Dodge City - maybe I'm just a Jason Robards fan

Aw, you gotta be the King of Westerns, Mike!

I can't add anything. I used to love westerns as a kid, but lately I've found them too predictable to keep me interested throughout 90mins.

I'd bet I would love the bunch, if I was watching them for the first time again, though.

I like the new westerns too like Clint's "Unforgiven", and The Coen bros' brand new "True Grit", reportedly is also very good http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403865/

Nige

If you haven't yet seen Rio on Blu Ray you should. It's incredible.

Westerns make for GREAT Blu Rays...

Like I said there are countless good ones hardly any bad. On a scale from 1-10 they usually start at 6 and up.

Hi Mags,

If you put on "Last Train AT Gun Hill" You'd be a fan again, and it's not predictable. Same goes for "Big Country"

What makes these movies so cool is not only the period but the cinematography and the locations. Then the simple fact that the drama can be heavy but not depressing! Lots of human character always being put to the test.

What's crazy is not only do i have countless Westerns I have about 200 Classic Kung Fu Movies. "Easterns" lol
I know all about those, from early Shaw Bros through all of Bruce Lee's work, Jet Li and now Tony Jaa.

That's how I am, never pinned down to one or two styles or genre's. The most movies in this house are actually Horror Movies lol. My wife especially loves those.

How's about Cat Ballou, and one of my all time favourites,
Once Upon A Time In The West?

Hi Mike, the original John Ford "Stagecoach" with John Wayne playing Johnny Ringo and Clair Trevor as Dallas. Andy Devine as the stagecoach driver.

Gene Autry and all of the B grade westerns.
And Smiley Burnett.
Burnette wrote more than 400 songs and sang a significant number of them on screen. His Western classic, "Ridin’ Down the Canyon (To Watch the Sun Go Down)," was later recorded by Willie Nelson, Riders in the Sky, and Johnnie Lee Wills.
Other compositions included "On the Strings of My Lonesome Guitar" (Jimmy Wakely's theme song in the 1940s), "Fetch Me Down My Trusty .45," "Ridin' All Day," and "It's Indian Summer" as well as "The Wind Sings a Cowboy Song," "The Old Covered Wagon," and "Western Lullaby." He also composed musical scores for such films as The Painted Stallion and Waterfront Lady. His songs were recorded by a wide range of singers, including Bing Crosby, Ferlin Husky, and Leon Russell. His performance of "Steamboat Bill" appeared on The Billboard's country chart in 1939.

Burnette devised and built some of his unusual musical instruments in his home workshop. His "Jassackaphone," for example, which he played in the film The Singing Cowboy, resembled an organ with pipes, levers, and pull mechanisms.

In the 1940s, he invented and patented an early home audiovisual system called "Cinevision Talkies." Each package contained a 78 rpm record with four of his songs and fifteen 35mm slides. The slides were to be projected in order and advanced each time a short tone played on the record during the songs. An inside cover of the record album was white so that those with no projector and screen could simply shine a flashlight through the slides and view them on the cover. He also devised more than a dozen clever uses for a common wire clothes hanger and demonstrated several of them during a TV show guest appearance.

The above was from Wikipedia concerning Smiley Burnette. He was a musician first. Over 400 songs. That's quite a few songs. Just the song "Ridin'" should ring a bell when you hear it.

I don't care much for the westerns from the 90's to now. Too much emphasis on violence and special effects. Ruins the whole genre.

It should be entertainment, not social comment via an old reliable genre.

Leave the cowboy movies alone.

Put me down for "Destry Rides Again ". My favorite.

John

Just saw the new "True Grit", with Jeff Bridges as "Rooster". This movie was true to the story as told by the book.

The original part of Laebouf was ruined by Glen Campbell's bad acting, but Matt Damon resurrected the character and made the movie worth watching.

I too am a fan of the new True Grit (and most Cohen Brothers movies).

Once Upon a Time in the West is one of my favorites along with the Eastwood ones.

Wagon Train the series with Ward Bond
That was western for sure ... Loved it as a kid

Yes "Once Upon A Time" I have it, and really like it.

I didn't really list all the Spaghetti Westerns but here are few GREAT ones for that type.

1. Django - Franco Nero
2. Once Upon A Time In The West
3. Death Rides A Horse - Lee Van Cleef
4. Navaho Joe - Burt Reynolds

The 40's Westerns are great but I like the 90's thru now better, I'd rather have more violence then people stopping to sing songs in the middle of the movie LOL Like Eddie Dean
Too soft with too many characters & SIDEKICKS with Nicknames, Soapy, Lefty, Gabby, etc....

Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers it's too much singing

I would think if they didn't do up the violence a bit and it's really just what they can show, I mean almost all Westerns are viloent in nature. Then the genre would NEVER survive. Can't have Roy Rodgers or Eddie Dean singing songs with there side kicks in today's society and expect to get a movie budget handed to you.

No no no, 1995's Tombstone with Val Kilmer and Kurt Russel is a WINNER!
So is the remake of 3:10 To Yuma w/Russel Crowe, Christian Bale.

Appaloosa - 2008 w/Ed Harris & Hugo
Unforgiven - 1990 Eastwood/Hackman/Freeman/Richard Harris
Wild Bill - 1995 - Jeff Bridges, William Hurt
Open Range - 2003 Costner/Duvall/Bening

These are great westerns, I haven't seen the new True Grit, I own the original and do not care for it much. It's just plain too boring. My favorite of Waynes is "The Searchers" and Rio Bravo, then El Dorado.

Hopefully the genre will continue.....

Did I list "Seven Men From Now" Director Bud Boetticher?
Great western!

Your Down!

Great Western!

Rio Bravo has to be my all-time favorite western. This was right after Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ended their partnership. The popular opinion of the day was that Lewis had been carrying Martin, but Dean's performance in Rio Bravo proved otherwise.

Kev

You have to see it on Blu Ray! Wow! it pops like your watching through a view master

Ricky Nelson did a nice job in it as well, he was a bit mellow but still cool

Soon as I saw the heading to this thread I thought of "Shane" It is my all time favorite. Watched it as a kid and have never tired of it. (Bought the DVD and watched it again.)

Douglas

Doug

It is soooooooo hard for me to have a favorite anything and the more I enjoy something the even harder that becomes.

Yet look what's at the top of mt list, by no coincidence.
"Shane" is my favorite western of all time. It's just incredibly charming, and you can relate to all the characters. From the families to the greedy, and everything in between. The relationships between Shane & the sod busters the boy, the wife, the friend.

You can even see the Bad guys point of view, and sympathize in that everyone feels they are in the right. And Jack Palance is just a heartless killer and he speaks volumes in that role without having to say two words.

The scene when Stonewall goes into town and gets provoked then gets shot down by Wilson (Palance)
The town is always all fall of mud and so grimy....
It's story and character driven and without a whole lot of violence, at least unnecessary violence.
Gems like Shane have it all, High Noon is another where there isn't a shot fired till the end.

The picture on the DVD is very good and it's very nice through my up-verted DVD player and HD TV

BUT.... Please please somebody remaster this gem and release it on Blu Ray.
Don't know if that will ever happen, but I'd buy it day one!

I NEVER get tired of this movie, enjoy it for many years Doug

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.

I can't believe that no one has mentioned "Blazing Saddles"!

Very very true Ben. Also those early ones would be very appealing and appropriate for a young audience on a Sat afternoon.

There like characters like the Lone Ranger & Zorro!

I a magazine I recently got they had the 100 greatest westerns and Blazing Saddles was in the top twenty.

But this list also had lots of Civil War movies in it, and too me those are not the Westerns I was thinking of. They are "War" movies.
And they "The Treasure Of "The Sierra Madre" in the top 10 Westerns, great movie but are you KIDDING me? And Zorro too me is not a Western either. Neither is "Glory"

When I was a kid I liked Mel Brooks's films, later on I could not enjoy them as they are just too silly for me now. And I LOVE Dumb & Dunmber... so! The style of humor is sooooo dated it's lost effectiveness for me.

Blazing Saddles is as much a Western to me as Young Frankenstein is a horror movie. That's why I don't even count it.

McMurtry is a great author, and I enjoyed his books tremendously.

Lonesome Dove, though I agree is wonderful, must be categorized as a mini series.

\

yes yes and yes lol

STAGECOACH 1939, starring John Wayne

Tossing in a coupla more:

Man in the Wilderness: Richard Harris and John Huston. Not very well known, and certainly not a "classic" Western plot, but oughta be up there.

Jeremiah Johnson: Redford

Dances With Wolves: Long, yes, but come on!...And another one with a similar Native "vibe":

A Man Called Horse: Richard Harris, again...The sequels were sorely lacking.

The Long Riders: Cool casting with the Keach and Carradine brothers as the James and Younger brothers, oh, and the Quaid bothers also...There's 1 scene, involving 1 bullet, that was shocking when I first saw it. 30 years later, not so much.

Nevada Smith: I was too young to really appreciate Steve McQueen at the time, and was taken out of the film a little by having Brian Keith(Uncle Bill/Family Affair) playing a tough guy.

No Country for Old Men: Not really a Western, and of course, way too modern, but I'm gonna give it a nod.

Midnite

THE PALEFACE and SON OF PALEFACE Bob Hope and Jane Russell. Comedy Westerns

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERRIF and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GUNFIGHTER James Garner also Comedy but later movies.

True Grit (both versions)