Subgenre Sampler

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Last Days of Frank and Jesse James, The (1986): Dir. William A. Graham
Feat. Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson…; Likeable version of the last years, not days, of the legendary Frank and Jesse James played by 'outlaw' country music stars Johnny Cash and Kris…
Three Amigos (1986): Dir. John Landis
Feat. Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short; Cheesy comedy with Steve Martin and Chevy Chase lured to Mexico as gunslingers.
Gambler, The (1980): Dir. Dick Lowry
Feat. Kenny Rogers, Bruce Boxleitner, Christine Belford…; Amiable western with a gambler saddling up after receiving a letter from his son requesting his help. Kenny Rogers knows when to fold 'em and hold…
Butch and Sundance: The Early Years (1979): Dir. Richard Lester
Feat. William Katt, Tom Berenger, Jeff Corey…; Surprisingly enjoyable prequel to BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID has the roguish duo pursued across various New Mexico landscapes. Utterly…
Electric Horseman, The (1979): Dir. Sydney Pollack
Feat. Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Valerie Perrine…; Curious romantic western with Redford as a former rodeo star who turns his back on his lucrative gig advertising cereal, and heads off to the desert…
Centennial (TV Mini-series) (1978): Feat. Raymond Burr, Barbara Carrera, Robert Conrad; Western mini–series spanning the 200 year history of the town of Centennial, Colarado. Well–researched in its depiction of the…
White Buffalo, The (1977): Dir. J. Lee Thompson
Feat. Charles Bronson, Jack Warden, Will Sampson…; Rugged and hokey psycho–adventurism in which Charles Bronson channels Captain Ahab in his quest to hunt down a mythical albino buffalo.
Breakheart Pass (1975): Dir. Tom Gries
Feat. Charles Bronson, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna…; Charles Bronson plays a prisoner being transported on a train with a small U.S. army unit and medical supplies through the Rocky mountains. The…
Master Gunfighter, The (1975): Dir. Frank Laughlin
Feat. Tom Laughlin, Ron O'Neal, Barbara Carrera; From the creator/actor of BILLY JACK this samurai western follows a peace–loving master swordsman and gunfighter, who's…
Posse (1975): Dir. Kirk Douglas
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Bruce Dern, Bo Hopkins…; Kirk Douglas acts and directs in this revisionist western about a US Marshal with political ambitions who leads a uniformed posse to hunt down a…
Rooster Cogburn (1975): Dir. Stuart Millar
Feat. John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn; John Wayne saddles up for another round of boozing and revenging in this follow–up to TRUE GRIT. Reigning in the one–eyed Marshall this…
Take a Hard Ride (1975): Dir. Anthony M. Dawson
Feat. Jim Brown, Lee Van Cleef, Fred Williamson…; Fun western cheapie with Jim Brown heading to Sonora to deliver a payroll....Lee Van Cleef has other ideas.
Billy Two Hats (1974): Dir. Ted Kotcheff
Feat. Gregory Peck, Desi Jr. Arnaz, Jack Warden…; Minor western with two bandits on the run from a racist sheriff after a botched bank robbery results in a death. Artful take on the genre is mostly…
Gun and the Pulpit, The (1974): Dir. Daniel Petrie
Feat. Marjoe Gortner, Slim Pickens, David Huddleston…; A television pilot for an unproduced series starring former evangelist and cult figure Marjoe Gortner as a gunslinger on the lam who impersonates a…
Little House on the Prairie (TV Series) (1974-1982): Feat. Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert; Gently focused account of a settler family building their 'little house' on the plains of Minnesota in the 1870s. While not exactly gritty, this is…
Spikes Gang, The (1974): Dir. Richard Fleischer
Feat. Lee Marvin, Gary Grimes, Charles Martin Smith…; Downbeat western with Lee Marvin as a wounded outlaw who finds shelter with two young runaways. Regaling them his colorful stories of life on the…
Chino (1973): Dir. John Sturges, Duilio Coletti
Feat. Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Marcel Bozzuffi…; Downbeat western casts a melancholic eye on the plight of a half Indian horse breeder and his struggles in face of racist townsfolk. Almost a…
Train Robbers, The (1973): Dir. Burt Kennedy
Feat. John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor; Light, traditional–style John Wayne Western following a gun hand who is hired by a widow to find the gold that was stolen by her late husband…
A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die! (Una Ragione per vivere e una per morire) (1972): Dir. Tonino Valerii
Feat. James Coburn, Telly Savalas, Bud Spencer…; Uneven spaghetti western set during the American Civil War concerns a private battle between a DIRY DOZEN style group and brutal Confederate…
Buck and the Preacher (1972): Dir. Sidney Poitier
Feat. Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Cameron Mitchell…; An intriguing 'black' Western set in the aftermath of the American Civil War, with a group of freed slaves setting out across the dangerous…
Chato's Land (1972): Dir. Michael Winner
Feat. Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, James Whitmore…; DEATH WISH in the desert with Bronson picking off rednecks in revenge for his wife's rape and murder. Michael Winner brings his customary…
Cowboys, The (1972): Dir. Mark Rydell
Feat. John Wayne, Bruce Dern; John Wayne loses his cattle ranchers to the gold–rush, so is forced to recruit 11 children, much to the delight of cowboy nasty, Bruce Dern.…
Culpepper Cattle Co., The (1972): Dir. Dick Richards
Feat. Gary Grimes, Billy Green Bush, Luke Askew…; Intriguing revisionist western with a young farm boy who always wanted to be a cowhand talking a tough trail boss into hiring him on a cattle drive.
Evil Roy Slade (1972): Dir. Jerry Paris
Feat. John Astin, Mickey Rooney, Henry Gibson…; Wacky western spoof made its way onto screens after originally flopping as TV pilot. John Astin (ADDAM'S FAMILY) plays the titular villain on…
Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, The (1972): Dir. Philip Kaufman
Feat. Robert Duvall, Cliff Robertson; Hard–edged Western tells the story of the fading Jesse James gang and their most daring and ill–fated bank raid. Duvall and Robertson…
Jeremiah Johnson (1972): Dir. Sydney Pollack
Feat. Robert Redford, Will Geer; A counter–culture sensibility pervades this rugged wilderness western, about a mountain man whose distaste for civilization sees him go off the…
Ulzana's Raid (1972): Dir. Robert Aldrich
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Bruce Davison; Burt Lancaster saddles up to hunt a band of Apache Indians who have escaped their impoverished reservation and have gone on the warpath. One of…
A Fistful of Dynamite (Duck, You Sucker!) (1971): Dir. Sergio Leone
Feat. Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli; Leone’s final spaghetti–western is a sprawling adventure set in the Mexican revolution, with fistfuls of action and comedy aplenty to rival…
Alias Smith and Jones (TV Series) (1971): Feat. Pete Duel, Ben Murphy; Two notorious outlaws receive amnesty on the condition they lay low for a year in this rumble–tumble western clearly inspired by the rogue…
Doc (1971): Dir. Frank Perry
Feat. Stacy Keach, Faye Dunaway, Harris Yulin; Underrated retelling of events leading up to the gunfight at the OK Corral with stronger emphasis on character than gunplay. This striking…
Gunfight, A (1971): Dir. Lamont Johnson
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Johnny Cash, Jane Alexander…; An inventive late western in the Sergio Leone tradition, concerning rival gunfighters Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash (in his debut) charging admission…
Hired Hand, The (1971): Dir. Peter Fonda
Feat. Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Verna Bloom…; An unusual directorial debut for Peter Fonda, who turns out a small masterpiece with this revisionist Western bathed in the hippie afterglow of the…
Hunting Party, The (1971): Dir. Don Medford
Feat. Oliver Reed, Candice Bergen, Gene Hackman; WILD BUNCH–wannabe with Gene Hackman hunting ruffian Oliver Reed and kidnapped wife Candice Bergan to the ends of the earth. A ridiculously…
Kill Django... Kill First (1971): Dir. Sergio Garrone
Feat. Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Aldo Sambrell, Krista Nell; Brutal spaghetti western with a ruthless cowboy teaming up with an old prospector to take down an unscrupulous banker and his network of killers.
Lucky Luke (1971): Hardcase western animation, from the creator of ASTERIX, centred on Lucky Luke the cowboy and his penchant for upholding law over the land.…
Man in the Wilderness, The (w/ The Deadly Trackers) (1971): Dir. Richard Serafian
Feat. Richard Harris, John Huston, Percy Herbert…; Double Bill Western starring Richard Harris. THE MAN IN THE WILDERNESS is based on the same source material that inspired the Oscar–winning…
Return Of Sabata (1971): Dir. Frank Kramer
Feat. Lee Van Cleef, Pedro Sanchez, Reiner Schone; Van Cleef takes the reins back from Brynner in the third and final outing for the ace gunslinger. This time out Sabata is a stunt rider with a…
Skin Game (1971): Dir. Paul Bogart
Feat. James Garner, Louis Jr. Gossett, Susan Clark…; Beguiling comedy about a pair of con–artists who pose as master and slave to deceive unsuspecting rednecks in the post–civil war era.
Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971): Dir. Burt Kennedy
Feat. James Garner, Suzanne Pleshette; James Garner again plays a con–man, this time mistaken for a notorious gunfighter. Good natured, entertaining satire.
They Call Me Trinity (1971): Dir. Enzo Barboni
Feat. Terence Hill, Bud Spencer; The film that triggered the careers of B–movie icons Terence Hill and Bud Spencer is an engaging spaghetti–western spoof. Something of a…
Wild Rovers (1971): Dir. Blake Edwards
Feat. William Holden, Ryan O'Neal, Karl Malden…; Saddle–sore cowpunchers William Holden and Ryan O'Neal safeguard their retirement by bank robbery, then head for the Mexican border.…
A Man Called Horse (1970): Dir. Elliot Silverstein
Feat. Richard Harris, Dame Judith Anderson; Notorious yet serious–minded late western is set around the capture by Sioux of an English nobleman and his subsequent initiation into the…
Adios, Sabata (1970): Dir. Frank Kramer
Feat. Yul Brynner, Pedro Sanchez, Dean Reed; Yul Brynner takes over the role of the ex–confederate master blaster, but the song remains essentially the same as Sabata aids Mexican…
Barquero (1970): Dir. Gordon Douglas
Feat. Lee Van Cleef, Warren Oates, Forrest Tucker…; Taut and bloody morality play set by a river's edge with Van Cleef as an ornery barge owner holding out against a band of mercenaries desperate to…
Chisum (1970): Dir. Andrew V. McLaglen
Feat. John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George…; A western starring John Wayne, very loosely based around events from the Lincoln County War in 1878, when a conflict arose over the control of goods…
Lawman (1970): Dir. Michael Winner
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Lee J. Cobb…; Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan are veteran adversaries in this violent '70s Western. Saddle–sore Lancaster is on the trail of a band of…
Little Big Man (1970): Dir. Arthur Penn
Feat. Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Martin Balsam…; Life–story of 121–yr old 'white' Indian Jack Crabb (Dustin Hoffman) at first lightly sketches his progress from Cheyenne brave to…
McMasters, The (Blood Crowd, The) (1970): Dir. Alf Kjellin
Feat. Burl Ives, Brock Peters, David Carradine…; A tough depiction of post–Civil War strife, with former slave Peters, who fought for the Union, trying to start over in the American southwest.…
Rio Lobo (1970): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. John Wayne, Jack Elam, Victor French…; The third and final Western collaboration between John Wayne, dir. Hawks and screenwriter Leigh Brackett (after RIO BRAVO and EL DORADO), this…
Soldier Blue (1970): Dir. Ralph Nelson
Feat. Peter Strauss, Donald Pleasence, Candice Bergen; Perhaps the most violent and disreputable of the ‘revisionist’ Westerns (initiated by THE WILD BUNCH), this depiction of mutual barbarity between…
There Was a Crooked Man (1970): Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda; Prison inmate Kirk Douglas matches wits with warden Henry Fonda in an attempt to escape. Curious mix of black comedy and melodrama.
Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970): Dir. Don Siegel
Feat. Clint Eastwood, Shirley Maclaine; Mexican–set western adventure following a mysterious nun pursued by the French Army who begins a mutually beneficial relationship with a…
Boot Hill (1969): Dir. Giuseppe Colizzi
Feat. Bud Spencer, Terence Hill, Woody Strode…; Typically raucous Hill and Spencer westerner with the un–dynamic duo doing battle with a tyrannical mayor.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969): Dir. George Roy Hill
Feat. Paul Newman, Robert Redford; This light and tasty yarn enjoyed huge popularity, partly due to the abounding charisma of Paul Newman and Robert Redford who together have lots of…
Charro (1969): Dir. Charles M. Warren
Feat. Elvis Presley, Ina Balin, Victor French; An Elvis curiosity which (mis)casts him in a dramatic Western. An unintentional hoot.
Death of a Gunfighter (1969): Dir. Alan Smithee
Feat. Richard Widmark, Lena Horne, Carroll O'Connor…; The first Alan Smithee film is a hard–bitten western with Widmark as an old–fashioned lawman in a town determined to modernise. The title…
Mackenna's Gold (1969): Dir. J. Lee Thompson
Feat. Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif; Sprawling Western adaptation of the best–selling Will Henry novel about an Arizona Marshal travelling to an unknown canyon of gold who gets…
Over the Hill Gang, The (1969): Dir. Jean Yarbrough
Feat. Walter Brennan, Edgar Buchanan, Pat O'Brien…; Laidback reunion for various horse–opera stars of old cleaning up a lawless town in the old west. Telemovie doesn't quite have a script worthy…
Paint Your Wagon (1969): Dir. Joshua Logan
Feat. Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg…; Entertaining musical epic based on the popular Lerner–Loewe play. Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood play gold prospectors who share a wife they…
Sabata (1969): Dir. Frank Kramer
Feat. Lee Van Cleef, William Berger, Pedro Sanchez; Berzerk spaghetti western with Van Cleef as the titular master gunfighter hunting robbers for rewards. Memorable is an understatement for this…
Support Your Local Sheriff (1969): Dir. Burt Kennedy
Feat. James Garner, Joan Hackett; The definitive Western spoof stars James Garner as a reluctant sheriff ordained to restore law and order to a village struck by goldrush fever.
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969): Dir. Abraham Polonsky
Feat. Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Robert Blake…; This Western comeback from blacklisted director Polonsky (FORCE OF EVIL) focuses (rather ironically) on the manhunt of Robert Blake, who here plays…
True Grit (1969): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. John Wayne, Kim Darby, Jeremy Slate…; John Wayne subtly sends–up his hardcase persona, playing an over–the–hill marshall who drags himself out of semi–retirement…
Undefeated, The (1969): Dir. Andrew V. McLaglen
Feat. John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Lee Meriwether; Amiable post–Civil War Western starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson as ex–Union and ex–Confederate Colonels who lead two disparate…
Wild Bunch, The (1969): Dir. Sam Peckinpah
Feat. William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan…; Sam Peckinpah's uncompromising Western bloodbath with William Holden and Ernest Borgnine leading the famous band of unruly marauders. Astonishing in…
Young Billy Young (1969): Dir. Burt Kennedy
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Angie Dickinson, Robert Walker Jnr…; Serviceable western has Mitchum hunting for the man who killed his son. Pic drifts along a little too amiably at times though the name cast to their…
Ace High (I quattro dell'Ave Maria) (1968): Dir. Giuseppe Colizzi
Feat. Eli Wallach, Terence Hill, Brock Peters…; Spaghetti western starring Eli Wallach as a bandit seeking revenge on those who framed him, teaming up with two bounty hunters and an acrobat in the…
Bandolero! (1968): Dir. Andrew V. McLaglen
Feat. James Stewart, Dean Martin, Raquel Welch…; Number three in James Stewart's Western repertoire centred on two brawling brothers who must find a way to work together to avoid the death sentence…
Death Rides A Horse (Da uomo a uomo) (1968): Dir. Giulio Petroni
Feat. Lee Van Cleef, John Phillip Law, Mario Brega…; 'Spaghetti Western' about the years–in–the–waiting revenge mission of an orphan to hunt his parent's bandit murderers. Although…
Five Card Stud (1968): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Inger Stevens; Western set in small–town Colorado where players from an ill–fated game of poker start to go missing, and murder is suspected. From the…
Great Silence, The (1968): Dir. Sergio Corbucci
Feat. Klaus Kinski, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frank Wolff; A 'pure' spaghetti western in the Italian language, with Trintignant playing a mute desperado being pursued by bounty–hunter Kinski through a…
Hang 'em High (1968): Dir. Ted Post
Feat. Clint Eastwood, Inger Stevens; A stateside attempt at a spaghetti Western. Clint Eastwood avenges a gang of vigilantes who wrongfully tried to hang him for murder.
Journey to Shiloh (1968): Dir. William Hale
Feat. James Caan, Michael Sarrazin, Harrison Ford…; Diverting counterculture western with seven fresh–faced young men embarking on a cross–country journey to join the confederate army.…
Long Ride From Hell, A (Vivo per la tua Morte) (1968): Dir. Camillo Bazzoni
Feat. Steve Reeves, Wayde Preston; An overlooked, tough–minded Spaghetti Western featuring the legendary Steve "Hercules" Reeves in his final screen performance, this tells the…
More Dead than Alive (1968): Dir. Robert Sparr
Feat. Clint Walker, Vincent Price, Anne Francis…; Western about a reformed killer who struggles with life on the outside. After trying to settle down as a rancher but failing to win people's…
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968): Dir. Sergio Leone
Feat. Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards Jr.…; A 13–minute credit sequence opens this riveting frontier saga, arguably the finest film of the genre. Charles Bronson steps in to Clint…
Shalako (1968): Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Feat. Brigitte Bardot, Sean Connery, Stephen Boyd…; Silver screen vamp Brigitte Bardot teams up with Sean Connery in this "damsel in distress" western, where a hunting party who've wandered onto the…
This Man Can't Die (1968): Dir. Gianfranco Baldanello
Feat. Guy Madison, Lucienne Bridou, Rik Battaglia; Mean and gritty spaghetti western following a government agent hot on the trial of the rich boss who murdered his family.
Villa Rides (1968): Dir. Buzz Kulik
Feat. Yul Brynner, Robert Mitchum, Herbert Lom…; Violent western set during the Mexican revolution, with Robert Mitchum playing a corrupt Texas gunrunner and pilot who joins Pancho Villa (Yul…
Will Penny (1968): Dir. Tom Gries
Feat. Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett, Donald Pleasence…; An impressive, unromanticised view of an aging cowpuncher – played by Charlton Heston in possibly his finest dramatic performance – as he…
Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The (1967): Dir. Sergio Leone
Feat. Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef; The third, the funniest and most violent of Clint's association with director Leone. Set during the Civil War, three low–lifes search for a…
High Chaparral, The (TV Series) (1967): Feat. Leif Erickson, Cameron Mitchell, Linda Cristal…; Conceived amidst the popularity of BONANZA, this classic TV western sought to replicate its success. The series centres on the ranch life of an…
Hour of the Gun (1967): Dir. John Sturges
Feat. James Garner, Jason Robards Jr., Robert Ryan…; Slowburning, melancholic revenge flick follows on from the events of Gunfight at the O.K Corral, with Garner as Wyatt Earp wrecking vengeance on the…
Rough Night in Jericho (1967): Dir. Arnold Laven
Feat. Dean Martin, Slim Pickens, Jean Simmons…; Dean Martin terrorizes a town and its helpless folk in this coarse, outdated western. Rough indeed.
Stranger on the Run (1967): Dir. Don Siegel
Feat. Henry Fonda, Anne Baxter, Michael Parks…; Henry Fonda is once again THE WRONG MAN in this tasty Don Siegel western. Fonda plays an embittered ex–con who falls foul of a ruthless…
War Wagon, The (1967): Dir. Burt Kennedy
Feat. John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel…; A light–hearted western with John Wayne playing a rancher who returns to his home town after being wrongfully imprisoned, to take revenge on…
A Bullet For the General (Quien Sabe?) (1966): Dir. Damiano Damiani
Feat. Gian Maria Volonte, Klaus Kinski, Martine Beswick; Spaghetti western set during the Mexican revolution where a gringo assassin infiltrates a gang of bandits in order to find and kill a rebel general.…
Alvarez Kelly (1966): Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Feat. William Holden, Richard Widmark; Set during the American Civil War, this violent western concerns a running feud between the leads over cattle–rustling activities.
Appaloosa, The (Southwest to Senora) (1966): Dir. Sidney J. Furie
Feat. Marlon Brando, Anjanette Comer, John Saxon…; Minor, though well–crafted and photographed Western set around Brando's attempts to recover his prized horse from a Mexican bandit (Saxon).
El Dorado (1966): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. John Wayne, Edward Asner, James Caan…; A poignant portrait of cowboys past their prime has boozy sherriff Robert Mitchum and aging gunman John Wayne team up to rid their town of cattle…
Few Dollars for Django (1966): Dir. Leon Klimovsky
Feat. Antonio De Teffe, Gloria Osuna, Frank Wolff; Imitation spaghetti–Western, several times removed from the Sergei Leone/Clint Eastwood model, let alone Franco Nero's original 'Django'.…
Hills Run Red, The (Un fiume di dollari ) (1966): Dir. Carlo Lizzani
Feat. Dan Duryea, Henry Silva, Thomas Hunter; Violent spaghetti western doesn't spare the sauce as two confederate soldiers flee the civil war with some ill–gotten loot. Duryea appears to…
Hombre (1966): Dir. Martin Ritt
Feat. Paul Newman, Fredric March, Richard Boone…; Paul Newman portrays the sombre hombre, a white man brought up by the Apache, who helps the red–neck passengers of an ambushed stagecoach.…
Nevada Smith (1966): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Brian Keith…; McQueen plays an orphaned half–breed in the West, who quests relentlessly for his parents' killers. Beautifully made in some stunning…
Professionals, The (1966): Dir. Richard Brooks
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan…; A taut precursor to THE WILD BUNCH, with a gang of American mercenaries making an incursion into Mexican territory to rescue a beautiful hostage…
Rage (1966): Dir. Gilberto Gazcón
Feat. Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, David Reynoso; Sweaty Mexican American thriller with Glenn Ford playing a self–pitying alcoholic doctor who lives alone in a border town, and finds himself…
Texas Across The River (1966): Dir. Michael Gordon
Feat. Dean Martin, Alain Delon, Rosemary Forsyth…; Gag–heavy Western spoof sees Joey Bishop get painted up 'native' and Dean Martin and Alain Delon facing off for the love of Rosemary Forsyth's…
Cat Ballou (1965): Dir. Elliot Silverstein
Feat. Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin; Amusing spoof of the genre with Jane Fonda as a school–teacher who becomes an outlaw after her father's untimely death. Lee Marvin won an Oscar…
Duel at Diablo (1965): Dir. Ralph Nelson
Feat. Sidney Poitier, James Garner; Violent, off–beat Cowboys–and–Indians conflict successfully revives the formula. With Sidney Poitier, and James Garner in a sober…
For a Few Dollars More (1965): Dir. Sergio Leone
Feat. Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volonte; An improvement on the original film with Eastwood encoring to the strains of that unmistakable Morricone score.
Glory Guys, The (1965): Dir. Arnold Laven
Feat. Andrew Duggan; A bigoted Civil War general and his subservient cavalry set about to obliterate the Native Indian populous in this atypical western, from the pen of…
Hallelujah Trail, The (1965): Dir. John Sturges
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Donald Pleasence…; Unusual western adventure about a wagon train of whisky that becomes the target of the US cavalry, the Temperance League and local Indians. Overlong…
Outlaws Is Coming, The (1965): Dir. Norman Maurer
Feat. Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Joe De Rita; In their last comic feature, the Three Stooges don cowboy hats for a slapstick romp in the Wild West.
Ride In the Whirlwind (1965): Dir. Monte Hellman
Feat. Jack Nicholson, Cameron Mitchell; A low–budget western shot back–to–back with THE SHOOTING and although the lesser of the two, has a few gritty moments. The VHS tape…
Shenandoah (1965): Dir. Andrew McLagen
Feat. James Stewart, Doug McClure; Moving melodrama in which James Stewart heads a Virginian family deeply affected by the American Civil War. Co–stars Doug 'The 'Virginian'…
Shooting, The (1965): Dir. Monte Hellman
Feat. Jack Nicholson, Warren Oates, Millie Perkins; Avant–garde cowboy tale co–written by and featuring a typically crazed performance from Jack Nicholson, plus a memorable and unexpected…
Sons of Katie Elder, The (1965): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer…; Big screen return for John Wayne after his cancer scare that tells the tale of the four unruly sons of frontier woman Katie Elder who set out to…
Viva Maria! (1965): Dir. Louis Malle
Feat. Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, George Hamilton; Louis Malle harnesses the assets of Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau, here playing two circus performing ‘Marias’ with a penchant for viva la…
Wild Wild West (TV Series) (1965): Dir. Burt Kennedy
Feat. Robert Conrad, Ross Martin; Two detectives in the turn–of–the–century Wild West fight weird adversaries with the then latest technology and a sense of humour.
Ballad of a Gunfighter (1964): Dir. Bill Ward
Feat. Marty Robbins, Robert Barron, Nestor Paiva; Minor western with singer Marty Robbins acquitting himself well as a prairie Robin Hood thieving from stage coaches in order to give to the poor.…
Fistful of Dollars, A (1964): Dir. Sergio Leone
Feat. Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, Gian Maria Volonte; Perhaps the most famous of the spaghetti Westerns, with Clint Eastwood influencing a generation of tough guy anti–heroes with his formidable,…
Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964): Dir. Richard Wilson
Feat. Yul Brynner, Janice Rule, Brad Dexter…; Set in New Mexico in the wake of the Civil War, a small bigoted town is beset by racist prejudices despite being outwardly pro–Union. Yul…
4 For Texas (Four for Texas) (1963): Dir. Robert Aldrich
Feat. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ursula Andress…; Frivolous comedy–western in which "Rat Pack–ers" Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin play friendly rivals who each make a bid for a waterfront…
Hud (1963): Dir. Martin Ritt
Feat. Paul Newman, Patricia Neal, Melvyn Douglas…; Handsome idler Paul Newman sows the seeds of trouble in this excellent modern–day Texas western, with his piercing eyes and calculated slouch…
McLintock! (1963): Dir. Andrew McLagen
Feat. John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Yvonne De Carlo…; TAMING OF THE SHREW goes West in this rambunctious battle of wits between cattle rancher (Wayne) and his firebrand wife (O’Hara), in search of a…
Geronimo (1962): Dir. Arnold Laven
Feat. Chuck Connors, Adam West; Despite the ridiculous casting of blue–eyed Connors as the legendary renegade Apache, this is a half decent B movie, loosely following the…
How the West Was Won (1962): Dir. Henry Hathaway, John Ford, George Marshall
Feat. James Stewart, Debbie Reynolds, Henry Fonda…; The history of the West through three generations, with three directors each contributing an instalment. Headed by a cast to match its ambitions and…
Lonely Are The Brave (1962): Dir. David Miller
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Walter Matthau…; Kirk Douglas is on top form in this Dalton Trumbo–penned 'psychological' Western, playing an anti–establishment cowboy who purposefully…
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (1962): Dir. John Ford
Feat. James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles…; A dream cast and director deliver the classic that one would expect. Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne compete for Vera Miles but unite against Lee Marvin…
Ride the High Country (1962): Dir. Sam Peckinpah
Feat. Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea; Perhaps the last hoorah of a great western tradition, directed with supreme artistry by Sam Peckinpah. Scott and McCrea play retiring lawmen who…
Comancheros, The (1961): Dir. Michael Curtiz
Feat. John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Ina Balin…; John Wayne stars (and served as an uncredited director when Michael Curtiz fell ill) in this Western set in Texas in 1843. A Texas ranger arrests a…
Deadly Companions, The (1961): Dir. Sam Peckinpah
Feat. Brian Keith, Maureen O'Hara, Steve Cochran; Sam Peckinpah's debut film is a typically unorthodox western, that while uneven reveals the quirky characters and emotive nostalgia of his later…
Last Sunset, The (1961): Dir. Robert Aldrich
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson, Dorothy Malone…; Melodramatic Western set against the backdrop of the Texas/Mexico border stars Kirk Douglas as a fugitive hounded by Rock Hudson's sheriff, only to…
Misfits, The (1961): Dir. John Huston
Feat. Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe; Stark melodrama was to be the curtain call for both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. They are two of a group of cheerless souls roping wild mustangs…
One Eyed Jacks (1961): Dir. Marlon Brando
Feat. Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado…; Marlon Brando is an outlaw battling a sheriff in this psychological Western played out against a brooding landscape. Bursts of violence punctuate the…
Singer Not the Song, The (1961): Dir. Roy Ward Baker
Feat. John Mills, Dirk Bogarde, Mylene Demongeot…; Philosophical western is an oddity amongst the Rank canon with Bogarde as a campy Mexican bandit terrorising a catholic priest Mills. Homoerotic…
Two Rode Together (1961): Dir. John Ford
Feat. James Stewart, Richard Widmark, Shirley Jones; Overlooked Jimmy Stewart and Richard Widmark starrer with the master of the genre at the helm.
Alamo, The (1960): Dir. John Wayne
Feat. John Wayne; Duke's sprawling historical epic centres around a small fort where Texas fought for its independence. Slow pace builds to an exciting climax.
Bonanza (TV Series) (1960): Dir. Lewis Allen, Arthur Lubin
Feat. Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Pernell Roberts…; Iconic, larger–than–life western TV show set near Virginia City, Nevada, in which Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and his sons help protect…
Comanche Station (1960): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Randolph Scott, Nancy Gates, Claude Akins…; Last of the Boetticher/Scott westerns with Randolph Scott again essaying the taciturn hero brilliantly. Here he's attempting to resuce saving a…
Flaming Star (1960): Dir. Don Siegel
Feat. Elvis Presley, Barbara Eden, Dolores Del Rio; Elvis Presley plays a half Native American rancher whose neighbourhood starts getting raided by people from the same tribe he is descended from, in…
Hell Bent for Leather (1960): Dir. George Sherman
Feat. Audie Murphy, Felicia Farr, Stephen McNally…; Another "mistaken identity" western for Murphy. This time he's an honest horse–trader wanted for a murder he didn't commit pursued across Texas…
Heller in Pink Tights (1960): Dir. George Cukor
Feat. Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn; Dysfunctional stagecoach high jinx with Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren fleeing with a theatre company into the American's heartland. While lush as a…
Magnificent Seven, The (1960): Dir. John Sturges
Feat. Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson…; Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson head other famous faces–to–be in this popular remake of Kurosawa's THE SEVEN SAMURAI.
One Foot in Hell (1960): Dir. James B. Clark
Feat. Alan Ladd, Don Murray, Dan O'Herlihy…; Alan Ladd's final western –scripted by Aaron Spelling – has him cast as a psychotic killer exacting revenge on a small town by assuming…
Sundowners, The (1960): Dir. Fred Zinnemann
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov…; Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr play a devoted couple in 1920s Australia who come to a crossroads over their gypsy lifestyle. Affectionate saga about…
Unforgiven, The (1960): Dir. John Huston
Feat. Audrey Hepburn, Burt Lancaster; Audrey Hepburn plays an adopted ranchers daughter who becomes the focus of a racist furore when her Indian roots are discovered.
Day of the Outlaw (1959): Dir. Andre De Toth
Feat. Robert Ryan, Burl Ives, Tina Louise…; Bleak snowbound western has a gang of outlaws terrorizing the inhabitants of a small farming town. Shot in stark black and white this is a…
Gunfight at Dodge City, The (1959): Dir. Joseph M. Newman
Feat. Joel McCrea, Julie Adams, John McIntire…; Lean and mean western with Joel McCrea as a reluctant sheriff struggling to restore order to town besieged with corruption and violence.
Horse Soldiers, The (1959): Dir. John Ford
Feat. John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers; Set around a Yankee incursion into Rebel territory during the American Civil War, this rates about average against Dir. Ford's other action films. …
Last Train from Gun Hill (1959): Dir. John Sturges
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Carolyn Jones…; Underrated American Western telling the tale of a U.S. Marshal seeking revenge in the town of 'Gun Hill' after the racially charged rape and murder…
No Name on the Bullet (1959): Dir. Jack Arnold
Feat. Audie Murphy, Charles Drake, Joan Evans…; Considered Audie Murphy's strongest Western, he plays a gun–for–hire who rides into a town where the leading citizens are justifiably…
Rawhide (TV Series) (1959- 1966): Feat. Clint Eastwood; Clint Eastwood steals the show as Rowdy Yates in this 60's cattle–driving TV show.
Ride Lonesome (1959): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Randolph Scott, James Best, Lee Van Cleef…; Randolph Scott stars as a bounty hunter tasked with escorting a killer back to the gallows, all the while using him as bait to lure his murderous…
Rio Bravo (1959): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson…; John Wayne plays a sheriff who has captured a high profile bandit. With the state Marshall many days away and a gang of thugs planning a raid from…
Warlock (1959): Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Feat. Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn…; A–grade western set in the lawless town of Warlock where the citizens hire a notorious gunman to keep the peace who brings with him his own set…
Big Country, The (1958): Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston; A big Western – where feuding families with rival patriarchs fight it out to the bitter end.
Bravados, The (1958): Dir. Henry King
Feat. Gregory Peck, Joan Collins, Lee Van Cleef…; Peck sets out on the grim task of annihilating the rapists and killers of his wife in this taut, if occasionally obvious Western. As Peck works his…
Buchanan Rides Alone (1958): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Randolph Scott, Craig Stevens, Barry Kelley…; Randolph Scott plays a loner who finds himself caught up in a violent feud in this taut Budd Boetticher western.
Law and Jake Wade, The (1958): Dir. John Sturges
Feat. Robert Taylor, Richard Widmark, Patricia Owens…; Western from director John Sturges (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN) about a reformed town marshal whose old criminal partner starts stalking him while he's on…
Left Handed Gun, The (1958): Dir. Arthur Penn
Feat. Paul Newman; Influential version of the Billy the Kid story, with Paul Newman portraying the Kid in an ambiguous light, unstable and homosexually repressed. Has…
Man of the West (1958): Dir. Anthony Mann
Feat. Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J. Cobb…; Gary Cooper stars in this battle of nerves as a former gunman forced by his old gang to engage in their criminal activity. Solid, intelligent film…
Ride a Crooked Trail (1958): Dir. Jesse Hibbs
Feat. Audie Murphy, Gia Scala, Walter Matthau…; Routine western with Murphy as a bank robber mistaken for a famed U.S Marshall and going along with the ruse. Some nice comedic touches and location…
Sheepman, The (Stranger with a Gun) (1958): Dir. George Marshall
Feat. Glenn Ford, Shirley Maclaine, Leslie Nielsen…; Lighthearted western with Glenn Ford as a hard–bitten sheep farmer duking it out with cattle baron Nielsen and Shirley Maclaine as the object…
Sheriff of Fractured Jaw, The (1958): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Jayne Mansfield, Kenneth More, Henry Hull…; In this goofy western, Jayne Mansfield plays a buxom saloon proprietor who lassos a clueless Englishman when he becomes the sheriff of the titular…
Terror in a Texas Town (1958): Dir. Joseph H. Lewis
Feat. Sterling Hayden, Sebastian Cabot; Eccentric western with Sterling Hayden as a Swedish whaler –armed with harpoon – seeking to exact revenge on the greedy oil baron who…
Wanted Dead or Alive (TV Series) (1958): Feat. Steve McQueen; Riding on the back of success in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, Steve McQueen lends his star charisma to this TV western series as bounty hunter Josh…
3:10 to Yuma (1957): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Glenn Ford, Van Heflin; Outlaw Glenn Ford is escorted via train to his trial in Yuma by rookie bounty–man Van Heflin. A suspenseful yarn made of Elmore Leonard's novel.
Decision at Sundown (1957): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Randolph Scott, John Carroll, Karen Steele…; Another fruitful Boetticher/Scott collaboration is the grimmest of the lot with Scott on the trail of the man who drove his wife to suicide.
Gun for a Coward (1957): Dir. Abner Biberman
Feat. Fred MacMurray, Jeffrey Hunter, Janice Rule…; Character driven western with the tragic Jeffrey Hunter as a peaceful cowboy whose non–violent manner saddles him with a reputation for…
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957): Dir. John Sturges
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming; The legendary Doc Holliday–Wyatt Earp clash with the Clayton gang with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in the leading spurs. A textbook Western.
Have Gun, Will Travel (TV Series) (1957): Feat. Richard Boone, Hal Needham; Popular classic Western series about the adventures of professional gunfighter Paladin and his manservant Hey Boy.
Man in the Shadow, The (1957): Dir. Jack Arnold
Feat. Jeff Chandler, Orson Welles, Ben Alexander; Socially–conscious Western thriller starring Orson Welles as a property kingpin who provides most of the town a thriving economy. But when his…
Night Passage (1957): Dir. James Neilson
Feat. James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea…; A 'railroad western' with good guy Stewart defending the tracks against a gang of desperados led by Duryea. Tough cast give some distinction to a…
Robbery Under Arms (1957): Dir. Jack Lee
Feat. Peter Finch, Ronald Lewis, Laurence Naismith…; Seminal Aussie western with Peter Finch as charismatic outlaw Captain Starlight leading two brothers astray after they join his roving band of…
Run of the Arrow (1957): Dir. Samuel Fuller
Feat. Rod Steiger, Brian Keith, Charles Bronson…; Technicolour western set in the aftermath of the American Civil War, with Confederate veteran Rod Steiger going rogue and joining the Sioux, but…
Tall T, The (1957): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Randolph Scott, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Sullivan; The formidable Budd Boetticher–Randolph Scott alliance delivered this lean, mean stagecoach thriller – probably the finest of the duo’s…
Tin Star, The (1957): Dir. Anthony Mann
Feat. Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins, Betsy Palmer…; Anthony Perkins stars in one of his earliest roles playing a young sheriff eager to prove himself in a small town, who accepts help and advice from a…
True Story of Jesse James, The (1957): Dir. Nicholas Ray
Feat. Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Hope Lange…; Remake of the 1939 film Jesse James, but hardly a true story, as it is only loosely based on the notorious outlaw's life and his relationship to…
Wagon Train (TV Series) (1957-1965): Feat. Frank McGrath, Terry Wilson, Robert Horton…; Classic adventures of a wagon train and its varied passengers as they journey from Missouri to California in the aftermath of the Civil War. Wagons,…
Backlash (1956): Dir. John Sturges
Feat. Richard Widmark, Donna Reed, William Campbell…; Richard Widmark and Donna Reed play the tough–talkin', rootin–tootin leads in this gritty horse opera, as they both seek vengeance for…
Fastest Gun Alive, The (1956): Dir. Russell Rouse
Feat. Glenn Ford, Broderick Crawford, Jeanne Crain…; Modest–scale Western with Ford playing a reformed gunfighter who is not allowed to leave his past behind.
Friendly Persuasion (1956): Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins…; Gary Cooper headlines this sentimental yet atmospheric and beautifuly crafted drama about a Quaker family in southern Indiana whose pacifist beliefs…
Gunslinger (1956): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. John Ireland, Beverly Garland, Allison Hayes; In this cut–price Roger Corman western, town ain’t big enough for a touch–as–nails lady marshall, and her nemesis, a spiteful…
King and Four Queens, The (1956): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Clark Gable, Eleanor Parker, Jean Willes…; Wily comedy–western with con man Gable ingratiating himself with the cantankerous mother of four outlaws and their beautiful widows in order to…
Last Wagon, The (1956): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Richard Widmark, Felicia Farr, Susan Kohner…; Racially charged western with a vengeful Widmark and a wagon full of bigots under siege from Indians.
Lone Ranger, The (1956): Dir. Stuart Heisler
Feat. Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels, Lyle Bettger…; Modest but proficient movie spinoff from the popular 1950s TV series, with the masked one (Moore) and Tonto (Silverheels) taking on a rancher who is…
Mohawk (1956): Dir. Kurt Neumann
Feat. Scott Brady, Rita Gam; White men playing Indians is typical of this hokey affair, which is about as ethnically sensitive as Adolf Hitler. In retrospect, though, it's a…
Pardners (1956): Dir. Norman Taurog
Feat. Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Agnes Moorehead; Comic–partners Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis saddle–up for a jaunt in the Old West.
Searchers, The (1956): Dir. John Ford
Feat. John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles…; A grand example of what made this such a popular genre. A disturbed John Wayne treks the untamed wilderness in a five–year odyssey to kill the…
Seven Men From Now (1956): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin…; Revered, obscure Western from iconoclast Budd Boetticher: Randolph Scott plays a lone rider charged with bringing seven ruthless bank robbers to…
Star in the Dust (1956): Dir. Charles Haas
Feat. John Agar, Richard Boone, Mamie Van Doren…; Psychological western with Agar as a sheriff caught between farmers and cattlemen who disagree the impending execution of a gunman.
Walk the Proud Land (1956): Dir. Jesse Hibbs
Feat. Audie Murphy, Anne Bancroft, Charles Drake; Considered one of Audie Murphy's best Westerns, based on the true story of an Indian agent who is sent to try a new approach to peace with the…
Gunsmoke (TV Series) (1955): Feat. James Arness; James Arness plays Marshal Matt Dillon protecting Dodge City from roaming gunslingers in this seminal TV show – the Grandaddy of TV…
Kentuckian, The (1955): Dir. Burt Lancaster
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Dianne Foster, Diana Lynn…; Western directed by and starring Burt Lancaster, an adaptation of the novel The Gabriel Horn by Felix Holt. Beautifully shot in Kentucky and…
Man from Laramie, The (1955): Dir. Anthony Mann
Feat. James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp…; An angst–ridden James Stewart seeks retribution on arms dealers whose illegal trade resulted in the ambushing of his brother's cavalry patrol.…
Man with the Gun (1955): Dir. Richard Wilson
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Jan Sterling, Karen Sharpe…; Brawny western with Mitchum typically taciturn as a mercenary hired by frightened citizens to vanquish a pack of murderous gunfighters.
Man Without A Star (1955): Dir. King Vidor
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor; Character–driven Western sees Kirk Douglas plays a laconic gunslinger with a dark–side, who drifts from scrape to scrape while working…
Tall Men, The (1955): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Clark Gable, Jane Russell, Robert Ryan…; Effortlessly enjoyable western with Gable as a Confederate who signs up for a grand cattle drive from Texas to Montana, Jane Russell and Robert Ryan…
Violent Men, The (1955): Dir. Rudolph Mate
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Glenn Ford, Edward G. Robinson…; Barbara Stanwyck, Glenn Ford and Edward G. Robinson transform a standard conflict of the land into a notable diversion.
White Feather (1955): Dir. Robert D. Webb
Feat. Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, John Lund…; Superior liberal western, scripted by Delmer Dawes, concerns the surrender of the last Cheyenne warriors to the U.S. government. Though Wagner…
Broken Lance (1954): Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Feat. Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters…; King Lear loosely transposed as a gripping Western melodrama with proud yet stubborn patriarch Spencer Tracy at odds with his ungrateful sons over…
Davy Crockett - King of the Wild Frontier (1954): Dir. Norman Foster
Feat. Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen, William Bakewell…; TV version of the quintessential American story, which created such a phenomenal interest when screened that it was released in a movie version. Fess…
Drum Beat (1954): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Alan Ladd, Audrey Dalton, Marisa Pavan…; Fine western with Indian fighter Ladd sent by President Grant to negotiate a treaty with the Medoc Tribe. Charles Bronson's first major role.
Far Country, The (1954): Dir. Anthony Mann
Feat. James Stewart, Walter Brennan; The Yukon Ranges provide the unforgiving backdrop to this prototypical Anthony Mann western, in which James Stewart must battle the elements and…
Garden of Evil (1954): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark, Susan Hayward…; A trio of American adventurers marooned in rural Mexico are recruited by a beautiful woman to rescue her husband from Apaches. In Cinemascope.
Ride Clear of Diablo (1954): Dir. Jesse Hibbs
Feat. Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Russell Johnson…; Classic B–movie western following a railroad surveyor who forms an unlikely alliance with a notorious gunslinger to avenge the death of his…
River of No Return (1954): Dir. Otto Preminger
Feat. Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum; A Western adventure set aboard a river raft in which the frayed temperaments of Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum endure the perils of raging water…
Track of the Cat (1954): Dir. William A. Wellman
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright, Tab Hunter…; Claustrophobic allegorical western finds a feuding family snowbound and under siege from a less than benevolent panther. Certainly something of a…
Vera Cruz (1954): Dir. Robert Aldrich
Feat. Gary Cooper, Burt Lancaster; Humour and suspense reflect the uneasy alliance of Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster who collaborate to depose a corrupt Emperor in 1860s Mexico.
Calamity Jane (1953): Dir. David Butler
Feat. Doris Day, Howard Keel; Big, rousing musical western, featuring Doris Day as the tomboy heroine, who falls for easygoing Wild Bill Hickok (Howard Keel).
Gun Fury (1953): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, Philip Carey…; Attractively shot revenge western shot on location in Arizona, with Rock Hudson going after the ruthless gang that stole his fiancé and left him for…
Hondo (1953): Dir. John Farrow
Feat. John Wayne, Geraldine Page; A Louis L'Amour story gives John Wayne a chance to swagger his stuff as a wily half–Apache cavalry scout who finds and assists Geraldine Page,…
Johnny Guitar (1953): Dir. Nicholas Ray
Feat. Joan Crawford, Mercedes McCambridge, Sterling Hayden…; Cowgirls Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge come head to head over the men they love in this wild Western soap opera, brimming with quirky…
Lawless Breed, The (1953): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Rock Hudson, Julie Adams, Mary Castle…; Western based on the life of outlaw John Wesley Hardin (Rock Hudson), a former gunfighter who creates a manuscript detailing his life and adventures,…
Man from the Alamo, The (1953): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Glenn Ford, Julie Adams, Chill Wills…; Glenn Ford stars in a sprawling but nuanced Western from the legendary Budd Boetticher that hurtles from the battle of the Alamo to a gripping wagon…
Naked Spur, The (1953): Dir. Anthony Mann
Feat. James Stewart, Janet Leigh, Robert Ryan…; Cited as one of the Great Westerns; a tough, hard little film about self–styled bounty hunter Stewart trying to capture Ryan, who stirs tension…
Redhead From Wyoming, The (1953): Dir. Lee Sholem
Feat. Maureen O'Hara, Alex Nicol; Breakout Western for Maureen O’Hara – usually second fiddle to John Wayne – here as the plucky proprietress of saloon who’s equally adept on…
Seminole (1953): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Rock Hudson, Barbara Hale, Anthony Quinn…; Superlative Western set against the backdrop of 1835 Florida, where Rock Hudson plays a West Pointer Lieutenant who, on the insistence of Richard…
Shane (1953): Dir. George Stevens
Feat. Alan Ladd, Jack Palance, Emile Meyer; Former gunfighter Alan Ladd comes to the defence of homesteaders menaced by Jack Palance (satanically clad all in black). Classic Western is splendid…
Bend of the River (1952): Dir. Anthony Mann
Feat. James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Rock Hudson…; A gritty and compelling showdown on the Oregon Trail between settler James Stewart and double–crosser Arthur Kennedy. Beautiful Rocky Mountain…
Cimarron Kid, The (1952): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Audie Murphy, Beverly Tyler; Budd Boetticher directs Audie Murphy as a cowboy who is unjustly accused of robbing a train but then re–joins his old gang and becomes a…
Hangman's Knot (1952): Dir. Roy Huggins
Feat. Randolph Scott, Donna Reed, Claude Jr. Jarman…; Handsome technicolour western with Randolph Scott leading a band of Confederate soldiers who are unaware that the war is over, and attack a wagon of…
High Noon (1952): Dir. Fred Zinnemann
Feat. Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell…; Retiring marshal Gary Cooper faces a crisis of conscience when he learns an old adversary wants revenge. A classic that derives its impact through…
Horizons West (1952): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Robert Ryan, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson; Western with shades of film noir and gangster pic, set in post–civil war Texas, where two confederate soldier brothers return to their family…
Lusty Men, The (1952): Dir. Nicholas Ray
Feat. Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Kennedy; A nicely close–to–the–ground take on the life of the rodeo rider – and one of Wim Wenders' favourite films – this…
Rancho Notorious (1952): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy, Mel Ferrer; Lively and interesting Western about a vengeful gunman who search brings him to the ranch of sultry saloon mistress Marlene Dietrich.
Viva Zapata! (1952): Dir. Elia Kazan
Feat. Marlon Brando, Anthony Quinn; Stirring treatment of the life of the Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata (Marlon Brando) who rose from peasanthood to presidency in the…
Rawhide (1951): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, Dean Jagger…; Tense western with a stagecoach stop employee and a stranded woman traveler finding themselves at the mercy of four desperate outlaws intent on…
Roy Rogers Show, The (TV Series) (1951-1957): Feat. Roy Rogers, Dale Evans; Much–loved early TV classic with 'King of the Cowboys' Roy Rogers hanging out on the Double R Ranch with Trigger ('The Smartest Horse in the…
Annie Get Your Gun (1950): Dir. George Sidney
Feat. Betty Hutton, Howard Keel; The much–filmed story of Annie Oakley, star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, is the subject of this Irving Berlin musical, with Betty Hutton…
Bitter Springs (1950): Dir. Ralph Smart
Feat. Chips Rafferty, Tommy Trinder; Racially dubious Australian bush western about a 20th century settler (Chips Rafferty) trying to make a living off land shared by an Aboriginal tribe.
Broken Arrow (1950): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. James Stewart, Jeff Chandler, Debra Paget; This influenced a trend in offering a more sympathetic view of Indian culture. James Stewart is amiable as always as an army scout who arbitrates…
Cisco Kid, The (TV Series) (1950-1956): Feat. Duncan Renaldo, Leo Carrillo; A generous selection of episodes from the 1950s TV Western serial, in which the semi–masked 'Cisco Kid' (Renaldo) redistributes justice and…
Comanche Territory (1950): Dir. George Sherman
Feat. Maureen O'Hara, Macdonald Carey, Will Geer…; Solid enough B Western with Carey as Jim Bowie sent by the government to negotiate a treaty with an Indian tribe. Double–crossing ensues, but…
Furies, The (1950): Dir. Anthony Mann
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Huston, Wendell Corey; Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Huston lock horns in this colossal, psychosexual western, notable for its Oedipal complex and Freudian horseplay. Anthony…
Gunfighter, The (1950): Dir. Henry King
Feat. Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell…; Right up there with the best cowboy flicks is this bleak yet brilliant tale of a retiring gunfighter (Gregory Peck) who is challenged by a young punk…
Rio Grande (1950): Dir. John Ford
Feat. John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson; Concluding instalment of John Ford's cavalry trilogy has John Wayne in more trouble with Indians on the Mexican border. Even minor Ford stands tall.
Wagon Master, The (1950): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Ben Johnson; Pioneering saga starring Ben Johnson. A personal favourite of its director.
Winchester '73 (1950): Dir. Anthony Mann
Feat. James Stewart, Shelley Winters; Lean, mean, and superbly photographed, this helped repopularise the Western in the '50s. Stewart wins a rare 'perfect' rifle, which is subsequently…
Man from Colorado, The (1949): Dir. Henry Levin
Feat. Glenn Ford, William Holden, Ellen Drew; Gritty technicolor psycho–drama set during the American Civil War starring Glenn Ford as a Union officer who becomes addicted to killing.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949): Dir. John Ford
Feat. John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar…; Cavalry officer John Wayne is about to retire on the eve of impending war with Indians. Followed by RIO GRANDE.
Streets of Laredo (1949): Dir. Leslie Fenton
Feat. William Holden, Macdonald Carey, Mona Freeman…; Middling western with Holden as an outlaw who separates from his two partners in crime when they join the Texas Rangers, and he continues to commit…
Fort Apache (1948): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Shirley Temple; The first film of Ford's cavalry trilogy tells of a maverick martinet (Henry Fonda) at odds with his peers and the Injuns. Followed by SHE WORE A…
Paleface, The (1948): Dir. Norman Z. McLeod
Feat. Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Robert Armstrong…; One of Bob Hope's most popular comedies is a western spoof in which he stars as a hapless dentist who through a series of misfortunes winds up…
Rachel and the Stranger (1948): Dir. Norman Foster
Feat. William Holden, Loretta Young, Robert Mitchum; Western 'rom–com' with husband William Holden and 'stranger' Robert Mitchum competing for the affections of Loretta Young ('Rachel') towards…
Red River (1948): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru; Another contender for the best of the west. John Wayne is in prime mode as a tyrannical rancher whose adopted son is determined to prove his…
Three Godfathers (3 Godfathers) (1948): Dir. John Ford
Feat. John Wayne; Sentimental, exquisitely–shot Western parable of the Three Wise Men with John Wayne leading the outlaws who adopt a newborn baby.
Whispering Smith (1948): Dir. Leslie Fenton, Mel Epstein
Feat. Alan Ladd, Robert Preston, Brenda Marshall…; Swish, action–packed western features Alan Ladd chasing train robbers and sentimental skirt. Good stuff.
Yellow Sky (1948): Dir. William A. Wellman
Feat. Gregory Peck, Anne Baxter, Richard Widmark…; Tough–minded western shot largely in Death Valley has Anne Baxter coming across a band of bank robbing bandits taking refuge in a neighboring…
Angel and the Badman (1947): Dir. James Edward Grant
Feat. John Wayne, Gail Russell; Classic model Western with big John Wayne as a gunfighter tamed by the love of a good woman.
Last of the Redmen (1947): Dir. George Sherman
Feat. Jon Hall, Michael O'Shea; Economy–sized take on the Last Of The Mohicans story.
Canyon Passage (1946): Dir. Jacques Tourneur
Feat. Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward…; Jacques Tourneur's grand western is a sub–plot heavy ode to community. Dana Andrews is a fledgling businessman whose friendship with…
Duel in the Sun (1946): Dir. King Vidor
Feat. Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten…; Brothers Gregory Peck and James Cotton feud over the family ranch and legacy. Lauded by the likes of Martin Scorsese for its visual splendour, this…
My Darling Clementine (1946): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Henry Fonda, Walter Brennan; Masterful retelling of the O.K. Corrall incident by John Ford, is also a note–perfect rendition of many classical Western themes. Henry Fonda…
Yearling, The (1946): Dir. Clarence Brown
Feat. Claude Jr. Jarman, Jane Wyman, Gregory Peck; Delightfully quaint fable of childhood, has innocent lad Claude Jarman Jnr raising a pet deer in backwoods Florida, while Ma and Pa, scrape together…
San Antonio (1945): Dir. David Butler, Robert Florey
Feat. Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith, S.Z. Sakall…; In the middle of a range war a tough dance hall girl falls for a chivalrous cowboy trying to bring law and order to San Antonio.
Buffalo Bill (1944): Dir. William A. Wellman
Feat. Joel McCrea, Maureen O'Hara, Linda Darnell; Fictionalized story of one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, from his days as an army scout to his…
Can't Help Singing (1944): Dir. Frank Ryan
Feat. Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige, Akim Tamiroff; Sugary sweet technicolour western musical based on the book "Girl of the Overland Trail" by Samuel J. and Curtis B. Warshawsky. Set during the…
Tall in the Saddle (1944): Dir. Edwin L. Marin
Feat. John Wayne, Ella Raines, Ward Bond; An action–packed John Wayne Oater in which he plays a tough, quiet cowboy who arrives at an Arizona town to find his boss has been murdered and…
Outlaw, The (1943): Dir. Howard Hughes, Howard Hawks
Feat. Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell…; Off–beat retelling of the legend of Billy the Kid with Jane Russell's cleavage outraging the censors of the day. Now a tame curiosity.
Ox Bow Incident, The (Strange Incident) (1943): Dir. William A. Wellman
Feat. Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes…; Superlative moral drama in a Western setting, where three lynched cattle rustlers are later proven innocent by the upstanding Henry Ford. Although…
Spoilers, The (1942): Dir. Ray Enright
Feat. Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, John Wayne; A gold–rush Western set in Alaska in which gold–miner John Wayne tussles it out with corrupt commissioner Randolph Scott over his claims…
They Died With Their Boots On (1941): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland; Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland lead a great cast for the life and times of General Custer. Part romantic comedy, part tragedy, done in grandest…
Western Union (1941): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Robert Young, Randolph Scott, Dean Jagger…; Outlaw Vance Shaw tries to escape his dark past by protecting the good citizens building telegraph poles in the Great Plains from bandits, only to…
When the Daltons Rode (1941): Dir. George Marshall
Feat. Randolph Scott, Kay Francis, Brian Donlevy…; Stirring western centred around a lawyer forced to choose between loyalty to his friends or the word of law when the infamous Dalton Gang are framed…
Arizona (1940): Dir. Wesley Ruggles
Feat. Jean Arthur, William Holden, Warren William; Epic frontier Western set in Tuscon, Arizona in early 1860's, where an independent, tough–as–nails pioneer woman aspires to be a cattle…
My Little Chickadee (1940): Dir. Edward Cline
Feat. Mae West, W.C. Fields; Mae West and W.C. Fields profitably co–exist in this formula story of marital shenanigans in the Wild West, garlanded with lunatic gags, dirty…
North West Mounted Police (1940): Dir. Cecil B. DeMille
Feat. Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll, Lon Jr. Chaney…; Technicolour western set in 1885, with Gary Cooper playing a Texas Ranger who travels to Canada to arrest a fugitive who is inciting rebellion…
Return of Frank James (1940): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Jackie Cooper; Worthy sequel to JESSE JAMES with Henry Fonda reprising his role of Frank, now out to avenge the death of his brother.
Santa Fe Trail, The (1940): Dir. Michael Curtiz
Feat. Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Olivia de Havilland…; Set in the leadup to the American Civil War, this professionally executed Western has future Confederate general Jeb Stuart (Flynn) lead the charge…
Westerner, The (1940): Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan; Gary Cooper stars in accomplished Texan yarn concerning land disputes. Most impressive, though, is Walter Brennan in an Oscar–winning…
Destry Rides Again (1939): Dir. George Marshall
Feat. James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Una Merkel; James Stewart is once again a mild–mannered law–man while Marlene Dietrich makes her most sensational Hollywood turn as exotic saloon…
Dodge City (1939): Dir. Michael Curtiz
Feat. Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland; Lusty western with Errol Flynn cutting the mustard as a cowboy hero. Olivia De Havilland is his gracious co–star once again.
Jesse James (1939): Dir. Henry King
Feat. Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly; Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda play the legendary James brothers in this somewhat romanticised version of their fable. Sequel: THE RETURN OF FRANK…
Stagecoach (1939): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Claire Trevor, John Wayne, John Carradine; As the first fully realised Western, this blazed the trail for all subsequent efforts, as well as carrying John Wayne to stardom. Panoramic…
Way Out West (1937): Dir. James W Horne
Feat. Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy; One of Laurel and Hardy's best features, spreading their brand of chaos into the Old West.
Plainsman, The (1936): Dir. Cecil B. DeMille
Feat. Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur; A brash, implausible Western from grand master DeMille: Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur run amok in a spectacle that wildly bastardizes the Old West and…
Texas Rangers, The (1936): Dir. King Vidor
Feat. Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie, Jean Parker…; High–end, intricately plotted Western from King Vidor about three outlaws in a scheme to pose as Texas Rangers and gain the advantage in…
Trail of the Lonesome Pine, The (1936): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. Fred MacMurray, Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda; This pioneering colour film is an engaging old–fashioned Western tale of loyalty, family and romance set against an age–old feud between…
Annie Oakley (1935): Dir. George Stevens
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Melvyn Douglas…; Sharpshooter Barbara Stanwyck joins Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for friendly rivalry with resident top gun Preston Foster. A romantic–comic…
Barbary Coast (1935): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea, Edward G. Robinson…; Set as far out west as a Western can go – San Fransisco, circa the 1850s gold–rush days. Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrea are two…
Miracle Rider, The (1935): Dir. B. Reeves Eason, Armand Schaefer
Feat. Tom Mix, Joan Gale, Charles Middleton; Fifteen–part serial Western stars former silent star Tom Mix in a highly energetic role as a Texas Ranger who must protect a group of native…
Phantom Empire, The (1935): Feat. Gene Autry, Frankie Darro, Smiley Burnette; Oddball children's serial from the thirties has singing cowboy Autry discovering the last remaining inhabitants of the lost continent of Mu living…
Cimarron (1931): Dir. Wesley Ruggles
Feat. Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor; Set during the Oklahoma Land Rush of the 1880's, a charismatic newspaper editor claims a plot of land and resettles himself, along with his rather…
Range Feud, The (1931): Dir. D.Ross Lederman
Feat. John Wayne, Buck Jones; A better than B–Western with a young, gangly John Wayne as a ten–galloned Romeo framed for murder while entangled in a feud with his…
Big Trail, The (1930): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel…; The film that elevated a young John Wayne from bit–part actor to leading man is this grand saga of a wagon trail, shot in an early form of 70mm.
Iron Horse, The (1924): Dir. John Ford
Feat. George O'Brien, Madge Bellamy; An early silent western presenting an idealised portrayal of the development of the first American transcontinental railroad. Its romantic,…

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