25 WESTERN MOVIES TO ENJOY

 I recently produced a 25 ESSENTIAL WESTERNS blog. There I took on the foolhardy task of compiling a list of ESSENTIAL westerns, movies you just have to see to appreciate the western at its best, at its most ground-breaking, and touching the main western bases. Films featuring the key western actors and directors. Find it here: https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2020/09/25-essential-western-movies.html

I’ve decided to supplement this list with a further 25 WESTERNS TO ENJOY, movies that aren’t ground-breaking or innovative but show the western at its most entertaining. Some of these films have considerable artistic merit and/or thought-provoking elements, such as a debate on the validity or otherwise of violence/ the treatment of the Native Americans etc., issues the western has often addressed. Others are simply good shoot ’em up fun to keep a viewer entertained for a couple of hours. A few might be described as ‘guilty pleasures,’ personal favourites that I seem to be in a minority in enjoying. So not all of the following films are great, or classic, but all have given me plenty of enjoyment.

This isn’t anything like a complete list and I could have included more. I decided to stop at 25, for no particular reason, or I’d be writing the world’s longest blog. Between my ESSENTIAL westerns blog and this one, there’s hopefully enough to introduce someone new to westerns to the genre, to help them ‘get’ westerns – and have a good time doing it. If a favourite movie of yours isn’t here, it may be because it’s already appeared on my ESSENTIAL list. The films listed there are: THE COWBOYS, FORT APACHE, THE GUNFIGHTER, HOMBRE, JESSE JAMES, THE LEFT-HANDED GUN, LITTLE BIG MAN, A MAN CALLED HORSE, MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, THE NAKED SPUR, THE OX-BOW INCIDENT, RED RIVER, RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, RIO BRAVO, THE SEARCHERS, SHANE, THE SHOOTIST, STAGECOACH, THE TALL T., 3.10 TO YUMA, UNFORGIVEN, VERA CRUZ, WAGON MASTER, THE WILD BUNCH, WILL PENNY, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK and LONELY ARE THE BRAVE.

Because I’m expressing my opinions throughout, I decided to forgo the use of phrases like ‘in my view’ or IMHO as I’d be repeating them endlessly.

Films are listed in alphabetical order, not in any order of merit.

THE BIG COUNTRY (1958)

Easterner GREGORY PECK gets a rough ride from the locals when he arrives on the cattle ranges of Texas, and then gets caught up in a private war between two rival ranchers. Big-scale, intelligent western with a great theme tune by JEROME MAROSS. BURL IVES steals every scene he’s in as one of the warring ranchers, winning an Oscar in the process. 

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)

I really enjoyed this movie when it first came out, but I’ve gone off it somewhat over the years. The script feels a little anachronistic and the two leads come over as men of the 1960s, not the 1890s. I also find the ‘Raindrops keep falling on my head’ sequence a bit cloying. Having said that, there’s plenty of wit in the script, the ‘chase’ sequence is very well done and visually striking and there’s a tremendous shoot-out at the end.

THE COMANCHEROS (1961)

In ‘The John Wayne Scrapbook’ Lee Pfeiffer writes: ‘The Comancheros isn’t often discussed as a masterpiece, and perhaps it isn’t. However, it would be difficult to find a western that is more enjoyable to watch.’ That about sums up this cheerful, zestful ride. JOHN WAYNE shades into James Bond territory as a Texas Ranger who goes undercover to break up a gang in league with hostile Indians. Great fun, and Wayne has tremendous chemistry with co-star STUART WHITMAN and villain LEE MARVIN.

CUSTER OF THE WEST (1967)

I seem to be in a small, select band in my admiration for this action-packed western, with plenty of Cinerama spectacle. English actor ROBERT SHAW was unlikely casting as the ‘boy General’ but gives a typically powerful performance as a conflicted, driven man.

 FLAMING STAR (1960)

Another artistic success for DON SIEGEL who rose in stature as a director through the 50s. Helped by a taut script, based on a CLAIR HUFFAKER novel, Siegel manages to get a good performance out of his star, ELVIS PRESLEY, in a serious, mostly non-singing role. Presley is supported by an able cast including STEVE FORREST and JOHN McINTIRE. The film mixes tough action with some sympathy for Native Americans.

FORT MASSACRE (1958)

Largely unknown U.S. Cavalry versus Indians western, with JOEL McCREA playing against type as a soldier whose hatred of Apaches drives him to destruction in harsh desert surroundings. Notable for the visceral (for its time) action scenes.

THE GREAT NORTHFIELD MINNESOTA RAID (1972)

The best movie on JESSE JAMES - just called 'JESSE JAMES' (1939) - is on my essential list. THE GREAT NORTHFIELD MINNESOTA RAID makes an interesting contrast, as both movies reflect the times when they were made. NORTHFIELD is very much of the 'revisionist' era and takes a cynical, blackly comic look at this famous outlaw and his associates. The film postulates that COLE YOUNGER (played by CLIFF ROBERTSON) was the real 'brains' behind the James/Younger gang. It also breaks the mould in having an actor play Jess - ROBERT DUVALL - who actually looks like him!

GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL (1957)

One of several enjoyable takes on the story of WYATT EARP, which also includes HOUR OF THE GUN (1967) and the fictionalisation WARLOCK (1959.) Lacking the beauty and artistry of the best of these - JOHN FORD’s ‘My Darling Clementine,’ - but a good example of the well-made traditional western, chronicling the events leading up to the fabled gunfight. KIRK DOUGLAS gets my vote for best screen DOC HOLLIDAY in his portrayal of the tortured, self-destructive dentist-turned-gun man.

GUNMAN’S WALK (1958)

One of those quiet, below-the-radar movies that made the 50s a golden age for western film. A strong debate on the morality of violence underpins this tale of a rancher (a typically intense performance by VAN HEFLIN) and his two sons as they come into manhood.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960)

This film is tremendously popular and any criticism of it I make is going to arouse the ire of western movie fans. But I’m going to risk it anyway. One reason I think ‘Magnificent’ is ‘good not great’ is that I saw it after seeing ‘The Seven Samurai,’ the Japanese masterpiece directed by AKIRA KUROSAWA. ‘Samurai’ is such a staggeringly brilliant film it eclipses any follow-up.

SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)

Further, I’d quibble with some of the casting in ‘Magnificent’; I’ve never really bought ROBERT VAUGHN in westerns, and I don’t think YUL BRYNNER, BRAD DEXTER and (particularly) HORST BUCHHOLZ are well cast. On the plus side you have solid work from STEVE McQUEEN and JAMES COBURN, CHARLES BRONSON and ELI WALLACH are both outstanding in their roles, there’s some memorable dialogue (‘We deal in lead, friend’) and good action scenes. Topped off by one of the greatest scores – written by ELMER BERNSTEIN - in western movies.

ONE-EYED JACKS (1961)

Based loosely on CHARLES NEIDER’s great novel ‘The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones’ – which is a fictionalisation of the life of BILLY THE KID. MARLON BRANDO directed and starred, getting strong performances out of KARL MALDEN, SLIM PICKENS and BEN JOHNSON, all playing villains. Set in an unusual location for westerns – the Pacific coast of California.

THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (1976)

CLINT EASTWOOD directed and starred in this 'revisionist' western about a loner fighting the American Civil War long after it's ended. Maybe it rambles on too long, and Eastwood is too super-human to fully engage with, but there's much for western aficionados to enjoy, from the visual splendour of the landscapes to the laconic dialogue leavened with black humour and the punchy action scenes.

PILLARS OF THE SKY (1956)

The U.S. Cavalry and Indians clash in 1868 Oregon. Part of the 1950s cycle of sympathetic-to-Native Americans movies that included BROKEN ARROW, APACHE, DEVIL'S DOORWAY, SMOKE SIGNAL and WHITE FEATHER, any of which might have made this list. A highlight is the excellent running-fight battle sequence.

RIDE LONESOME (1959)

I’d rate ‘The Tall T’ the best of the quality westerns RANDOLPH SCOTT made with director BUD BOETTICHER, but this comes second. A small-scale production about a handful of characters crossing a hostile wilderness, and all the better for its tautness and simplicity.

RUN OF THE ARROW (1957)

Long before 'Dances with Wolves' there was this film, written and directed by SAMUEL FULLER, about a white man so alienated from white society he prefers to live with the Sioux. An unusual and original take on Native American society, although it's never explained why southern-born ex-Confederate ROD STEIGER has an Irish accent! STEIGER sometimes hams it up, but that's counter-balanced by effective underplaying by BRIAN KEITH, RALPH MEEKER and CHARLES BRONSON (as a Sioux chief.)

THE SCALPHUNTERS (1968)

BURT LANCASTER sends himself up as a rough-hewn fur trapper partnering a black slave (OSSIE DAVIS) - who turns out to be a much brighter and more sophisticated man. They pursue a ruthless gang led by TELLY SAVALAS in an enjoyable, energetic, comedy-western romp.

SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949)

My favourite of the acclaimed’ cavalry trilogy’ director JOHN FORD made with JOHN WAYNE is ‘Fort Apache,’ but this instalment also has many strengths, from WINSTON HOCH’s Oscar-winning colour photography to John Wayne’s wonderful performance as a man much older than his actual years.

THESE THOUSAND HILLS (1959)

The great western novelist A. B. GUTHRIE JR. felt this was the best film adaption of his work. If you ignore the syrupy theme tune and the slightly sanitised look, this is an authentic take on life on the cattle ranges of 1880s Montana. With a bit more grittiness it might have approached Shane-level greatness.

A THUNDER OF DRUMS (1961)

An under-appreciated western about a remote U.S. cavalry outpost. Some of the younger actors – GEORGE HAMILTON, RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN – are a little bland and modern-seeming, but RICHARD BOONE holds it together as the tense, hard-bitten commanding officer, displaying what one critic called ‘craggy nobility.’ The film climaxes with Boone and his troops pursuing raiding Apaches into stunningly-photographed Arizona locations.

TRIBUTE TO A BAD MAN (1956)

Late in his career, JAMES CAGNEY made a few westerns. This gritty tale, based on a JACK SCHAEFER story, deals with the very real Old West issue of lynching. Cagney gives a fine performance as a rancher with ‘hanging fever.’ There’s excellent support from IRENE PAPAS and STEPHEN McNALLY, strong location photography and an authentic take on the bleak lives cowboys often lived. One caveat: I don’t like the title!

TRUE GRIT (1969)

JOHN WAYNE finally picked up an Oscar (which he should have won 20 years earlier for ‘She Wore a Yellow Ribbon’ or ‘Red River’) with his roistering performance as wayward lawman Rooster Cogburn. Cogburn’s character switches from rascally to clownish to heroic, an acting challenge Wayne more than meets, and he gets strong support from KIM DARBY and ROBERT DUVALL.  

VALDEZ IS COMING (1971)

A gritty, action-packed western from the ‘revisionist’ era, this movie is based on an ELMORE LEONARD novel. BURT LANCASTER plays Bob Valdez, a despised Mexican lawman pursued through desert and mountains by a rancher and his private army. At which point we – and the pursuers, to their cost – discover Valdez has wilderness skills honed scouting against the Apaches, and that he’s a one-man fighting and killing machine.

THE WESTERNER (1940)

WALTER BRENNAN won an Oscar playing 'JUDGE' ROY BEAN, likable one minute, treacherous and villainous the next. He's pursued by his friend/enemy GARY COOPER in a lyrical, folksy tale leavened with plenty of black humour. .

WESTERN UNION (1941)

Epic-scale production about the laying of the transcontinental telegraph line across the west. ROBERT YOUNG and RANDOLPH SCOTT vie for the same girl, while dealing with renegade whites and Indians. There’s top-notch location photography, script and performances, and strong period detail.

WINCHESTER 73 (1950)

JAMES STEWART believed switching to westerns rescued his film career. Formerly known as a likable light-touch actor in contemporary dramas and comedies, he toughened up his image considerably in this cracking adventure about men in obsessive pursuit of a ‘one-in-a-thousand Winchester.’ The first of a string of fine westerns Stewart made with director ANTHONY MANN, where the character Stewart portrayed was often motivated, sometimes neurotically, by revenge. Strong support from SHELLEY WINTERS and DAN DURYEA as a ‘laughing villain.’

As with my ESSENTIAL list, there were no ‘Spaghetti Westerns’ included here. Without wanting to sound too high-brow about it, I find them entertaining but lacking in depth. THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is the only one I considered. And again no recent westerns feature. My ESSENTIAL list featured none made after 1992, and the most recent one on this list was made in 1976! These are all from the ‘classic western’ period, which I would define as 1939 - 1976. I find it a bit depressing that modern film makers can’t seem to make a great western any more. I’d be delighted for some of them to prove me wrong!

As I said, these are just my opinions. Feel free to disagree – as long as we keep it civil!

BEST OF THE BAD MEN #2: THE HATEFUL EIGHT

Like many of the western writers I’ve corresponded with, I didn’t get into westerns from reading the kind of novels I’d eventually write. I was initially hooked by what I watched, on the cinema and on TV, during my boyhood in the 1960s. And entering the world of the screen western was like joining a family, peopled by familiar faces. Actors re-occurred in the same roles – the same leading men, leading ladies, ‘sidekicks’, character actors and bit players (usually stunt men given an odd line.)

But perhaps most enjoyable of all were the villains.

Westerns are of course morality plays and if the hero represented the best in people, they needed a foil, an opponent, to represent the very worst; worthy opponents against whom the hero has to be tested. They were often as enjoyable, and quite often more enjoyable, than the heroes.

In my blog BEST OF THE BAD MEN #1 (Link here: https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2017/10/best-of-bad-men-1.html ) I’ve already discussed many of the excellent actors who gave good villain in westerns – but there were too many ‘good’ bad men for one blog to do them justice. I felt the very best bad men deserved at least a blog of their own. So here’s THE HATEFUL EIGHT - the very worst of the west. Some were quite easy to pick, others I had to think about (and I’d probably change my mind about if I was to do this blog again next week.)

So here’s villains ranked 2-8, in no particular order:

RICHARD WIDMARK was an actor of wide range and ability. He could be a hero as often as a villain. He played the ‘good guy’ in films like ‘The Last Wagon,’ and ‘Backlash.’ His most heroic role was probably as Jim Bowie in ‘The Alamo’ (1960) a performance described by John Wayne – who directed it – as ‘magnificent.’ And he could play conflicted characters such as the outlaw who renounces his law-breaking ways in ‘Warlock,’ or the obsessive submarine commander in the powerful Cold War drama ‘The Bedford Incident.’

But much as I enjoyed these performances, I always had a special fondness for Widmark the villain. His bad guys always had a dangerous, seductive charm, whether he’s up against Gregory Peck (‘Yellow Sky’) or Gary Cooper (‘Garden of Evil.’)

One of his best bad guy performances is in ‘The Law and Jake Wade.’ There’s a great scene where Widmark talks to a U.S. cavalry officer. He’s pretending to be an upright citizen, and exudes charm and reasonableness. When the officer rides away, there’s a priceless moment when Widmark smiles after him; but once he’s out of sight Widmark’s smile turns into a leer of pure evil.

Richard Widmark in ‘The Law and Jake Wade.’

ROBERT RYAN was another actor of wide range who could sometimes portray characters of integrity and dignity – but he was also a tremendous villain. In the masterful modern western ‘Bad Day at Black Rock’ he’s ostensibly a pillar of the community. He’s an intelligent, charismatic figure and a natural born leader – but he’s also poisoned by racism, in this case a hatred of the Japanese, which turns him into a ruthless murderer.

Robert Ryan in ‘Bad Day at Black Rock.’

In ‘Return of the Bad Men’ there’s no such redeeming features – he’s just irredeemably villainous and loving it! In an enjoyable but wildly unhistorical western, he more or less steals the movie as The Sundance Kid - a snarling psychopath who’s a long way from Robert Redford! The movie climaxes in a shoot out in a ghost town between Ryan and Randolph Scott.

As The Sundance Kid in ‘Return of the Bad Men.’

In the superb ‘The Naked Spur’ Ryan plays a ‘laughing’ villain – he even laughs during a fight with Ralph Meeker, which indicates someone teetering on the edge of irrational violence. Like a number of western villains he has a girlfriend (in this case Janet Leigh) who believes him when he says he’ll reform from his wicked ways. “Remember what you said.” she urges, to which Ryan responds with a classic bad guy line: “I remember what suits me!” As I’ve said, bad guys often had the best lines!

In ‘The Naked Spur.’

In the field of ‘laughing villains’ none were better than DAN DURYEA. He played the bad guy in innumerable western movies and TV shows, bracing the likes of James Stewart and Audie Murphy. His long face, whining voice and most particularly his wild grin and jangling laugh marked him out as dangerously unstable, a powder keg always ready to blow. Perhaps his best performance in this vein is in the 1950 classic ‘Winchester 73.’

Dan Duryea in ‘Winchester 73’ (1950), a ‘laughing villain’

And coming off worst against James Stewart.

LEE VAN CLEEF spent years as a snake-like side kick to other villains (‘High Noon’ ‘The Man who shot Liberty Valance’) before ascending to top-rank villainy in Spaghetti westerns like ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.’ I’ve always had my reservations about that title – Eli Wallach isn’t that unhandsome in my view, and it’s a bit of a stretch to describe Clint Eastwood’s amoral bounty hunter as strictly ‘good,’ but Van Cleef’s gleeful killer is definitely bad. In ‘Ride Lonesome’ Van Cleef commits one of the worst crimes of any western bad guy – he hangs Randolph Scott’s wife. A crime for which he pays the usual price, in the shadow of the hanging tree.

Lee Van Cleef in ‘Ride Lonesome.’

Some western villains will remain famous for one role above all others. ELI WALLACH made relatively few westerns, but will be long remembered as Calvera in ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (1960.) As the leader of a rapacious band of Mexican bandits, he’s more a tyrant with delusions of grandeur than mere self-serving villain. In his own warped view, he’s simply maintaining the natural order of things. And he gets to say one of the most memorable lines in western film. Regarding the Mexican peons he feels he almost has a divine right to oppress, he declares: “If God didn’t want them sheared, he would not have made them sheep.”

Eli Wallach in ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (1960.)

Another bad guy famous for one role in particular is JACK PALANCE. In ‘Shane’ he’s the gunman hired by a cattle baron to terrorise Wyoming homesteaders. The lank, gaunt Palance, with his cadaverous features and gloating smile, is the epitome of evil – even dogs slink away from him. This blackest of black hats – literally – lovingly pulls one glove – also black - onto his gun hand as he prepares to despatch one of these pesky ‘sod-busters’. His victim is the pathetic but still brave ‘little man’ Elisha Cook Jnr. who falls before his gun, jolting backwards and ploughing into the mud of the street in the first ‘realistic’ depiction of death in the history of the western. Even in an age of much more graphic violence this scene still has the power to shock. And viewing the victim of his murder, Palance’s tight, brittle-eyed grin stays fixed.

Jack Palance oozes evil in ‘Shane.’

Like Richard Widmark, RICHARD BOONE could also play the good guy – indeed they’re both heroic in the same movie. In ‘The Alamo’ (1960) Boone plays Sam Houston as a ‘father of Texas’, organising the defence of the new republic whilst Jim Bowie (Widmark) and others fight to the death, buying him the time to do so. Boone brought similar gravitas and authority – what one critic called ‘craggy nobility’ – to his role as the U.S. cavalry commander in the underrated ‘Thunder of Drums’ (1960.) And he was, of course, the hero of the long-running TV western series ‘Have Gun Will Travel’ as the enigmatic Paladin.

It’s a mark of Boone’s range and forcefulness as an actor that he could be equally effective as a villain. Over the years he gave a hard time to a variety of western heroes, from Kirk Douglas in ‘Man without a Star’ to John Wayne in ‘Big Jake’ and ‘The Shootist.’

Perhaps his two best villains are in films based on Elmore Leonard stories – where he shows two faces of villainy. In ‘The Tall T’ (1957) he’s an intelligent, conflicted stage robber, tortured by his own loneliness. The nearest thing to a friend he finds is ostensibly his enemy, Randolph Scott, who he holds prisoner. We catch hints of the instability that’s perhaps brought him to crime – he has a sadistic sense of humour and laughs delightedly when someone burns their fingers on a coffee pot. But he sometimes shows affection and tenderness for the woman he holds captive. At the end he’s given a choice between staying bad or reforming – I won’t spoil the ending of this outstanding film by telling you which he opts for!

Richard Boone with Randolph Scott in ‘The Tall T.’

If his villain in ‘The Tall T’ shows vulnerability and evokes some sympathy, that’s not the case in ‘Hombre’ (1967) – another example of a bad guy being bad and loving it. Boone’s swaggering Cicero Grimes exudes lusty, brutal energy, with his harsh laugh and aggressive demeanour leaving others cowed.

In ‘Hombre.’

It was a tough call singling out western bad guys from among so many worthy contenders and winnowing them down to a final eight. There’s undoubtedly some I’ve overlooked – but I had little doubt who would be in pole position, the best of the bad guys. So here he is, the very worst of the west, in my opinion:

Emerging in the 1960s, BRUCE DERN might have been the ‘son’ or ‘nephew’ of DAN DURYEA in that he had similar characteristics: His long face, whining voice and wild eyes marked him out as inherently irrational and unstable, poised  for sudden, unpredictable violence. This has kept him in work through a long and distinguished career. As he said: ‘I’ve played more freaks, psychotics and dopers than anyone.’ But he eschewed Duryea’s treacherous charm, which made him a genuinely chilling screen villain.

Although he has played in a wide range of films, he took very naturally to the western and was a staple of movies and TV series, adding his menacing presence to episodes of every show from ‘Bonanza’ to ‘Lancer’ to ‘The High Chaparral.’ He was particularly memorable as one of the homicidal sons of crazed semi-preacher Donald Pleasance in ‘Will Penny.’

Bruce Dern with Charlton Heston (having a bad day) and Donald Pleasance in 'Will Penny.'

Like the others here, Bruce is a fine actor of wide range. In the moving sci-fi fable ‘Silent Running’ he was literally the last defender of the Earth’s ecology, a voice of sanity (despite how crazy he might look) in a world lost to crass consumerism.

In ‘Silent Running.’

But that very same year – 1972 – Dern became possibly the baddest bad guy in western film or TV.

As John Wayne’s enemy in ‘The Cowboys’ Bruce commits a deed so dastardly that it dwarfs almost any other misdeed in the history of the screen western. I won’t give away what it was, in the unlikely event that anyone reading this blog hasn’t seen this excellent movie. Suffice it to say, John Wayne told Dern something like: “Oh, how they're gonna hate you for this!” – and viewers of ‘The Cowboys’ across the world proved him right.

Bruce Dern about to do the unthinkable to John Wayne in ‘The Cowboys.’

But prior to committing this blackest of crimes Bruce had already demonstrated his utter villainy in the way he terrorises the ‘cowboys’ of the title – a collection of schoolboys Wayne is forced to use on a trail drive. In one scene Dern tells one boy in chilling detail just exactly how he’ll sneak up on him in the dark and slit his throat. In another he snatches off another boy’s spectacles and lovingly crushes them between his hands, leaving only a buckled, glassless frame – it doesn’t get any badder than that!

‘The Cowboys.’

And thus Bruce Dern earns my top position in the ranks of actors who gave outstanding villain in westerns, and wins my accolade as the very worst of the west.

Feel free to disagree!