Posted on 03/25/2018 2:48:46 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
No film genre is more quintessential to the American soul than the Western. The virtues Westerns champion—courage, moral clarity, self-reliance, individualism—are American virtues; their vices—excessive or hokey moral simplicity, caricatures of the enemy—are American too. Westerns are so synonymous with the legend that is America that it’s little wonder that from their heyday in the 1950s until today, they’ve played a key role in shaping our perception of ourselves, as well as the world’s opinion of us.
The white-hatted cowboy standing firm against long odds is iconic, and not only within our borders. Western imagery has had such a powerful impact across the globe that Gary Cooper’s character in “High Noon” (No. 3) was used by the anti-Communist Polish party Solidarity in a poster campaign urging people to overcome their fear of tyrannical system and show their true colors at the polls.
While B-movie white-hat, black-hat simplicity can be fun to watch, the best Westerns have something to say about the morality of bloodshed. They keep moral lines strong while giving the characters room to be complex, a difficult balance to achieve.
With their clear-eyed moral messaging, Westerns are a great antidote to much of the modern filmmaking landscape, where audiences are asked with ever-greater frequency to identify with the bad guy. Also, because many of the best Westerns were made before 1970, the violence in them is often non-graphic, and clean enough for at least older children to watch.
Whether you’re brand-new to the genre or an old hand looking for a guide to re-exploration, these top ten Westerns (and ten additional recommendations) will help get you and your family started.
No paragraph can fairly summarize the strengths of “Liberty Valance,” and why it endures as not just the greatest Western, but as one of the greatest films ever made. The fictional town of Shinbone is governed by two men, one evil and unrestrained (Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance), and one who brings order at the point of his own gun, Tom Doniphon (John Wayne).
All is not right in Shinbone, but life is predictable, with Doniphon ready and able to do violence to those who threaten that stability. But then encroaching civilization comes to town in the form of Ransom Stoddard, attorney at law (Jimmy Stewart). After his own violent encounter with Valance, Stoddard insists that he will mete out justice through the rule of law, and refuses Doniphon’s help, arguing that his brand of “justice” is no different than Valance’s. But can the law endure without the gun? “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” gives as interesting an answer to the question as any that’s been given.
A strong contender for the No. 1 spot, this John Ford classic is loosely based on the real life story of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was abducted by the Comanche who murdered her family when she was nine years old. In the film version, Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) heads a years-long quest to find his abducted niece Debbie and her sister, after most of their family is murdered in a raid.
Ethan starts out pretty tough, but over the years of searching, his hatred for the Comanche corrupts him wholly, and his savage tactics descend to the same level. When he finds Debbie after a half a decade of living as one of the Indians, he’s ready to kill her for becoming one of them. Like “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” “The Searchers” recognizes that violent men may have secured the frontier, but there can never be a place for them in civilization.
Sometimes the best exemplars of a genre are those that bend its rules just enough to make things interesting, while retaining the essentials. So it is with 1952’s controversial Western “High Noon.” Wayne was so incensed by the leading man (Gary Cooper, in a spectacular performance that won him an Oscar for Best Actor) temporarily succumbing to fear that it prompted him to star in his own answer to “High Noon,” “Rio Bravo,” which is worth watching in its own right (it’s No. 8 below).
Town marshal Will Kane (Cooper) is about to hang up his star to start life with his pacifist Quaker bride (Grace Kelly), when he receives the news that a vicious criminal he put behind bars will arrive on the noon train to extract his revenge. “High Noon” proceeds in live time, making the viewer count down the minutes to the approaching train alongside the characters.
Kane’s appeals to the townspeople he has long protected go unheeded, which, along with the Communist leanings of its screenwriter, make this the Left’s favorite Western. But you shouldn’t let that prejudice you against a great movie.
Often considered Wayne’s A-list debut, this beautifully shot black and white film shot in Monument Valley tells the story of a stagecoach ride through hostile Indian territory. The diverse passengers, thrown together in the ride of their lives, all have different reasons for making the trek, from social ostracism and love to greed and revenge.
Like many Westerns, it uses the characters to highlight the reconciliation between North and South after the war and Reconstruction. Although they come from different regions and social backgrounds, the passengers find their fates are bound together in “Stagecoach.”
A classic Western tale of two brothers, one good and one evil, set against each other in the attempt to get even, gets a fresh take in this inventive movie by being told through the “eyes” of a coveted prize rifle. As the coveted gun changes hands between worthy and unworthy men, the plot proceeds around it to inevitable conclusion. “Winchester ’73” features a thrilling final shootout, and is arguably American hero Jimmy Stewart’s greatest Western performance, barring “Liberty Valance.”
A taciturn gunslinger keen to hide his bloody past happens upon a remote ranch, where he learns that the family that owns it, along with the good people of the valley, live in fear of a gang of rogues paid by a cattle baron with designs on their land. As Shane returns to what he does best in service of civilization, he troublingly realizes that Joey, the young son of the rancher, is starting to idolize him for his violent ways, and does what he must to secure peace in the valley.
“Shane’s” enduring message is that sometimes what one wants must be set aside for what is right. An amoral society floating in hedonistic relativism could certainly benefit from a dose.
I’m not a big fan of Spaghetti Westerns, which eliminate a lot of the moral clarity of the genre in favor of artistic cinematography. In a way, Sergio Leone’s trilogy is a European’s idea of an American art form.
That being said, it’s undeniable that “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly,” which launched a charismatic and young Clint Eastwood into stratospheric stardom, has made its mark on audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Arguably, it also boasts the greatest soundtrack ever written; well worth watching for Ennio Morricone’s world-famous score alone.
I tried hard not to play favorites with this list, but “Rio Bravo” was undoubtedly my favorite movie as a child (and my father’s favorite when he was growing up in Communist Poland). “Rio Bravo” was produced as a response to Will Kane’s vacillation in “High Noon.”
Following essentially the same plotline, Wayne’s Sheriff John T. Chance squares his shoulders against seemingly impossible odds, and recruits an odd collection of misfits to help him against the forces of cruelty and lawlessness. Bonus features of this film include possibly the only great acting performance ever turned out by Rat Pack crooner Dean Martin, and a haunting theme written by Morricone.
Is there anything more traditionally Western than a grand cattle drive? “Red River” tells the story of a risky drive up the Chisholm Trail, but its real greatness lies in the relationship between its two central characters: Wayne as the elder cattle magnate and sometimes tyrannically tough John Dunson, opposite Montgomery Clift as the orphan boy brought on from a wagon raid that killed Dunson’s love.
“Red River” borrows from the classical: the need of a son to fight his father in order to become a man himself. Portraying Dunson’s transition from white-hatted protector to inflexible bully teetering on the edge of lawlessness, then into despair and finally redemption may be Wayne’s greatest performance as an actor.
Like restaurants with great views, it often seems to be an unwritten rule that movies with too many well-known actors are disappointing. Not so with “The Magnificent Seven,” which manages to channel its star wattage into genuine delight for its audience.
Based on the Japanese film “The Seven Samurai,” and transported into the West, “The Magnificent Seven” follows a gradually gathered band of gunslingers, hired to help protect a small Mexican village from bandits. Its inclusion in this roundup of the best of the genre, however, comes from its message: that building civilization is more important even than protecting it from destruction. Just avoid the 2016 version.
Want deeper cuts? Here are another ten great Westerns to get you started. Did I miss a favorite? Share in the comments!
also liked the quick and the dead for its popcorn qualities, not a 'serious' genre western but still fun
One I loved but not because of it’s moral relevance was Support Your Local Sherrif with Jim Garner with a career performance from veteran typecast bad man Jack Elam. Garner’s Maverick-esque character was classic. Another one was Skin Game with Garner and Lou Gossett that spoofed slavery and slave holders, pretty daring for 1971.
The Dukes First..
The Big Trail.
Many great Firsts!
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The steam coming off the deer when it was being skinned is a good example. That was a very authentic, good movie.
bump for later reference
couple of his books that are not westerns that are great are The Last of The Breed and the Haunted Mesa.”
I have both books.
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I have both books, too. Both would make good movies.
I live about 45 miles from Mesa Verde, in Four corners Country and have hiked many areas. After reading “Haunted Mesa”, I appreciate it more.
Any Top 10 Western list that does not include “The Outlaw Josey Wales” is complete BS. I have noticed that as the years have gone by this movie continues to be down-graded. On my cable guide, it use to be a “four out of four” star movie. It is now a three star movie. Give it another year or two and I am sure it will be two stars.
Gunfighter’s Moon with Lance Henriksen was close to being top level.
Some classic scenes.
The gunfight at the end and the pre fight manuevering of the bad guys to surround Henriksen was classic.
Most creative Westerns:
Once Upon a Time in The West
They call me Trinity
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Dutch: He played his string right out to the end!
I could do this all day...! Heh heh heh
It’s a very good list. About the only one I’d kick off is High Noon, which I’ve always thought was over-rated and kind of dull. Not sure what I would replace it with.
My favorite scene in Hallelujah Trail is where the Indians take cover within a group of wagons that they just circled round, while the cavalry rides madly around them hollering and whooping and shooting randomly into the circle. :-)
“was it just something to set him apart?”..
Just an observation having watched numerous movies Wayne stared in. I still watch them often.. (Actually watched “Rooster Cogburn” again last night. Gotta love old westerns). I could almost be a stand in able to speak their lines.
I love that part of the country and have visited a few times. Took the family to Mesa Verde back in the late 80s. We damn near got trapped in the park when my year old son puked on me, I jumped out of the rent car, opened the trunk, set the keys down, grabbed a rag to wipe my shirt off, and slammed the trunk shut. Yes, the keys stayed in the trunk. This was early May at 8000 feet. We were the 3rd from last car in the park and it was sunset. I stopped the last two cars and told them to send a ranger. We got the keys and moved out. The wife said, “don’t you ever call me dumb again.” I hear this story at least once a year.
What a predicament that was. Lol. Glad you got the keys.
I hope you make it back here some time.
Hondo
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
The Cowboys
True Grit
Hondo
Silverado
Bend in the River
Open Range
Cross Fire Trail
Broken Trail
Big Jake
My Name is Nobody
Outlaw Josey Wales
McKenna's Gold
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
My Darling Clementine
Understand about Maverick. I have a weakness for Garner’s style. And Bret usually ended up doing right thing.
I watched The Virginian as a boy. Like Drury. I now prefer tighter story; I do not want to invest in movie-length episode after episode.
There was something special about the Post war W.W. II to the mid 1960’s era (maybe because it’s when most of us were born). America was the world victor, was strong, confident, male patriarchs were revered, we were growing like crazy, inventing amazing things, exploring space. The Western genre really fit those times. Movies and TV were full of amazing, strong, and thoroughly masculine actors.
It’s a shame that America has totally lost her way and no longer has the confidence and swagger she once had. Feminism is one of the factors that destroyed that once-strong America — and our enemies today know that very well.
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