The Top 10 Westerns Ever Made, Plus 10 More Deep Cuts

The Federalist ^ | 03/25/2018 | By Inez Feltscher Stepman

[SeekAndFind]

With their clear-eyed moral messaging, Westerns are a great antidote to much of the modern filmmaking landscape, where audiences are often asked to identify with the bad guy.

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.

1. ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’ (1962)

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.

2. ‘The Searchers’ (1956)

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.

3. ‘High Noon’ (1952)

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.

4. ‘Stagecoach’ (1939)

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.”

5. ‘Winchester ’73’ (1950)

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.”

6. ‘Shane’ (1953)

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.

7. ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ (1966)

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.

8. ‘Rio Bravo’ (1959)

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.

9. ‘Red River’ (1948)

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.

10. ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (1960)

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.

Ten Deeper Cuts

Want deeper cuts? Here are another ten great Westerns to get you started. Did I miss a favorite? Share in the comments!

• “The Naked Spur” (1953)
• “The Shootist” (1976)
• “The Outlaw Josey Wales” (1976)
• “Bend in the River” (1952)
• “Hondo” (1953)
• “True Grit” (1969)
• “The Man from Laramie” (1955)
• “Once Upon A Time in the West” (1968)
• “Hang ‘Em High” (1968)
• “Hombre” (1967)

Inez Feltscher Stepman is a senior contributor at The Federalist. She is also a senior policy fellow at Independent Women's Forum and the Thursday editor of BRIGHT, a women's newsletter. Find her on Twitter @inezfeltscher.

Photo Paramount Pictures / YouTube

[sparklite2]

Thanks. I’ll do that.

[Keeper of the Turf]

I visited the ranch where they filmed 3:10 To Yuma back in February. The Triangle T Guest Ranch in Dragoon, Arizona.

[sargon]

Any “Top 10 Westerns” list that doesn’t include “The Outlaw Josey Wales” is invalid...

[rlmorel]

"...without Val Kilmer, “Tombstone” would have been a very ordinary film..."

I agree, but...holy crap, did he ever completely make that movie the way he played that role!

[P.O.E.]

Way Out West with Larry, Moe & Shemp

[Rummyfan]

Hollywood had to kill the classic Western. You can’t spew PC and destroy modern US culture by showing classic Westerns where good triumphs over evil, and the Cowboy code of honesty, hard work, chivalry, self-sufficiency and patriotism is constantly showing on the screen.

Best modern Western I have seen recently, dealing with those issues and values, is Hell or High Water. Jeff Bridges is fantastic. Check it out.

[Rummyfan]

Clint Walker is still alive...

And he's a good conservative, sometimes calls in to Mark Levin. Bottles and markets some pretty good wine too.

Cheyenne....

[max americana]

Yes. Sir Richard Harris. I love that story he told about watching High Plains Drifter when Clint called at the same time..

[sargon]

The one BIG problem I have with "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" is the utter implausibility of the "simultaneous" gunshots. I just found it to be completely ludicrous.

I would admit to being petty—were it not for the fact that the entire outcome of the movie's plot hinges on that one impossibly unlikely event!

Does anyone else here feel that way?

[rlmorel]

I believe Unforgiven and Open Range should both be on there. But I love The Searchers.

Watching The Searchers, almost every scene was composed almost like a painting.

Last time I watched the movie, I took some images of the screen, and it was tough to get the various artifacts and saturations out to make them recognizable, but these scenes describe what I mean:

Leaving at the beginning

Bad news

Finds body

Walking along ridge

Scouting

His rival courts his girl

Old Biddies at wedding

Riding in the snow

A profile

Another profile

I love Wayne's character. It is a very different role for him. Rooster Cogburn in True Grit was a hard character, but he had a degree of gregariousness and love of life to him. This character (Ethan Edwards) has none of that. He is a spare, hard man, thinks of Indians as vermin in a racist sense, and is a unrelenting man. The most telling quote (to me) was:

"...Injun will chase a thing till he thinks he's chased it enough. Then he quits. Same way when he runs. Seems like he never learns there's such a thing as a critter that'll just keep comin' on. So we'll find 'em in the end, I promise you. We'll find 'em. Just as sure as the turnin' of the earth..."

[rlmorel]

One of the greatest scenes to me is when he sees his boy being whipped by the Army scout and rides hell for leather down the street, knocks him off his horse, and beats the snot out of him while everyone looks on...

You can hear the shocked intake of breath amongst the bystanders when he grabs the forging tongs before Gus lassoes him!

[Rummyfan]

Does anyone else here feel that way?

As the one newspaperman says

Print the legend.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

I have seen Hell or High Water. Very well done.

[Rummyfan]

That scene is one of the best The Duke ever did.

They ain't white. Not no more...

[txhurl]

index

[TianaHighrider]

Thanks, just watched the one at the link.
Yes, I will certainly be having to catch the whole thing very soon!

[silent_jonny]

I think all of the kids were actual riders and “cowboys”.

There's a documentary--I think it's on the DVD/Bluray. Half the kids were pro actors. The other half could handle and ride horses. The director made a deal with them: one group of kids would teach the other about their craft, and vice-versa. And it worked.

Also what was interesting in that documentary was how nearly every adult in the cast (and the director) had chips on their shoulders about John Wayne.

None of them had ever met him before, but they HATED him just for his conservative reputation. "And his support of the War in Vietnam!!" they hissed.

Then they do meet him ... and find out he's a total gentleman. No where near the monster they've built him up to be. 40 some years later, they still couldn't understand how they could have been so wrong.

[sargon]

Maybe it's just when I was born (1965), but The Searchers was just too stereotypical for me on the whole "Indian hater" angle. Maybe if I came along 10 years earlier?

What I'm trying to say regarding the "Indians" angle is probably illustrated by the fact that I like "The Outlaw Josey Wales" so much.

Additionally, it again closes with an implausible plot element (like I noted with "Liberty Valance"). I find the notion that John Wayne's character (Ethan) was ready to kill Debbie to be simply unbelievable!

And I disagree about "Shane" being overrated.

Also—as many have noted—Unforgiven is almost too much as far as deconstructing the Western myth...

[yarddog]

Bob Hope made two really good Western comedies.

“The Paleface” and “Son of Paleface”. Roy Rogers was also in the second one.

[fortes fortuna juvat]

>>I liked Unforgiven<<

Yeah, Unforgiven was great, but the last time I watched it I noticed something that kind of bugged me. Clint somehow manages to fall down about a dozen times throughout the movie. Two or three times would have been more than enough.