# The Top 20 Westerns



## Opynion

1. Duel In The Sun

2. Stagecoach (1939)

3. Once Upon A Time In The West

4. Shane

5. Bad Day At Black Rock

6. High Noon

7. The Good The Bad And The Ugly

8. The Searchers

9. Unforgiven

10. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

11. Tombstone

12. Red River

13. My Darling Clementine

14. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre

15. The Outlaw Josey Whales

16. For A Few Dollars More

17. Rio Bravo

18. How The West Was Won

19. the Professionals

20. The Ox-bow Incident


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## Bogy

Two of my favorites are _Pale Rider_ and _Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid_.


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## Charise

I know it's not highly regarded by most, but I love _The Magnificent Seven_.


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## stevenv

The Wild Bunch and Blazing Saddles are 2 of my favorites.


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## Car1181

Move Shane up a notch or two and I think you've got it.


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## AcuraCL

Love Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. And Cheyenne Autumn. And that one with Robert Redford where he was a mountain man and married a NA woman ....


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## olgeezer

Car1181 said:


> Move Shane up a notch or two and I think you've got it.


This good lead to a lot of??????????? I didn't see Quigly Down Under, High Noon, Cat Balou, Rustlers Rhapsody, Dances with Wolves or about 30 other top twenty westerns. If you're going to include Bad Day at Black Rock, you'll also have to consider Picnic, Giant, and Grapes of Wrath. This list could get really huge


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## Car1181

High Noon is at #6...but I get your point.


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## Bogy

AcuraCL said:


> Love Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. And Cheyenne Autumn. And that one with Robert Redford where he was a mountain man and married a NA woman ....


I believe that is Jeremiah Johnson. Great movie.

Better make this the best 100. :lol:


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## Opynion

I've seen most of the movies that you all have mention, and they are also great,
the one's I haven't seen are: PALE RIDER, RUSTLERS RAPHSODY, QUIGLY DOWN UNDER and JEREMIAH JOHNSON,

other great westerns:

THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON

3:10 TO YUMA

ULZANA'S RAID

THE WESTERNER

MY PAL TRIGGER

and one I don't recall the title, but Jack Palance and Anthony Perkins are in it.


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## Charise

Rustler's Rhapsody is hilarious! I'd forgotten about that one.

Thanks for the reminder, Olgeezer.


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## Doug Higley

The Wild Bunch X 20

but may I comment on your list Opynion...not to say you are wrong...this is just how I see 'em. B Western fan from the late 40's...so gimmie Horses and Stunts! But anyway...

1. Duel In The Sun (Worst lead OVERactress performance in Western history.)

2. Stagecoach (1939) (Great! Except that the Indians would have shot the lead horse right away, so no Stagecoach Chase,)

3. Once Upon A Time In The West (Never able to get through it...tried many times B.O.R.I.N.G.)

4. Shane (Great sound FX! Best Western with a Midget star.)

5. Bad Day At Black Rock (?)

6. High Noon (Fair to middlin...some what TOO drawn out )

7. The Good The Bad And The Ugly (Multiple Climaxes..Great movie)

8. The Searchers (Deserves # 6 status)

9. Unforgiven (Not bad at all)

10. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Hokey but fun)

11. Tombstone (Good show)

12. Red River (#2 hands down. Magnificent!)

13. My Darling Clementine (Not bad...not #13)

14. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (OK-ish...not enough horses)

15. The Outlaw Josey Whales (#4 Excellent!)

16. For A Few Dollars More (OK)

17. Rio Bravo (#3...my most watched western..never Miss it)

18. How The West Was Won (Pretty darn good show)

19. the Professionals (PU)

20. The Ox-bow Incident (PU 2...depressing as hell)

Could be added...Open Range...Jerimiah Johnson...She Wore A Yellow Ribbon...
Cahill, US Marshall...Star Wars (ok...only kidding)

Worst Westerns IMO: (Only 'A' titles apply)...

1. The War Wagon (ridiculous plot...chasing an armored wagon around for 2 hours...again, all they had to do was shoot the lead horse! Result: 5 minute movie. 

2 Shalako (good grief!)

3. Duel In The Sun (see above)

4. Once Upon A Time In The Old West. (uh)

Thanks for the thread...I watch Westerns every day and have from the cave days...excuse my opinions if they don't match.

Of the B Westerns...those in the 30's were good ones (Bob Steele being a favorite)...1940's look to Alan 'Rocky' Lane for solid Horse Opera...the Roy and Gene catalogs were OK...catered a bit too much to the fems though...3 Mesquiteers when John Wayne was the 'Stoney Brook' Character and most all the 1930's John Wayne movies were excellent westerns of the old school type.


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## Opynion

My favorite western is Shane, and I didn't watch Pale Rider because a critic said that it was made like Shane, but it was not quite as good, but I will take a look at it.



olgeezer said:


> If you're going to include Bad Day at Black Rock, you'll also have to consider Picnic, Giant, and Grapes of Wrath. This list could get really huge


Bad Day at Black Rock and Giant and others like them, could be considered as modern westerns, like HUD with Paul Newman /
and JUNIOR BONNER
starring: Steve McQueen 
he was more cool then, than Bruce Willis now.


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## Opynion

Doug Higley said:


> so gimmie Horses and Stunts!


There are a lot of non-westerns with great horse scenes: BEN-HUR, 
...SLEEPY HOLLOW, with Johnny Depp, 
the Mel Gibson's Oscar winning movie... 



Doug Higley said:


> 1. Duel In The Sun (Worst lead OVERactress performance in Western history.)
> 
> 2. Stagecoach (1939) (Great! Except that the Indians would have shot the lead horse right away, so no Stagecoach Chase,)
> 
> 3. Once Upon A Time In The West (Never able to get through it...tried many times B.O.R.I.N.G.)
> 
> 5. Bad Day At Black Rock (?)


I like the scenes where the coyote/wolf cries/howls at night in both movies, Duel in the Sun and Stagecoach, those animals made an input on those movies 
great camara work: Duel in the Sun
some movies (including westerns) have boring parts, but you can jump them using the fast-forward button, 
I do that all time, on all kinds of movies. :lol: 
Bad Day at Black Rock, Spencer Tracy arrives in a deserted western town by train...
&
How about your own list?


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## Bogy

I don't know if its really a western or a mining movie, but "Paint Your Wagon" is a hilarious movie.

I don't know if these really fit here, they could also go in the jokes forum, but they just kind of seem to fit here as a side bar. :lol:

*Things You'll Never Hear In A Western Movie:*

"I reckon I'll have me a half-caf double latte with a twist. 
IN A DIRTY MUG!"

"Gentlemen, rather than get caught up in mindless reaction, 
let's draw upon our feminine selves for a more intuitive 
solution."

"Can we postpone this duel till 12:05? I gotta use the little 
boys room."

"******! Quick, pull the wagons into an irregular dodecagon!"

"Y'know, Badlands Pete... a roaring campfire, good coffee, 
nice prairie breeze, just you 'n' me... what say we put on 
the rhinestone gowns and dance a jig or two?"

"Let's see... hardtack and pemmican... that's three grams of 
fat, seven grams of protein, and two starches."

"You 'n' Slim round up them strays, and I'll tell Cookie to 
get started on the gazpacho and the fondue."

"That's him! That's the yella-bellied varmint who shot my 
therapist!"

"He was a strong man, a good marshal, and I reckon he had a 
keen eye for interior decoration."

"Hey, Buck, do these chaps make my butt look big?"

"It's like I keep tellin' ya, Earl: men is from Tombstone, 
women is from Dodge."

"HANG HIM HIGH, BOYS!! ...Okay, now a little to the left... 
.Oooh! Stop right there. Perfect!"


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## emathis

How about:

Lonely are the brave

A big hand for a little lady

Support your local sheriff! (and Support your local gunfighter)

Destry rides again


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## Opynion

here are twenty more westerns:

21. SMOKY - Fred McMurray

22. GARDEN OF EVIL - Gary Cooper

23. BITE THE BULLET - Gene Hackman

24. CIMARRON - The Academy Award winner

25. SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON - The Duke

26. BROKEN LANCE - Spencer T.

27. THE WILD BUNCH

28. HONDO - John Wayne

29. MAN WITHOUT A STAR - Kirk Douglas

30. LAW AND ORDER - Walter Huston

31. HUD 

32. THE BIG COUNTRY - Gregory Peck

33. ANGEL AND THE BAD MAN

34. THE LONELY MAN - Jack Palance

35. GIANT

36. LONELY ARE THE BRAVE

37. COLORADO TERRITORY - Joel McCrea

38. SILVERADO

39. THE GUNFIGHTER - Gregory Peck

40. HIDALGO


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## Doug Higley

Best Cowboy:

John Wayne
William Boyd (Hoppalong Cassidy)
Jimmy Stewart
William Holden
Ken Maynard
Buck Jones
Johnny Mack Brown
Roy Rogers
Bob Steele
Robert Duval
Clint Eastwood
James Garner
Randolph Scott

Best Hat:

Tom Sellick (Quigley Down Under)
Buck Jones
Tim McCoy
John Wayne
Robert Duval

Best Horse:

Trigger/Trigger Jr.
Black Jack (Alan 'Rocky' Lane)
'Silver' (The Lone Ranger and 'Three Mesquiteers' series)
Topper (Hoppy's)
Randolph Scott's Horse (w/Cream Mane and Tail).


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## olgeezer

Best facial hair
1. Sam Elliot
2. Tom Selleck


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## olgeezer

Horse---------What happened to Champion and the horse leads from Cat Ballou and Blazing Saddles or Wildfire from Rustler's Rhapsody?


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## Nick

Best Cowboys: 
Gene Autry

Best Horses: 
Champion

Best "Sidekicks":
Jay "Tonto" Silverheels - sidekick to the Lone Ranger

George "Gabby" Hayes - sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd). As "Gabby" Whitaker with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Bill Elliot, Randolph Scott and John Wayne.

(more sidekicks to come)

Fun Site : www.cowboypal.com


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## Joe Bernardi

Since Best Cowboy was added to this discussion, I'll add a couple of my favorites when I was a kid:

Lash Larue
Tim Holt


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## Opynion

best cowboys:

1. John Wayne
2. Clint Eastwood
3. Gary Cooper
4. Gene Autry
5. James Stewart
6. Henry Fonda
7. Kirk Douglas
8. Richard Widmark
9. Alan Ladd
10. Joel McCrea 
11. Roy Rogers
12. Steve McQueen
13. Tom Mix
14. Gregory Peck
15. Charles Bronson 

movie lines in western movies:

High Noon
Gary Cooper: They're making me run and I never runned from nobody!

Hud
Paul Newman: My Paw thinks Oil is something you stick in your salad dressing!

The Outlaw Josey Whales
Clint E.: Well are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?!

best cowboy singers:

Kenny Rogers
Burl Ives


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## Opynion

Encore has the EncoreWesterns-E and the EncoreWesterns-W, they should have one channel 
ONLY for "western movies", and the other Western channel
'only' for the "westerns tv series", like: Bonanza, High Chaparral, Rawhide, Have Gun Will Travel, Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, Cheyenne, Big Valley, Hopalong Cassidy, 
Kung-Fu series from the 70's, Gene Autry show, including the mini-series western - starring Steve McQueen, etc ect.


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## Opynion

20 Westerns I've never seen, and that I would like to watch:

1. In Old Arizona (1929)

2. The Plainsman - Gary Cooper

3. Drums Along the Mohawk

4. Union Pacific

5. Virginia City 

6. Billy the Kid (1941)

7. Wagon-Master

8. The Last of the Mohicans (1936)

9. Heaven's Gate

10. The Culpepper Cattle Co.

11. High Lonesome

12. Pony Express

13. King of the Cowboys

14. Way Out West

15. 40 Guns

16. Tumbling Tumbleweeds

17. Jeremiah Johnson

18. Pat Garret and Billy the Kid
(I saw part of it)

19. Allegheny Uprising

20. Rustler's Rhapsody


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## silverback

Deadwood, Eps 1-20. I really like that show.

Other favorites that haven't been mentioned are,

Silverado.

Paint your wagon. 

Support your local sherriff/gunfighter.

Pretty much all the Eastwood westerns, Which one did he say "We've all got it comin' kid"? Don't remember the title but I liked that one.

Quigley down under.

The cowboys.

My wife loves McClintock to a degree I find slightly disturbing....


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## Opynion

silverback said:


> Pretty much all the Eastwood westerns, Which one did he say "We've all got it comin' kid"? Don't remember the title but I liked that one.


That's a good line in 'Unforgiven',
another great line in that same western:

"I've always been lucky when it comes to killing folks."

& and I did mention Silverado, and others mention some of the other titles;
I never get tired of westerns and action movies.


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## Opynion

Other Westerns that are Ok.

RIVER OF NO RETURN
starring Robert Mitchum
and Marlyn Monroe

THE TALL T

THE OUTLAW

DODGE CITY

EL DORADO

THE BAD MAN 
Wallace Beery
Lionel Barrymore
Ronald Reagan

THE RIDE BACK
Anthony Quinn

TWO RODE TOGETHER 
James Stewart
Richard Widmark

BIG JAKE

THE COMANCHEROS

JOHNNY GUITAR

WESTERN UNION

WARLOCK 
starring Richard Widmark
Henry Fonda 
Anthony Quinn

YELLOW SKY

A GUNFIGHT 
Kirk Douglas
Johnny Cash

ALONG THE GREAT DIVIDE

GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL

VIVA VILLA
Wallace Beery


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## stevenv

Another favorite of mine not mentioned yet is "The Missouri Breaks", with Marlon Brando & Jack Nicholson.


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## dpd146

No love for Young Guns???


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## Opynion

I saw 
Young Guns 
part one, it was ok too! 

ONE EYED JACKS 
starring Marlon Brando
was ok too!

and I don't recall seeing 
The Missouri Breaks
I also saw Marlon Brando in The Apalaoosa or something like that, when I was a kid, but I don't remember if it was ok or not :scratch:

the one I'm not interested is 
Brokeback Mountain :nono:
it's not a western of when men were men 

More Westerns deserved to win Oscars or at least more of them should've been nominated to the Academy Awards, Westerns have been discriminated throughout the years by the Academy, those guys know nothing about western life, they just sit tight in their office with their nice suits and ties, and since they're mostly bi-sexuals, so they decided to nominate Brokeback Mountain. :lol:


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## dpd146

Opynion said:


> the one I'm not interested is
> Brokeback Mountain :nono:
> it's not a western of when men were men
> 
> More Westerns deserved to win Oscars or at least more of them should've been nominated to the Academy Awards, Westerns have been discriminated throughout the years by the Academy, those guys know nothing about western life, they just sit tight in their office with their nice suits and ties, and since they're mostly bi-sexuals, so they decided to nominate Brokeback Mountain. :lol:


Tell us how you really feel


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## dfergie

Open Range...


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## Opynion

I don't feel nothing about westerns, I just like them;
I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain, and I won't see it after I knew what it was about, gay-cowboys, not in the gay sense that was used in a Gene Autry movie.
some think that Anthony Quinn was kind of gay in WARLOCK, just like in Brokeback, 
just because he said in that movie that he loved the role that Henry Fonda was playing.

Open Range
The Missing
those are the newer Westerns
they don't make as many and as good westerns as they did in the good ole times!
most of the new cowboy actors are not as convincing, maybe it's because those cowboys boots just don't fit them very well 
that's why they can make cowboy-gays movies alot easier, and
"that fits them in just fine"(if you know what I mean). :lol:


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## dfergie

Newer westerns ... 
Open Range
The Missing (thanks for the reminder) filmned in NM
fairlynew... (last 15 years or so)
Quigley Down Under ( Aussie western) 
The Last of the Dogmen (modern times but still...) 
The Postman ( future that won't be but still... more of a western)
Dances with wolves
The Mountain Men
Jerimiah Johnson
(the last 2 actually pre westerns) ( See Terry C. Johnston books for Mt Men )
Tnt Movies:
Monte Walsh
The Shadow Riders
Conagher
Crossfire Trail
The Sacketts


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## Opynion

The Three Godfathers
starring: John Wayne
Pedro Armendariz & Harry Carey Jr.
Armendariz mother was an Anglo American, her last name was Hastings, that's why his daughter is a blond lady with blue eyes;
Pedro Armendariz Hastings co-starred in other Hollywood movies like:
TULSA - kind of a western
FORT APACHE - Western 
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
in the Mexican classic cinema, no other actor was in MORE better movies than him. 
3 Godfathers is a 1948 remake, I prefer the original of 1930 in b/w, apparently there is another remake done in 1936 (I haven't seen that one).


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## Opynion

Gone With The Wind
could also count as a Western,
they have horses, 
it takes place in the 1800's
it's a Western! 

last month, on the DISH Magazine,
the GARDEN OF EVIL western was rated with 2 stars and a half, :nono:
but on the May edition, that same movie is now rated with four stars 
they finally recognized that 
that movie is a gem.

and THE PROFESSIONALS
that movie that some people don't like,
that movie was nominated for an Oscar for best cinematography, at least that is what I heard on tv
the camara work is what makes a movie more enjoyable than a great story with a lousy camara work.


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## leestoo

A few westerns that I like that haven't been mentioned are:

*Blood On The Moon *(1948) with Robert Mitchum

*Tall In The Saddle *(1944) with John Wayne, Gabby Hayes & Ella Raines

And a B western that I like is *Hellfire* with Bill Elliott and Marie Windsor.

My favorite western is *Winchester '73*

And number 2 is *The Searchers*

Great Thread.


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## blueeyedman196

Tombstone


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## Opynion

blueeyedman196 said:


> Tombstone


There are alot of movies about the OK CORRAL, the ones I like:

MY DARLING CLEMENTINE

GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL

TOMBSTONE

and one that James Garner made, I saw it once only.

My favorite STAR TREK episode is when Captain Kirk and part of his crew land in a place where they are seen as the enemies of Wyatt Earp, they try to avoid the shoot-out at the OK Corral, but Wyatt & Doc H. had already made their minds of meeting them at the Ok Corral, and no matter where Captain Kirk and his crew would go, they always ended up at the Ok. Corral :lol:


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## olgeezer

Opynion said:


> There are alot of movies about the OK CORRAL, the ones I like:
> 
> MY DARLING CLEMENTINE
> 
> GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL
> 
> TOMBSTONE
> 
> and one that James Garner made, I saw it once only.
> 
> My favorite STAR TREK episode is when Captain Kirk and part of his crew land in a place where they are seen as the enemies of Wyatt Earp, they try to avoid the shoot-out at the OK Corral, but Wyatt & Doc H. had already made their minds of meeting them at the Ok Corral, and no matter where Captain Kirk and his crew would go, they always ended up at the Ok. Corral :lol:


I think that was Hour of the Gun or something like that.
For those who haven't seen "Brokeback Mountain" its a great western co written by Larry McMurtry (writer of the best TV western movie--Lonesome Dove)


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## Opynion

That LONESOME DOVE had great ratings, the only ones I haven't seen is the Lonesome Dove series,
I'll give Brokeback Mountain a chance¸ I just hope that is not catchy;

James Stewart's 
color westerns:
BEND OF THE RIVER
THE MAN FROM LARAMIE

It's too bad that John Wayne and Clint Eastwood never worked together in a western, it would've been a great one! 
another great one would've been
Marlon Brando 
& John Wayne 
I think a western could still be possible with these actors, but it would have to be an animated western with computer work.


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## leestoo

For the last couple of weeks TCM has been showing a lot of Glenn Ford westerns. He was in some really good westerns.

One that I had not seen before that I really like was *The Fastest Gun Alive*. Although I thought Broderick Crawford looked too old as the gunslick who wants to have a shootout with Ford.


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