I know we have a lot of western movie lovers here—heck, we love just about ALL THINGS western, don’t we? Today, I thought I’d talk a little bit about some western movies that are wonderful (for all kinds of different reasons) and one that, though it was highly acclaimed, is not among my favorites. (Please, hold the rotten tomatoes, and be kind!)
No one is ever going to agree with everyone about what makes a movie “great” or more meaningful, because viewers look for different concepts when they sit down and watch a movie. Some values, and “points to ponder”, are more meaningful to some than to others. There is no right or wrong here, just a fun discussion, so y’all chime in and don’t be shy!
I really don’t have a particular order for these except my favorite, and I’ll start with that one. I would definitely have to say my favorite is The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, starring John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Woody Strode (as Pompey) and Lee Marvin—who was absolutely perfect for the Liberty Valance character.
I realize that not everyone has seen all these movies, so will try not to give any spoilers. It’s very rare that I enjoy a movie more than the book it was taken from, but The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is one of those for me. It was taken from a short story by Dorothy M. Johnson. Although the actors who were slotted in the key roles were much more “mature” than they were in Johnson’s story, I can’t help but think of those portrayals as more realistic—probably because John Wayne’s Tom Doniphon and James Stewart’s Ransom Stoddard were embedded in my mind long before I ever read the short story.
An idealistic lawyer, Ranse Stoddard (Stewart) comes west to bring some law to a place that has none. Tom Doniphon (Wayne) generally pokes fun at him and the naïve way he handles himself. Stoddard changes Doniphon’s opinion as he shows the courage and backbone he’s brought with him to accompany his law books.
Gene Pitney sings The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance–one of my all-time favorite songs!
At first, Doniphon faces down the ruthless Liberty Valance (Marvin) to protect Stoddard, but Stoddard learns how to use a gun and in the end, goes out on the street to face Liberty Valance in a fight he’s sure to lose. As the Gene Pitney song goes: “When the final showdown came at last/A law book was no good.” But…who really shot Liberty Valance? This is a movie you will not want to miss.
Another favorite is Purgatory—the story of outlaws who have died going to a place where they must be good for the length of their “sentence” if they ever hope to make it to heaven. So…what happens when some ruthless outlaws who are NOT dead find the town of Purgatory? Is there any way the inhabitants can defend themselves without voiding the time they’ve spent there trying to do good?
The final showdown between both groups will have you on the edge of your seat. Now, bear with me. This sounds hokey, in a way, but it’s really a very interesting movie with a premise that I would not have thought of in a million years. Stars include Sam Shepard, Eric Roberts, Randy Quaid, Donnie Wahlberg as Billy the Kid (a few years before Blue Bloods) and musician/songwriter J.D. Souther, one of my favorite singer/songwriters, and one of my favorite characters in this movie as Jesse James. I hope if you haven’t seen this one, you’ll give it a chance—it is very entertaining and different.
Another classic, The Magnificent Seven—starring heavy hitters such as Yul Brynner, Robert Vaughan, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn—also makes my list of best westerns.
A group of mercenaries band together to protect a small Mexican village from a marauding outfit of outlaws who will stop at nothing to take over. But…there are only seven of them and they must stand against what looks to be unbeatable odds.
Although it’s somewhat predictable, it’s one you won’t want to miss. Realistic, but avoids a lot of gore, and it’s well worth watching if for no other reason than the beautiful score by Elmer Bernstein. (Well, and who DOESN’T want to watch Yul Brynner in anything he’s in!)
This is a great trailer for The Magnificient Seven–take a look!
John Wayne has made a LOT of western movies, but one of my favorites is El Dorado—probably because I really enjoy seeing Robert Mitchum in just about anything. This flick also includes James Caan in one of his very early appearances on the silver screen.
In a nutshell, Cole Thornton (Wayne) is a hired gun who comes to the aid of an old friend, J.P. Harrah (Mitchum), a sheriff who has become a laughingstock because of his drinking. A wealthy cattle baron is determined to steal water from another ranching family, the MacDonalds, and hires his own gunfighter, Nelse McLeod, (Christopher George), an old nemesis of Thornton’s.
Is there any way that Thornton and Harrah can protect the McDonalds? It’s been common knowledge for years that Thornton and McLeod are evenly matched in their shooting abilities, and Thornton has a bullet lodged near his spine that sometimes affects his ability to draw and shoot—a secret he must hide if he has any hope of surviving and saving the MacDonalds.
As for western movies that didn’t make it to my “favorites” list, probably my number one pick for this week would be, surprisingly, a John Wayne movie that he often said was his own personal favorite—The Searchers. Many readers will disagree with me on this, I know.
Ethan Edwards (Wayne) returns to his brother’s home after an eight-year absence. In a nutshell, his brother’s daughters, Debbie (Natalie Wood) and Lucy, are abducted by Comanches. The Comanches have killed almost everyone else in the family and burned down the house.
Edwards goes in search of the girls, finding Lucy murdered. When, five years later, he and Martin Pawley (Debbie’s adopted brother) find Debbie, she refuses to leave with them. Edwards tells Debbie he’d rather see her dead than living as a Comanche and tries to kill her! Martin saves the day, and in the chaos, Edwards is wounded by a Comanche.
There’s a lot more to this before the end of the movie, but I don’t want to give away the last part of it. The main reason I don’t enjoy this one is because of Edwards’ obsession with finding Debbie, even to the point of wanting to kill her because she’s chosen to stay with the Comanche.
Also, it just seems like this entire movie goes on and on and on…That being said, there’s no denying that I’m definitely in the minority. The Searchers won many awards and is filmed beautifully, and it’s hard to say anything bad about any movie John Ford directed. It’s a masterpiece, but it’s not my cup of tea, mainly because I was so disappointed in Edwards.
We’ll do more on this next month! I have really enjoyed revisiting these movies and I always see something I never saw before when I watch them. Hmmm…maybe I better give The Searchers another chance…
What’s your least favorite western movie and why?
A native Oklahoman, I've been influenced by the west all my life. I love to write short stories and novels in the historical western and western romance genres, as well as contemporary romantic suspense! Check my Amazon author page to see my work: http://www.amazon.com/author/cherylpierson
I live in Oklahoma City with my husband of 40 years. I love to hear from readers and other authors--you can contact me here: fabkat_edit@yahoo.com
Follow me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cheryl.pierson.92
https://petticoatsandpistols.com/sweepstakesrules
I don’t know that I have a least favorite.
I have a few of them that are all kind of “tied” in that category but for different reasons. But, I have a lot more favorites than ones I DON’T care for!
My least favorite western is The Good The Bad and The Ugly. My husband and I tried to watch it, but it just went on and on and when we realized it still had an hour to go we turned it off and watched something different.
I understand! Some of those spaghetti westerns do drag on and on. My favorite one of those was High Plains Drifter–kind of spooky and it does have a plot that makes you want to see the final outcome.
That is my husband’s favorite. It’s o.k., but I think I’m with you…..there are so many better movies out there.
Joyce, have you noticed that usually it’s the men who really like that movie more than women do? I have friends whose husbands like The Searchers, but the women don’t. I never thought about it much until I was working on this blog, and I know The Searchers is pretty popular, or at least, it was, back in the day–with men. I think, like you, there are so many better movies out there, for sure!
I do enjoy westerns and am not sure I have a least favorite. There are some parodies I do not like The Ridiculous 6.
Oh, I have not seen that one! I don’t like those westerns that have a lot of up-close-bloody scenes in them that are just there for shock value. And some of the parodies, unless you’ve seen the actual original movie they are “parody-ing” (is that a word?) LOL you wouldn’t be able to ‘get the joke’ in.
My favorite Western is also a John Wayne film. Big Jake with Maureen O’Hara. I enjoyed the banter between them.
They are absolutely my favorite on-screen couple! They had great chemistry. I loved Big Jake, too, and another good one with them paired together was McLintock.
I just saw a video about the The Magnificent Seven. Yul Brenner had a hand in choosing the cast and was rather insistent on having Steve McQueen in the role he was cast…. and they didn’t get along. at. all. He was just the best person for the role.
I agree with you on The Searchers. I know it’s based on a book that was loosely based on the story of a girl, something Parker, that was kidnapped by the Comanche and refused rescue…. There are photos of her with tattoos on her chin. Anyway, I don’t like his character’s… character. He was racist back when the term was used seriously.
I liked The Cowboys, The Magnificent Seven, I like a lot of the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns. I prefer the action-oriented movies to the ones that were mostly drama.
Hi Mary Ellen, I recall reading some article about that a few years back, and Yul Brynner’s big beef with Steve McQueen was that he always tried to call attention to himself, even when it really wasn’t his “scene” to shine in. One example that was mentioned was a shot of Steve and Yul together and it was Yul’s scene–can’t remember if he was talking to someone else or what, but Steve starts messing with his hat, holding it in his hands, turning it over, etc. just because it drew people’s attention to him instead of Yul. That would really make me mad, too, as a fellow actor, for someone to try to steal scenes that weren’t theirs.
The Searchers–yes, it was based on the true story of Cynthia Ann Parker, who became Quanah Parker’s mother. By the time they found her, she had married and had children. She didn’t want to leave, but they forced her to. A very sad story. She died fairly young after she was forced to come back to the white world. She and her son, Quanah, and her daughter are buried at the Fort Sill Cemetery here in Oklahoma. I totally agree with you–I didn’t like John Wayne’s character in that movie and I could just barely make it through to the end.
I will give you The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, it’s a classic and have seen it many times, but another western by The Duke, that doesn’t get a lot of attention is Chisum. My least fav is Bad Day at Black Rock. I just didn’t get it.
I really loved Chisum. John Wayne made so many notable westerns that were really entertaining and action-packed. I didn’t like Bad Day at Black Rock either.
I can’t think of a least favorite right now but John Wayne was my favorite actor to watch.
Yes, I can’t imagine anyone else in so many of the roles he portrayed in his movies. He was perfect for those parts, wasn’t he?
Some of my favorites are El Dorado, Undefeated, McClintock, Support Your Local Sheriff, and a light-hearted one is The Apple Dumpling Gang. I grew up on westerns and like most of them.
There are so many entertaining westerns out there, and I just love nearly every one of them. I recently discovered Rory Calhoun in reruns of his series The Texan. I also saw that on GRIT, they have some movies he was in–that really did my heart good because I really do like him as an actor. I had my husband record them so we can watch in the evenings.
I haven’t seen Pergatory. I think GRIT will probably (or has) shown it. I’ll have to catch it the next time around!! I haven’t watched ALL of the Searchers, but parts of it. I can’t make it through that whole movie! lol!! I also LOVE The Return of the Magnificent Seven with Yul Brenner and Robert Fuller. I also like Hondo with John Wayne and a very young James Arness. I have to admit, it’s also fun to see Ken Curtis in The Searches before he was Festus on Gunsmoke!!! And, minus the language, I like The Cowboys with John Wayne (the only movie I know of where his character is killed), which is also the first time A Martinez was in a show. Thankfully, I get GRIT and got watch the westerns I love!
I hope you will get a chance to see Purgatory, Trudy. It is very different and entertaining. Hondo was good, too. I’m like you, I love seeing these stars in television shows and movies before they ever had a big name. It’s so fun! The other night I saw Alan Hale (the skipper on Gilligan’s Island) in a show and boy, was he YOUNG. That was probably the youngest I’ve ever seen him in anything. I just love seeing them all. John Wayne also got killed in The Shootist, the last picture he made before his death. I’m so with you on GRIT. It’s about all we watch around here anymore.
My all-time favorite western is The Cowboys with John Wayne. Seeing all those little boys trying to do a man’s job always makes me cry. Always. No matter how many times I watch it. I fiercely hated Bruce Dern and still do for killing John Wayne. He was really mean!
Oh, yes, Linda. That movie is just so heart wrenching! And there is just no one else that can play the evil villain as well as Bruce Dern! I don’t think I have ever seen him in anything when he WASN’T a villain!
I watched The Searchers only once and absolutely will not watch it again. I was so furious with John Wayne on that one.
I felt the very same way. I can’t even imagine him saying that was his favorite movie he ever worked on. That was disappointing, too. :(((
I agree with you about The Searchers. It’s a movie that will never make it to my favorite western movies list. Not Ever. One thing about Ethan Edwards that gave me pause to contemplate his character and motivations a little more was reading an article about the story and the suggestion that Debbie was actually Edwards’ daughter rather than his niece. Apparently, there are hints and clues in the movie to support this theory, but I will never watch the movie again to look for them. Ugh.
The Man who Shot Liberty Valance is my Number 1 favorite movie.
Kaye, I saw a clip about that on Youtube or somewhere, where they were talking about the possibility that Debbie was Ethan’s daughter (with his brother’s wife!) They showed a part in the clip where Ethan and Debbie’s mother exchange a few words and THE LOOK that passes between them. That was pretty convincing. Of course, if you aren’t thinking that way, you’d never put it all together. It was quite a revelation to me, and then his character’s motivations (being so adamant and so strong against her living with the Comanche) made perfect sense.
I know it gave some people pause to cast John Wayne and James Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Stewart was 53 at the time, and in the short story, he and Wayne’s character were both much younger. But for me, I can’t even imagine anyone else in those roles. (And have I mentioned how much I love Pompey?) So glad you stopped by today!
I love western movies. We just watched “McLintock” the other night. I love all John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, etc.. I have seen some wonderful western comedies. And t.v. series. I think growing up on a farm and being in 4-H helped a lot of this. Many books I have loved are also westerns, Zane Gray, Stephanie Grace Whitson etc. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net
Lori, I do too! I wonder now how we ever got by without GRIT included in our tv stations!LOL I mentioned earlier that I had been watching Rory Calhoun in The Texan, a show I didn’t ever even know about until we started watching GRIT. I really do enjoy it because he is very tough and will definitely shoot to kill if warranted.
I am surprised no one mentioned Stagecoach it is a favorites of mine. I am also fond of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and other spaghetti westerns. I also love the movie Advance to the Rear; it is a western Civil War comedy.
David, I have it on my list for next month! The Original Stagecoach, that is, with John Wayne and John Carradine. I have never heard of Advance to the Rear, so it is going on my list. Thanks for stopping in, and don’t miss next month’s post. I’ve got a few other favorites (and not so favorites) to talk about then. I’m so glad you stopped in today!
The Searchers is my least favorite western movie. I think my favorite is Big Jake, or McLintock. They’re both really good.
I agree about The Searchers. So much about that movie just sits “wrong” with me. I love both Big Jake and McLintock, but then, I just love John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara together in just about anything.
Anyone’s that didn’t show Indians as smart men and women which they were!
YES. That makes me so mad, too. And there were sure plenty of them back then. It is just painful to watch The Lone Ranger, the way Tonto has to speak, and so many other movies and series do the same thing. I think that’s one reason I loved the Daniel Boone series–because Mingo was very well-educated and was not being forced to speak in broken sentences and so on.
My absolute favorite was McClintock – John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara were always good together. The one western I walked out on was Unforgiven by Clint Eastwood..
I love McClintock too! Yes, JW and Maureen O’Hara were always wonderful together. I never walked out on a western but I turned it off and wouldn’t finish watching it. That was Once Upon a Time in the West…it bored me to tears!
I never got to go to the movies much and still don’t seem to. I hate to say it, but I have never seen any of the movies you listed above. I know they have been on TV, but their showing hasn’t coincided with a time I could watch. I have wanted to watch them and hopefully will get the chance at some point. After ready the above comments, it looks like I will have to see if GRIT TV is in our cable line-up. One movie that is a split decision, I did see on TV, The Last Of The Dogmen. It was a pretty typical movie, OK but predictable. I think it was the premise of the movie, that a tribe of Cheyenne Indians has lived in hiding for a century could exist and maintain their old ways. The rest of it, evil sheriff, violence, anthropologist & good guy trying to find and protect the tribe, was nothing special. It has been a long time since I saw it, it came out in 1995, and I saw it only the one time. I’m not sure what I would think of it now.
Patricia, I sure hope you do have GRIT tv in your channel lineup–there’s just about always something wonderful to watch on there. I have heard of The Last of the Dogmen, but have never seen it. I’m so glad you stopped by! Any and all of those old John Wayne movies with Maureen O’Hara are just fun and entertaining. Maybe you’ll get a chance to watch some of those.
I see someone else mentioned a Civil War movie for inclusion in this category, so will designate “Gone With the Wind” as my least favorite western movie. Why? Scarlett drove me nuts (I’m not a rabid women’s libber but she was just too, too…). I wasn’t that taken with most of the other characters, either.
Hi Mary, I’m glad that you and someone else included Gone With the Wind, because generally, I don’t think of those Civil War movies as westerns…WHY? They really are–they took place in that specific time period and the Civil War was the cause of so many of the changes that were brought about in our country that ultimately changed the West itself. This really has opened my eyes.
I think Wyatt Earp, with Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid, is probably my least favorite. I felt like it really dragged, especially compared to Tombstone with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, which came out around the same time.
I agree with you, Kimberly. It might have gotten more good reviews/comments if it hadn’t had such stiff competition with Tombstone, which, in my opinion, was probably the best of all the westerns depicting the Earp brothers and their life and times, etc. No one could hold a candle to Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, and there was genuine on-screen brotherly chemistry between him and Kurt Russell. I really did love that movie.
My favorite Western movie is Western the Women, staring Robert Taylor and Denise Darcell. The strength the women showed and the hardships they endured on the wagon train west makes one proud to be a woman. Of course, the fact I fell in love with Robert Taulor at the time, might have played a part. I like a lot of Clint Eastwood, Sam Elliott, movies and of course, Allen Ladd in Shane. Not crazy about John Wayne but have liked in some of his moves. Though the acting was great in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, I only watched it once because it made me sad. Looking forward to your next post.
Agnes, my fried Celia Yeary always loved that movie, Westward the Women, too! I have never seen it but I need to rectify that! I agree with you about the superb acting— and casting— in The Man who Shot Liberty Valance. Especially Lee Marvin! He was perfect for the part.
Hi Cheryl, what a great post! I agree with you about The Searchers. The movie is supposedly loosely based on Cynthia Anne Parker (mother of the great chief Quannah Parker) who did NOT want to leave her chief husband, and later died of a broken heart.
One of the more modern westerns have joined my favorite list—Open Range, with the incomparable Robert Duvall and age-appropriate romance between Annette Bening and Kevin Costner.
Good job, my dear friend.
Tanya, I’m so glad you stopped by today! Glad you enjoyed this–I’m going to do a series on this. I remember that The Searchers was “loosely” based on Cynthia Anne Parker’s story–there’s another short story that was written by Dorothy Johnson that was based on Cynthia Anne’s story, too. It’s heartwrenching.
I love Open Range, too–such a good story! I love Robert Duvall in most everything, too. He’s a good one! Hugs, girl! I miss you!!!