The ultimate 100 greatest Westerns list according to dry Styx
These are obviously the most fascinating and identifiable of the Westerns. My list will differ from most in that I am more interested in characters, especially supporting characters, in which most of this are stick out films, scenery, story, and the premise that a good story is usually "credible characters in incredible circumstances". I'm not including the comedy Westerns, as I will put them on a "comedy" list. Sorry, Saddles and Cat.
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100 titles
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsBarbara StanwyckJoel McCreaAkim TamiroffIn 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJoel McCreaRandolph ScottMariette HartleyAn ex-union soldier is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsPaul NewmanFredric MarchRichard BooneJohn Russell, disdained by his "respectable" fellow stagecoach passengers because he was raised by Native Americans, becomes their only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneHenry FondaShirley TempleAt Fort Apache, an honorable and veteran war captain finds conflict when his regime is placed under the command of a young, glory hungry lieutenant colonel with no respect for the local Indian tribe.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckJoan CollinsStephen BoydA man is chasing four outlaws who killed his wife and finds them in a small town's jail, but they escape to Mexico.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJeffrey HunterVera MilesAn American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsAlan LaddJean ArthurVan HeflinA weary gunfighter in 1880s Wyoming begins to envision a quieter life after befriending a homestead family with a young son who idolizes him, but a smoldering range war forces him to act.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartWalter HustonTim HoltTwo down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsHenry FondaDana AndrewsMary Beth HughesWhen a posse captures three men suspected of killing a local farmer, they become strongly divided over whether or not to lynch the men.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsVan HeflinTab HunterKathryn GrantA powerful rancher always protects his wild adult son by paying for damages and bribing witnesses, until his crimes become too serious to rectify.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsRobert TaylorStewart GrangerLloyd NolanIn 1883 South Dakota, two buffalo hunters start a personal feud over a captured squaw and a stand-off with a Dakota raiding party over some stolen horses.
- DirectorTed PostStarsClint EastwoodInger StevensPat HingleWhen an innocent man barely survives a lynching, he returns as a lawman determined to bring the vigilantes to justice.
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsGlenn FordWilliam HoldenEllen DrewAt the end of the Civil War, two friends return home to Colorado and one of them has changed and is violent and erratic.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsKirk DouglasRobert MitchumRichard WidmarkIn 1843, a former U.S. Senator leads a wagon train of settlers to Oregon, but his megalomania leads to growing dissatisfaction with his leadership.
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsGary CooperLoretta YoungWilliam DemarestA good-natured saddle tramp traveling with his sidekick is mistaken for a ruthless outlaw with a price on his head.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGary CooperGrace KellyThomas MitchellA town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsJohn WayneGeraldine PageWard BondArmy dispatch rider Hondo Lane discovers a woman and young son living in the midst of warring Apaches and becomes their protector.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGary CooperWalter BrennanDoris DavenportJudge Roy Bean, a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegarroon, Texas, befriends saddle tramp Cole Harden, who opposes Bean's policy against homesteaders.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneKim DarbyGlen CampbellA drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in Indian Territory.
- DirectorJesse HibbsStarsAudie MurphyAnne BancroftPat CrowleyAn agent sent from Washington in 1874 takes charge of an Apache reservation and has the oppressive US Army back off, which creates conflicts and causes the Indians to have great respect for him.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsWilliam HoldenEleanor ParkerJohn ForsytheDuring the Civil War, a group of Confederates escapes from the Union POW camp at Fort Bravo but has to contend with the desert, the Mescalero Apaches and the pursuing Union troops.
- DirectorR.G. SpringsteenStarsAudie MurphyDarren McGavinRuta LeeFormer Texas Rangers Sam Ward and Logan Keliher become enemies when Sam turns bank robber and Logan marries Sam's ex-wife.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartArthur KennedyDonald CrispNewcomer Will Lockhart defies the local cattle baron and his sadistic son by working for one of his oldest rivals.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsMarlene DietrichArthur KennedyMel FerrerAfter the murder of his fiancée, a Wyoming ranch hand sets out to find her killer.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsDon MurrayDiane VarsiChill WillsAfter ranch hand Tod Lohman accidentally kills the son of a powerful rancher, he panics and flees, but the rancher and his vengeful crew hunt Tod down.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartJanet LeighRobert RyanA bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-trustworthy strangers.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsGary CooperMadeleine CarrollPaulette GoddardIn 1885, a Texas Ranger travels to Canada to arrest a trapper who's wanted for murder and who's stirring up the Natives in a rebellion against the Canadian government.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsEdmond O'BrienDean JaggerForrest TuckerJohn Vickers joins Custer's cavalry regiment seeking private revenge.
- DirectorRobert N. BradburyStarsJohn WayneSheila BromleyFrank McGlynn Jr.As a youngster John Wyatt saw his parents killed and his brother kidnapped. On a wagon train heading West he meets his brother who is now a spy for the gang which originally did the dirty work. He and his brother both fall for Mary Gordon.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJoseph CottenLinda DarnellJeff ChandlerForced by circumstances,Confederate POWs and Union soldiers join forces against Indians but old animosities resurface during their fragile alliance.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartRock HudsonArthur KennedyWhen a town boss confiscates homesteaders' supplies after gold is discovered nearby, a tough cowboy risks his life to try and get it to them.
- DirectorJames NeilsonStarsJames StewartAudie MurphyDan DuryeaA fired railroad man is re-hired and entrusted to carry a ten thousand dollar payroll in secret, even though he is suspected of being connected to outlaws.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsTobey MaguireSkeet UlrichJewelDuring the American Civil War, two friends join the Bushwhackers, a militant group loyal to the Confederacy.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBen JohnsonA cavalry officer posted on the Rio Grande is confronted with murderous raiding Apaches, a son who's a risk-taking recruit and his wife from whom he has been separated for many years.
- DirectorLeslie FentonStarsWilliam HoldenMacdonald CareyMona FreemanAn outlaw separates from his two partners in crime after they join the Texas Rangers, and he continues to commit daring robberies.
- DirectorJames Edward GrantStarsJohn WayneGail RussellHarry CareyQuirt Evans, an all round bad guy, is nursed back to health and sought after by Penelope Worth, a Quaker girl. He eventually finds himself having to choose between his world and the world Penelope lives in.
- DirectorJames B. ClarkStarsAlan LaddDon MurrayDan O'HerlihyIn this Western, Alan Ladd exacts revenge on a small town the best way he knows how -- by becoming sheriff.
- DirectorVincent McEveetyStarsJames StewartHenry FondaInger StevensA peace-loving, part-time Sheriff in the small town of Firecreek must take a stand when a gang of vicious outlaws takes over his town.
- DirectorGeorge ShermanJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneRichard BooneMaureen O'HaraIn 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson and holds him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsDennis QuaidBilly Bob ThorntonEmilio EchevarríaBased on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texan and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Mexican dictator Santa Anna's forces at the Alamo in San Antonio Texas.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsRichard WidmarkHenry FondaAnthony QuinnA famous gunman becomes the marshal of Warlock to end a gang's rampages, but is met with some opposition by a former gang member turned deputy sheriff who wants to follow only legal methods.
- DirectorJesse HibbsStarsAudie MurphySusan CabotDan DuryeaAfter his father and brother are murdered by a corrupt lawyer and sheriff duo, railroad surveyor Clay O'Mara plans his revenge, and is aided by former outlaw Whitey Kincade.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsYul BrynnerSteve McQueenCharles BronsonSeven gunfighters are hired by Mexican peasants to liberate their village from oppressive bandits.
- DirectorJesse HibbsStarsAudie MurphyGia ScalaWalter MatthauFugitive bank robber Joe Maybe steals the identity of a marshal and rides into a town whose judge asks Joe to act as town marshal but an old flame almost betrays his real identity forcing Joe to claim she's his wife.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsKirk DouglasElsa MartinelliWalter MatthauA scout leading a wagon train through hostile Indian country unwittingly gets involved with a Sioux chief's daughter.
- DirectorRay EnrightRaoul WalshStarsErrol FlynnAlexis SmithS.Z. SakallAn Australian sheepman comes to Montana looking for grazing space, and is opposed by local ranchers and a wealthy cattle-woman.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneJorge RiveroJennifer O'NeillAfter the Civil War, Cord McNally searches for the two traitors whose treachery caused the defeat of McNally's unit and the loss of a close friend.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsRobert YoungRandolph ScottDean JaggerWhen Edward Creighton leads the construction of the Western Union to unite East with West, he hires a Western reformed outlaw and a tenderfoot Eastern surveyor.
- DirectorHerbert ColemanStarsAudie MurphyJohn SaxonZohra LampertBanner Cole is a tough sheriff's deputy who forms a small posse to go after 4 death cell escapees who killed the sheriff , along with 3 other men, and kidnapped a woman with rape in mind.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsJames StewartMaureen O'HaraBrian KeithAn English woman and her daughter enlist the aid of a cowboy to try and get their hardy hornless bull to mate with the longhorns of Texas, but have to overcome greedy criminals and the natural elements.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsRobert TaylorDenise DarcelHope EmersonA trail guide escorts a group of women from Chicago to California to marry men that have recently begun settling there.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsBroderick CrawfordBarbara HaleJohnny StewartThe remnants of a massacred cavalry troop and ragtag group of stagecoach passengers fight for survival against fierce Comanches at a desert ruin.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsRandolph ScottKay FrancisBrian DonlevyFictionalized story of how the Dalton brothers were wronged by a crooked development company and became outlaws when the corrupt local courts offered them no justice.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsClark GableJane RussellRobert RyanTwo brothers discharged from the Confederate Army join a businessman for a cattle drive from Texas to Montana where they run into raiding Jayhawkers, angry Sioux, rough terrain and bad weather.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsGary CooperPhyllis ThaxterDavid BrianMajor Lex Kearney becomes the North's first counterespionage agent as he tries to discover who's behind the theft of Union cavalry horses in Colorado during the Civil War.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsAudie MurphyFaith DomergueStephen McNallyMarshal Tyrone and the Silver Kid form an uneasy alliance against a gang of claim jumpers.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsGary CooperSusan HaywardRichard WidmarkA trio of American adventurers marooned in rural Mexico are recruited by a beautiful woman to rescue her husband trapped in a cave in Apache territory.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneRobert MitchumJames CaanCole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with an old Indian fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher who's trying to steal their water.
- DirectorNathan JuranStarsAudie MurphyWalter BrennanLyle BettgerWhen whites hunger after the gold on Ute Indian land, a bigoted young man finds himself forced into a peacekeeping role.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsRichard WidmarkDonna ReedWilliam CampbellJim Slater seeks a survivor of the Apache ambush his father died in.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsJeff BridgesMatt DamonHailee SteinfeldA stubborn teenager enlists the help of a tough U.S. Marshal to track down her father's murderer.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsKirk DouglasAnthony QuinnCarolyn JonesA marshal tries to bring the son of an old friend, an autocratic cattle baron, to justice for his role in the rape and murder of the marshal's Native American wife.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsMarlon BrandoAnjanette ComerJohn SaxonMan tries to recover a horse stolen from him by a Mexican bandit.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsGlenn FordVan HeflinFelicia FarrBroke small-time rancher Dan Evans is hired by the stagecoach line to put big-time captured outlaw leader Ben Wade on the 3:10 train to Yuma but Wade's gang tries to free him.
- DirectorWilliam A. GrahamStarsDon MurrayAnne FrancisEdmond O'BrienThe James and Younger outlaw gangs ride into town, and it is up to the local marshal, who has lost both his nerve and his gun skills, to stop them.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJames StewartJohn WayneVera MilesA senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins.
- DirectorMichael CurtizJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneStuart WhitmanIna BalinTexas Ranger Jake Cutter arrests gambler Paul Regret, but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner in an undercover effort to defeat a band of renegade arms merchants and thieves dealing with the Comanches known as Comancheros.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsGlenn FordShirley MacLaineLeslie NielsenA brash stranger and his sheep arrive in a small town, but not soon after, the townspeople decide they've seen enough of him.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsClint EastwoodRobert DuvallJohn SaxonAn ex-bounty hunter reluctantly helps a wealthy landowner and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJoan CrawfordSterling HaydenMercedes McCambridgeAfter helping a wounded gang member, a strong-willed female saloon owner is wrongly suspected of murder and bank robbery by a lynch mob.
- DirectorRussell RouseStarsGlenn FordJeanne CrainBroderick CrawfordIn the western frontier town of Cross Creek, storekeeper George Temple is a polite and soft spoken man with a secret past. When 3 bank robbers on the lam stop in town to change horses, George's past comes back to haunt him.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaLinda DarnellVictor MatureAfter their cattle are stolen and their brother murdered, the Earp brothers have a score to settle with the Clanton family.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsRod SteigerSara MontielBrian KeithWhen the South loses the war, Confederate veteran O'Meara goes West, joins the Sioux, takes a wife and refuses to be an American but he must choose a side when the Sioux go to war against the U.S. Army.
- DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsJohnny DeppArmie HammerWilliam FichtnerNative American warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottGail RussellLee MarvinA former sheriff blames himself for his wife's death during a Wells Fargo robbery and vows to track down and kill the seven men responsible.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsRandolph ScottMarguerite ChapmanGeorge MacreadyA man is bent on taking revenge on those he believes are responsible for his fiance's death.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottCraig StevensBarry KelleyTexan Tom Buchanan is heading back home with enough money to start his own ranch, but when he stops in the crooked town of Agry, he's robbed and framed for murder.
- DirectorLewis D. CollinsStarsWhip WilsonAndy ClydeTommy FarrellFleeing a sheriff's posse after being unjustly accused as horse-thieves, Dave "Kansas Kid" Hill and Sagebrush Charlie are befriended by Ed Dawson, who is wounded while helping them escape. Kansas take Ed to a doctor in Tonto City, and Ed offers them jobs with his father's trail herd. They report to Dawson's foreman, Slavens, who instead sends them to the rival Coulter outfit. Suspicious to Slaven's motives, Ed sends Kansas and Charlie ahead to his father's ranch where, due to a misunderstanding, his sister Mary tries to ambush them. They sign up with Mr. Dawson just in time to hear the trail boss, Red trying to get the hands to quit Dawson and join Coulter. Kansas stops this but Mary has found a reward poster on Kansas and Charlie and notifies Sheriff Warner.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsTyrone PowerSusan HaywardHugh MarloweA stagecoach stop employee and a stranded woman traveller find themselves at the mercy of four desperate outlaws intent on robbing the next day's gold shipment.
- DirectorHarry KellerStarsAudie MurphyBarry SullivanVenetia StevensonA Texas Ranger must capture an outlaw and take him-in, while tangling with savage Apaches and greedy bounty-hunters on the way back to jail.
- DirectorKing VidorJack ConwayW.S. Van DykeStarsSpencer TracyRobert YoungWalter BrennanLangdon Towne and Hunk Marriner join Major Rogers' Rangers as they wipe out an Indian village. They set out for Fort Wentworth, but when they arrive they find no soldiers and none of the supplies they expected.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsSharon StoneGene HackmanRussell CroweA female gunfighter returns to a frontier town where a dueling tournament is being held, which she enters in an effort to avenge her father's death.
- DirectorJoseph KaneStarsBarbara StanwyckBarry SullivanScott BradyA Pinkerton detective goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of thieves whose boss is a feisty lady saloonkeeper. Complications ensue.
- DirectorDick RichardsStarsGary GrimesBilly Green BushLuke AskewYoung farmboy who always wanted to be a cowhand talks a tough trail boss into hiring him on a cattle drive.
- DirectorMarlon BrandoStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenPina PellicerAfter robbing a bank in Mexico, Dad Longworth absconds with the loot leaving his partner Rio to be captured by the Rurales. Rio escapes prison but struggles with his conflicting desires to love Dad's stepdaughter Louise and to get revenge.
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanStarsJoel McCreaForrest TuckerJohn RussellA cavalry troop finds itself under constant attack by Indians.
- DirectorEarl BellamyStarsAudie MurphyJoan StaleyWarren StevensA young, determined sheriff and his posse chase a gang of murderous train robbers, and a kidnapped woman into New Mexico.
- DirectorRobert BentonStarsJeff BridgesBarry BrownJim DavisA God-fearing Ohio boy dodging the Civil War draft arrives in St. Joseph, MO where he joins up with a hardscrabble group of like runaways heading west
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsAnn-MargretAlex CordRed ButtonsOn the stagecoach to Cheyenne, a mixed group of passengers must work together to survive the arduous journey and the Indian attacks.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneClaire TrevorAndy DevineA group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.
- DirectorNathan JuranStarsFred MacMurrayMargaret HayesRobert VaughnAfter claiming his daughter's childhood-sweetheart killed the marshal, one man finds himself in conflict with his daughter, his fiancée and many of the townsfolk.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsRobert ShawMary UreTy HardinGeorge Armstrong Custer's love of the heroic traditions of the Calvary and his distaste with the coming of industrialization leads him to his destiny at the Little Big Horn.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsMiriam HopkinsEdward G. RobinsonJoel McCreaMary Rutledge arrives from the East, finds her fiance dead, and goes to work at the roulette wheel of Louis Charnalis' Bella Donna, a rowdy gambling house in 1850s San Francisco.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsBarbara StanwyckRonald ReaganGene EvansSierra Nevada Jones must fight a villainous rancher to regain the land that is rightfully hers.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsRandolph ScottJane WyattJ. Carrol NaishA surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railroad must fight fur trappers who oppose the building of the railroad by stirring up Indian rebellion.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottKaren SteelePernell RobertsA bounty hunter (Randolph Scott) escorts a killer (James Best) to be tried for murder, but allows the man's outlaw brother (Lee Van Cleef) to catch up with them to have a showdown over a previous shocking murder.
- DirectorLee SholemStarsMaureen O'HaraAlex NicolWilliam BishopIn Wyoming, Sweetwater town sheriff Stan Blaine finds himself in the middle of a range war between greedy cattle barons and newcomer settlers who compete for public lands and unbranded stray cattle.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsRandolph ScottAngela LansburyWarner AndersonMarshal Calem Ware (Randolph Scott) must face unpleasant facts about his past when he attempts to run a criminal gang out of town.
- DirectorRay NazarroStarsGeorge MontgomeryKarin BoothJerome CourtlandLawmen infiltrate bandit gang to catch mining crooks.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsJohn HodiakJohn DerekDavid BrianAn innocent cowboy convicted with three robbers, fresh out of Yuma Territorial Prison, travels with them to get a share of their hidden loot.