Westerns based on real people.
Some of the Western films that were based on a real lawman, gunslinger or outlaw, are well made and highly entertaining. Even so, it can't compare with seeing the actual person! My list includes Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Doc Holliday, Wild Bill Hickok and Billy the Kid.
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- DirectorWalter HillStarsJeff BridgesEllen BarkinJohn HurtThe early career of legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickock is telescoped and culminates in his relocation in Deadwood and a reunion with Calamity Jane.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosKevin JarreStarsKurt RussellVal KilmerSam ElliottA successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsKevin CostnerDennis QuaidGene HackmanFrom Wichita to Dodge City, to the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, a man becomes a myth in this thrilling journey of romance, adventure, and desperate heroic action.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsJason PatricGene HackmanRobert DuvallThe story of the Apache chief and his armed resistance to the U.S. Government's subjugation of his people.
- DirectorArnold LavenStarsChuck ConnorsKamala DeviPat ConwayIn 1880s Arizona, General Crook and his troops are trying to subdue the last tribe of Apache led by Geronimo.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJames CoburnKris KristoffersonRichard JaeckelPat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsJames GarnerJason RobardsRobert RyanMarshal Wyatt Earp kills a couple of men of the Clanton gang in a fight. In revenge, Clanton's thugs kill the Marshal's brother. Thus, Wyatt starts to chase the killers together with his friend Doc Holliday.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsJohnny Mack BrownWallace BeeryKay JohnsonIn this version of the Billy the Kid legend, Billy, after shooting down land baron William Donovan's henchmen for killing Billy's boss, is hunted down and captured by his friend, Sheriff Pat Garrett. He escapes and is on his way to Mexico when Garrett, recapturing him, must decide whether to bring him in or to let him go.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsBurt LancasterKirk DouglasRhonda FlemingLawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
- DirectorDavid MillerFrank BorzageStarsRobert TaylorBrian DonlevyIan HunterIn 1880 New Mexico, during a feud between cattle growers, former childhood friends Billy the Kid and Jim Sherwood end-up working for opposite sides.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsPaul NewmanLita MilanJohn DehnerAfter his employer is murdered by rival cattlemen, a troubled and uneducated young cowboy vows revenge on the murderers.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordKatharine RossIn 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.
- DirectorClifford SmithStarsWilliam S. HartEthel Grey TerryKathleen O'ConnorAfter the America Civil War ends, important political and military figures gather in Washington D.C. Gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok (William Hart) retires to Dodge City where he hangs up his gun belt and takes over a card table. Local lawmen are unable to rid the town of lawless cowboys. Hickok's arch-enemy and gang leader Jack McQueen accuses Hickok of losing his nerve. Hickok visits General Custer and retrieves his sword, taking up his role once more as a fighter for what's right. He returns to Dodge City and enlists the help of friends Wyatt Earp, Calamity Jane, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday, Charlie Bassett, Luke Short, and Bill Tilghman to clean up the town. Hickok falls for the wife of George Hamilton (Carl Gerard). Pursued for his crimes, McQueen leaves town and gets away. Hickok follows him and tries to bring him to justice.
- DirectorSam NelsonMack V. WrightStarsBill ElliottMonte BlueCarole WayneA short plot summary finds Wild Bill Hickok (Bill Elliott), the U.S. Marshal in Abilene, Kansas, opposing the Phantom Raiders, a gang of renegades raiding the cattle drives over the Chisholm Trail from Texas to Abilene. Hickok organizes the boys of the town into the "Flaming Arrows" to assist him. Finally, in the 15th chapter, "Trail's End", Hickok, the "Flaming Arrows" and army scout Kit Lawson (Kermit Maynard) combine to put an end to the Phantom Raiders.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsConstance BennettBruce CabotWarren WilliamIn 1870s Montana, Wild Bill Hickok fights against injustices brought upon the settlers by a crooked land-developer aided by a dishonest sheriff and illegal land-grabbers.
- DirectorHenry KingIrving CummingsStarsTyrone PowerHenry FondaNancy KellyAfter railroad agents forcibly evict the James family from their family farm, Jesse and Frank turn to banditry for revenge.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsRobert WagnerJeffrey HunterHope LangeBiopic loosely based on the last 18 years of Jesse James' life and focused on the relationship between brothers Jesse and Frank James.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsBob HopeRhonda FlemingWendell CoreyOutlaw T.J. "Jesse" James tries to kill insurance agent Milford Farnsworth, who has been mistaken for him in order to collect on a big policy.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsHenry FondaGene TierneyJackie CooperFrank James continues to avoid arrest in order to take revenge on the Ford brothers for their murder of his brother Jesse.
- DirectorWilliam WiardStarsSteve McQueenLinda EvansRichard FarnsworthAn ex-army scout is hired by ranchers to kill cattle rustlers but he gets into trouble with the corrupt local officials when he's suspected of killing a boy.
- DirectorFrank PerryStarsStacy KeachFaye DunawayHarris YulinDoc Holliday, the cold-blooded sharp-shooter, reunites with his old friend, Marshall Wyatt Earp, to take down the Clanton gang in the dusty town of Tombstone, in Arizona.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsRandolph ScottNancy KellyCesar RomeroWyatt Earp agrees to become marshal and establish order in Tombstone in this very romanticized version of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsDavid CarradineStacy KeachDennis QuaidThe origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the Jesse James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsGary CooperJean ArthurJames EllisonWild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody attempt to stop an Indian uprising that was started by white gun-runners.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsPaul NewmanAva GardnerRoy JensonIn Vinegaroon, Texas, former outlaw Roy Bean appoints himself the judge for the region and dispenses his brand of justice as he sees fit.
- DirectorFederico ChentrensJean GiraultStarsPierre PerretRobert HosseinSilvia MontiThe Judge is a parody western about Judge Roy Bean.
- 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.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsRock HudsonJulie AdamsMary CastleAfter being released from prison, former gun-fighter John Wesley Hardin hopes to have his autobiography published in order to rehabilitate his tarnished reputation.
- DirectorJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneRichard WidmarkLaurence HarveyIn 1836, a small band of soldiers sacrifice their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsCliff RobertsonRobert DuvallLuke AskewThe gangs of Jesse James and Cole Younger join forces for a bungled robbery of the bank in Northfield, Minnesota.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyBusby BerkeleyStarsBetty HuttonHoward KeelLouis CalhernThe story of the great sharpshooter Annie Oakley, who rose to fame while dealing with her love/professional rival, Frank Butler.
- DirectorStan DragotiStarsMichael J. PollardRichard EvansLee PurcellA more realistic, based-on-reality, unsensationalistic portrayal of the gritty early years of one of the most famous Wild West outlaws in history, Billy the Kid.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsPaul NewmanJoel GreyKevin McCarthyA cynical Buffalo Bill hires Sitting Bull to exploit him and add his credibility to the distorted view of history presented in his Wild West Show.
- DirectorJohn Kent HarrisonStarsSam ElliottArliss HowardCarolyn McCormickFact-based biography of lawman, gunslinger, producer and director Bill Tilghman.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsJoel McCreaMaureen O'HaraLinda DarnellThe story of William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, legendary westerner, from his days as an army scout to his later activities as owner of a Wild West show.
- DirectorRoger YoungStarsJoseph RunningfoxNick RamusMichelle St. JohnThis story of epic courage and grace is a remarkable window on Native American life and the early years of the last and most feared Apache War Chief.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsCliff PottsRandy QuaidLarry WilcoxA light-hearted view of the Dalton Gang's legendary raid on Coffeyville, Kansas and the years leading up to it as the brothers form themselves into a gang of horse thieves, train and bank robbers with their arch enemy, Detective Will Smith, constantly on their heels.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsWendell CoreyMacdonald CareyEllen DrewIn this Western, the James and Younger boys ride the outlaw trail again all because of a mean Union Army Major.
- DirectorWilliam CastleStarsScott BradyBetta St. JohnJames GriffithBilly the Kid is forced to kill for the woman he loves, and is ultimately brought to justice by his old friend Pat Garrett.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandArthur KennedyA highly fictionalized account of the life of George Armstrong Custer from his arrival at West Point in 1857 to his death at the battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordWill GeerDelle BoltonA mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by the Crow tribe and proves to be a match for their warriors in single combat on the early frontier.
- 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.
- DirectorChristopher CainStarsEmilio EstevezKiefer SutherlandLou Diamond PhillipsA group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
- DirectorJerry LondonStarsJanine TurnerJean Louisa KellyPatrick BerginIn 1868 Kansas, a Lakota Sioux warrior stubbornly refuses to free the 2 white women he kidnapped, triggering a war between his tribe and General Custer's rescuing troops.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsAlan LaddVirginia MayoJoseph CalleiaThe life of nineteenth-century pioneer Jim Bowie is portrayed.
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsBrad PittCasey AffleckSam ShepardRobert Ford, who has idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the resurgent gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.
- 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.
- StarsDavid CarradineRichard WidmarkKaren BlackThe story of frontiersman Tom Horn, and his career as a cavalry scout, a tracker, a range detective, and the final events in his life that led to his tragic death.
- DirectorGeorge ShermanStarsMaureen O'HaraMacdonald CareyWill GeerWhite settlers plan to defy the agreement between the government and the Comanche in order to mine for silver on Comanche lands, while scout Jim Bowie tries to keep the peace in the territory.
- DirectorGeorge B. SeitzStarsJon HallLynn BariDana AndrewsIndian fighter, trapper and frontier scout Kit Carson leads a wagon train of settlers from Fort Bridger, along the Oregon Trail through Shoshone territory, to California which plans to secede from Mexico.
- DirectorColbert ClarkArmand SchaeferStarsJohnny Mack BrownBetsy King RossNoah BeeryA pack train led by Kit Carson is attacked by Kraft and his Mystery Riders, who want a government shipment of gold carried by the wagons. Matt Fargo manages to hide the gold, but Carson must confront the Mystery Riders time after time in order to prevent them from finding and carrying away the treasure.
- DirectorAlbert C. GannawayIsmael RodríguezStarsBruce BennettLon Chaney Jr.Faron YoungDaniel Boone leads settlers into Kentucky, but must battle Shawnee Indians who have been persuaded by a French renegade that Boone and the settlers are there to kill them and steal their land.
- DirectorDavid HowardStarsGeorge O'BrienHeather AngelJohn CarradineIn 1775, Daniel Boone settles Kentucky, despite menacing Indians and renegade whites.
- DirectorLambert HillyerStarsBill ElliottBetty MilesDub TaylorLeach Kilgrain has a plan to gain control of all the ranches in Pecos. His unscrupulous Mayor Ewell boosts taxes higher than the ranchers can pay, and Kilgrain plans to buy the land cheaply at foreclosure sales. Ellen Brandon rebels and shoots the tax collector Fuller when he visits her father, Jeb Brandon. While running from Kilgrain's henchie posse, she encounters Wild Bill Boone, grandson of the famous Daniel Boone, and forces him to change horses with her. Bill rides into Pecos and Kilgrain, knowing his reputation as a gunfighter, offers Bill the job of tax collector, and Bill accepts with the intention of getting evidence against kilgrain and the Mayor. He wires his friend Cannonball to bring a large amount of money to Pecos. Bill marks the money and gives it to the Mayor, saying it represents taxes he has collected. Meanwhile, Cannonball has his own problems as he is pursued by twins Melinda and Matilda and he thinks they are the same girl. Bill, gets the evidence he needs when Kilgrain and Ewell use the marked money to further their plans.
- DirectorGeoff CollinsStarsRichard CrennaJohn StephensonJoe BakerAnimated special recounting the adventures of the American frontiersman whose name received international prominence during his lifetime.
- DirectorGeorge ShermanStarsFess ParkerEd AmesPatricia BlairDaniel Boone leads a party of settlers into Kentucky to found the town of Boonesborough. Along the way, he meets and falls in love with a lovely, red-haired servant named Rebecca and must vie with the gambler, Jim Santee for her affection.
- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsDavid BruceKristine MillerDamian O'FlynnFrontier scout Daniel Boone is sent out to locate the only two survivors of General Braddock's men that are believed two have lived through an Indian massacre. One of the survivors, CHarlie Bryan, witnessed the capture of his two daughters, Rebecca and Helen, by the Indians. Boone succeeds in locating and rescuing the women. Shorty afterwards, the Boone party is joined by Captain Fraser, who proves to be an intelligence officer in the French forces, and Boone's small group is captured. An Indian attack is diverted and the tables are turned in favor of the British forces. Boone kills Captain Fraser, and looks forward to a happy future in Kentucky with Rebecca.
- DirectorGlenn JordanStarsJames OlsonKen HowardBrian KeithGeneral Custer is on trial for the deaths of his men at the Battle of Little Bighorn.