Underrated Westerns
No Duke, no Clint, and nothing by Ford, Leone or Peckinpah either.
These movies date mostly from the 1950s, in my view the best era for westerns, but many of them don't get talked about much these days. Fans of the genre will be familiar with most of them, however they deserve to be more widely known and appreciated.
These movies date mostly from the 1950s, in my view the best era for westerns, but many of them don't get talked about much these days. Fans of the genre will be familiar with most of them, however they deserve to be more widely known and appreciated.
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- 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.This is an almost perfect movie - brilliant script, fantastic performances, interesting characters and wonderfully paced and shot. It's basically a noir western, and it has bags of tension and atmosphere, in addition to the top drawer performances from both Heflin and Ford. Both main characters, their interactions and the various phases of their relationship are masterfully drawn. It's the best illustration of a man having to do what a man has to do, and what it costs him. And for my money, it's the finest western ever made.
- 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.Lean, taut and spare. Not a word or scene is wasted, and there are great performances from the whole cast, but particularly Pernell Roberts, who plays off Coburn and Scott expertly. Superb script by Kennedy, and the scenery of Lone Pine is beautifully shot. The final scene as the picture ends is wonderfully dramatic. The best of the Ranown pictures, which were clearly big influences on Leone and Eastwood.
- 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.There are some great Elmore Leonard adaptations, but this could well be the best. Newman is outstanding as the despised outsider forced to do the decent thing when no one else will. Diane Cilento also puts in a terrific performance in an interesting and unusual role, while Richard Boone shows why he is one of the great western bad guys. Reminiscent of Stagecoach, but tougher and much less optimistic, this is a masterpiece.
- 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.Just who are the good guys and who are the bad guys in this movie? You'll know by the end, but it's quite a tough journey, as is often the case when Mann and Stewart team up. It's a very good cast, but Stewart and Ryan stand out. The landscape (Lone Pine, the Rockies) is stark and pitiless, and its magnificence contrasts perfectly with the desperation and ruthlessness of the characters. An unusual twist on the revenge western too.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBurt LancasterBruce DavisonJorge LukeAfter fierce war chief Ulzana and a small war party jump the reservation bent on murder and terror, an inexperienced young lieutenant is assigned to track him down.A Vietnam allegory which features Burt Lancaster's greatest performance in a western. Here he plays an army scout who seems to have gone beyond mere cynicism. Really quite a difficult and bruising watch, it doesn't flinch from showing the savagery and the brutalising effects of the conflict on both the army and the Indians. You really do feel that the Old West was as grim as it's portrayed here. Probably the most downbeat Western ever made.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsBarbara StanwyckWendell CoreyWalter HustonA firebrand heiress clashes with her tyrannical father, a cattle rancher who fancies himself a Napoleon, but their relationship turns ugly only when he finds himself a new woman.One of Anthony Mann's very best westerns, which is certainly the equal of his work with James Stewart. Stanwyck and Huston (both excellent) dominate this picture, but the lesser characters are all very well played too - Anderson, Corey and Roland stand out in particular. The script is also superb, and manages the shifting dynamics of the characters' relationships with subtlety, while incorporating elements from Greek myth and tragedy. The cinematography is pretty impressive too, especially in some very striking exterior shots.
- 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.The first and one of the best Scott-Boetticher movies. Scott is out for revenge, looking for the seven men responsible for his wife's death during a robbery. It's a little more set-bound than most of the other Ranown movies, but it still packs a punch. It also has one of the best villains of the era in Lee Marvin, who is absolutely fantastic - a silkily menacing performance which keeps you on edge at all times.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsRobert RyanBurl IvesTina LouiseBlaise Starrett is a rancher at odds with homesteaders when outlaws hold up the small town. The outlaws are held in check only by their notorious leader, but he is diagnosed with a fatal wound and the town is a powder keg waiting to blow.A gem, and for me, Robert Ryan's best performance in any movie - even Bad Day at Black Rock. Here he's cast as a self-centred bullying rancher forced to risk everything for the greater good of the community when a bunch of deserters occupy the town. Burl Ives is also fantastic as the conflicted villain, and the picture conveys a real sense of threat and menace. The final act in the snowy mountains is particularly memorable. Andre De Toth's best movie by a distance.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsGary CooperJulie LondonLee J. CobbA reformed outlaw becomes stranded after an aborted train robbery with two other passengers and is forced to rejoin his old outlaw band.A typically intense western from Anthony Mann. Although Coop is too old for the part (he was older than Cobb, who plays his uncle), this is a superb but harrowing movie. Lee J Cobb is quite terrifying as the unhinged villain, while Julie London gives a great performance which captures her character's toughness and vulnerability. Coop is great as usual as the man who can't escape his past.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottNancy GatesClaude AkinsA man saves a woman who had been kidnapped by Comanches, then struggles to get both of them home alive.The last and one of the very best of the Ranown series of westerns, but a little more downbeat than the others. This time, Scott is apparently a bounty hunter who negotiates with the Comanches to release a woman they've kidnapped. However, others have their eye on the reward money offered by her husband. Great villains and a clever twist.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartArthur KennedyDonald CrispNewcomer Will Lockhart defies the local cattle baron and his sadistic son by working for one of his oldest rivals."I came 1000 miles to kill you," says Stewart's typically driven character, out for revenge over his brother's death. And boy does he earn it. The scene with the mules on the salt flats, where his problems begin, is particularly memorable. Donald Crisp is excellent as the unyielding but ultimately honourable cattle man, but it's probably Arthur Kennedy who puts in the best performance. If you want a conflicted bad guy in a western, Arthur's your man. The only real weakness is that the women's parts are noticeably underwritten.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsDick PowellJane GreerAgnes MooreheadAfter two U.S. cavalrymen transporting a gold shipment get killed, U.S. Army Intelligence investigator John Haven goes undercover to a mining and logging town to find the killers.A really good western. Someone had clearly seen Dick Powell's (definitive) performance as Philip Marlowe in "Farewell, My Lovely" (also known as "Murder My Sweet") and got him to reprise it in this movie, which is really more noir than western. Although not particularly well shot, and a little set-bound, it has an absolutely cracking script, and terrific performances from Powell and Greer. Burl Ives puts in a pretty decent cameo too.
- DirectorDelmer DavesKarl MaldenVincent ShermanStarsGary CooperMaria SchellKarl MaldenUnusual western about a doctor with a dark past, whose life is complicated and ultimately redeemed by a young thief, and a pretty Swiss immigrant whom he nurses back to health.Coop plays a Silas Marner-esque doctor traumatised by past tragedy who's rescued by an unlikely pair of strays he reluctantly allows into his life. A somewhat melodramatic ending, but the whole thing works really well. Karl Malden makes for a damn good bad guy, and watch out for an early appearance by a deranged George C Scott.
- 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.A brilliant but very dark and genuinely disturbing movie about the lynch mob and vigilantism. Fonda, as ever, gives an excellent performance as the reluctant moral centre, and he's well-supported by Harry Morgan as his partner. Dana Andrews steals the show though, despite an eye-catching performance from Anthony Quinn.
- DirectorWilliam A. FrakerStarsLee MarvinJeanne MoreauJack PalanceAn aging cowboy realizes that the West he knew and loved will soon be no more--and that there will be no room for him, either.To my mind, the best of the elegaic farewells to the Old West, as redundancy, riding fences and petit-bourgeois respectability beckon. The film moves at a leisurely pace and takes its time to establish the characters and their relationships. Both Marvin and Palance are given the opportunity to show their range and they take it. Palance in particular is terrific, and I think it's his best performance in a western.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsGregory PeckAnne BaxterRichard WidmarkA pistol-packing tomboy and her grandfather discover a band of bank robbing bandits taking refuge in the neighboring ghost town.Shakespeare's Tempest set in a ghost town on the edge of the badlands, but substituting gold for Prospero's books, Apaches for Caliban and Gregory Peck for Ferdinand. A very strong cast all giving great performances, but Baxter and Widmark stand out. The action seems to take place almost in perpetual twilight, and this gives the movie an otherworldly feel and a very distinctive atmosphere. A cracking movie.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottRichard BooneMaureen O'SullivanAn independent former ranch foreman is kidnapped along with an heiress, who is being held for ransom by trio of ruthless outlaws.Another Elmore Leonard adaptation, this starts off lighthearted but darkens quite quickly as Scott's character finds himself caught up in kidnapping and cold-blooded murder. Once again, Richard Boone is a terrific villain, and is a great foil for Randy Scott. Boetticher, Scott and Kennedy bring in another winner.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsGary CooperBurt LancasterDenise DarcelDuring the Mexican Rebellion of 1866, an unsavory group of American adventurers are hired by the forces of Emporer Maximilian to escort a countess to Vera Cruz.A blast. Coop is the wary former Confederate officer who teams up with Lancaster, the cocky, flashy soldier of fortune as they hire themselves out as mercenaries south of the border. It looks fantastic and the plot twists and turns again and again until the final showdown. Coop and Lancaster really know how to play off each other. Great opening scene too, and Lancaster's brilliant teeth merit a special mention. Leone and (particularly) Peckinpah very obviously learned a lot from this movie.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsRobert TaylorRichard WidmarkPatricia OwensMarshal Jake Wade aids outlaw Clint Hollister escape jail but Clint wants to know where Wade hid an old hold-up loot taken while both men were outlaws in the same gang.Robert Taylor is great as the haunted, melancholic but honourable Wade, who's hounded and threatened by his fantastically unpleasant former partner. Widmark plays this bad guy role wonderfully, and he pretty much steals the movie despite Taylor's nicely understated performance. The Alabama Hills and Lone Pine are nicely shot too. A fine western.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckHelen WestcottMillard MitchellNotorious gunfighter Jimmy Ringo rides into town to find his true love, who doesn't want to see him. He hasn't come looking for trouble, but trouble finds him around every corner.The best movie I've seen about the curse of the famous gunfighter. The cracking opening scene with Richard Jaeckel sets the sombre tone. It's perhaps Peck's best performance in a western as he tries to ditch his past and reconnect with his estranged family. Very atmospheric and nicely downbeat.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJoseph CottenLinda DarnellJeff ChandlerForced by circumstances,Confederate POWs and Union soldiers join forces against Indians but old animosities resurface during their fragile alliance.An unusual Civil War western with Confederate POWs convinced to join the Union Army's war on the Indians on the frontier. Joseph Cotten's great in everything (including this), but Jeff Chandler's embittered Union officer absolutely steals the movie. Excellent cast of character actors too. This really should be much better known.
- DirectorTom GriesStarsCharlton HestonJoan HackettDonald PleasenceAging cowboy Will Penny gets a line camp job on a large cattle spread and finds his isolated cabin is already occupied by an abandoned woman traveler and her young son.A flinty and downbeat movie with an unusually subdued and interesting central performance from Heston. It conveys quite a convincing impression of the loneliness, general difficulty and downright brutishness of life in the Old West. Joan Hackett is very good, and while Donald Pleasance and Bruce Dern make for fine villains, there's something slightly over the top about their performances which is at odds with the rest of the movie. However, it's a great picture, which draws very successfully on the best elements of 1950s westerns and anticipates many of the themes and approaches that would shape the best westerns of the 1970s.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerRobert DuvallDiego LunaA former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.Costner's best western by a mile. This fine movie features a typically fab performance from Duvall, and the most realistic gunfights in any western. This is a minor masterpiece, but as is often the case, Costner miscasts himself (he just cannot pull off mean and moody) and doesn't quite match up to the rest of the cast. However, given that cast includes Robert Duvall and Michael Gambon, he can perhaps be forgiven.
- 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.Another uncompromising Mann-Stewart western with tough performances from the whole cast. Kennedy and Stewart have dark pasts but are taken on as protectors by a group of homesteaders in Oregon. Will they revert to type when faced with some hard choices? They're both very well supported by a large and excellent cast, including western stalwarts Harry Morgan, Jay C Flippen, Royal Dano and Jack Lambert. Also, it's a really beautifully shot movie - the Pacific North West has never looked more stunning.
- DirectorAllen H. MinerOscar RudolphStarsAnthony QuinnWilliam ConradLita MilanA troubled sheriff, a failure at everything in his life, tries to redeem himself by extraditing a popular gunfighter from Mexico to stand trial for murder.A really good chamber western. Impossible to pick which of the two leads is better, but although this is perhaps Anthony Quinn's best performance in a western, it's Conrad who has the more difficult role. He's the man haunted and beaten down by the need to prove he can do the right - and difficult - thing, while Quinn plays the charming outlaw to whom everything seems to come easily. The relationship between the two main characters is very well drawn, and bears comparison with the relationship between Glenn Ford and Van Heflin in the peerless 3.10 to Yuma. A minor masterpiece.