Western Heritage Awards (Film)
by KasparM | created - 18 Feb 2012 | updated - 18 Feb 2012 | PublicEvery year the Museum gives "The Wrangler" (also known as the Bronze Wrangler), an original bronze sculpture by artist John Free. It is awarded annually during the Western Heritage Awards to principal creators of the winning entries in specified categories of Western literature, music, film and television. Past winners have included Owen Wister, William S. Hart, Tom Mix, Hoot Gibson, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy, Harry Carey, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, Rex Allen, John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Richard Widmark, James Stewart, Buck Taylor, Howard R. Lamar, Ben Johnson, Pernell Roberts, and Tom Selleck.
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1. The Alamo (1960)
Passed | 162 min | Adventure, Drama, History
In 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.
Director: John Wayne | Stars: John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Frankie Avalon
Votes: 17,737 | Gross: $17.26M
2. The Comancheros (1961)
Approved | 107 min | Drama, Western
Texas 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.
Directors: Michael Curtiz, John Wayne | Stars: John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Ina Balin, Nehemiah Persoff
Votes: 10,008
3. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Approved | 123 min | Drama, Western
A senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins.
Director: John Ford | Stars: James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin
Votes: 82,354
4. How the West Was Won (1962)
G | 164 min | Adventure, War, Western
A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.
Directors: John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe | Stars: James Stewart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda
Votes: 23,348 | Gross: $46.50M
5. Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
PG | 154 min | Drama, History, Western
The Cheyenne, tired of broken U.S. government promises, head for their ancestral lands but a sympathetic cavalry officer is tasked to bring them back to their reservation.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Sal Mineo
Votes: 6,456
6. The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
Passed | 122 min | Drama, Western
Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer, Michael Anderson Jr.
Votes: 19,205 | Gross: $13.33M
7. The Appaloosa (1966)
Approved | 98 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Man tries to recover a horse stolen from him by a Mexican bandit.
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Marlon Brando, Anjanette Comer, John Saxon, Emilio Fernández
Votes: 3,560
8. The War Wagon (1967)
Unrated | 101 min | Drama, Western
The story of a man who was shot, robbed and imprisoned who returns to steal a large gold shipment from the man who wronged him. The gold is transported in an armored stage coach, the War Wagon.
Director: Burt Kennedy | Stars: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Robert Walker Jr.
Votes: 10,809
9. Will Penny (1967)
Approved | 108 min | Drama, Romance, Western
Aging 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.
Director: Tom Gries | Stars: Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett, Donald Pleasence, Lee Majors
Votes: 5,258
10. True Grit (1969)
G | 128 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in Indian Territory.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Jeremy Slate
Votes: 51,460 | Gross: $31.13M
11. A Man Called Horse (1970)
R | 114 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
In 1825, an English aristocrat is captured by Native Americans. He lives with them and begins to understand their way of life. Eventually, he is accepted as part of the tribe and aspires to become their leader.
Director: Elliot Silverstein | Stars: Richard Harris, Judith Anderson, Jean Gascon, Manu Tupou
Votes: 9,365 | Gross: $1.94M
12. The Cowboys (1972)
GP | 134 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Rancher Wil Andersen is forced to hire inexperienced boys as cowhands in order to get his herd to market on time but the rough drive is full of dangers and a gang of cattle rustlers is trailing them.
Director: Mark Rydell | Stars: John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern, Colleen Dewhurst
Votes: 15,873 | Gross: $16.35M
13. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
GP | 108 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A 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.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Robert Redford, Will Geer, Delle Bolton, Josh Albee
Votes: 35,018 | Gross: $47.74M
14. The New Land (1972)
PG | 102 min | Drama, Western
A Swedish immigrant family struggle to establish a new life for themselves in the forest of Minnesota in the mid 19th Century.
Director: Jan Troell | Stars: Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg, Pierre Lindstedt
Votes: 5,286
15. Union Pacific (1939)
Passed | 135 min | Drama, Western
In 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.
Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Akim Tamiroff, Robert Preston
Votes: 3,386
16. The Westerner (1940)
Passed | 100 min | Drama, Western
Judge Roy Bean, a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegarroon, Texas, befriends saddle tramp Cole Harden, who opposes Bean's policy against homesteaders.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Doris Davenport, Fred Stone
Votes: 6,805
17. Bite the Bullet (1975)
PG | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A pair of ex-Rough Riders, a former prostitute, a gunfighter, an aging cowboy and an English gentleman enter a 700-mile horse race through the Southwest desert in 1908.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, James Coburn, Ben Johnson
Votes: 5,872
18. Mustang Country (1976)
G | 79 min | Drama, Family, Western
A rancher and former rodeo star comes across a runaway boy while he is hunting a wild stallion.
Director: John C. Champion | Stars: Joel McCrea, Robert Fuller, Patrick Wayne, Nika Mina
Votes: 298
19. Heartland (1979)
PG | 96 min | Drama, Western
A widow with a young daughter travels to a ranch in Wyoming to manage the household of a rancher. After a while the man and woman develop a relationship that leads to a marriage. But life in the harsh place takes its toll.
Director: Richard Pearce | Stars: Rip Torn, Conchata Ferrell, Barry Primus, Megan Folsom
Votes: 1,244
20. Never Cry Wolf (1983)
PG | 105 min | Adventure, Drama
A government researcher, sent to research the "menace" of wolves in the north, learns about the true beneficial and positive nature of the species.
Director: Carroll Ballard | Stars: Charles Martin Smith, Brian Dennehy, Zachary Ittimangnaq, Samson Jorah
Votes: 8,789 | Gross: $29.60M
21. Stagecoach (1986 TV Movie)
Unrated | 100 min | Drama, Western
In 1880, a motley group of passengers takes the stagecoach from Tonto, Arizona to Lordsburg, New Mexico via dangerous Apache territory.
Director: Ted Post | Stars: Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings
Votes: 1,373
22. Young Guns (1988)
R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Western
A 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.
Director: Christopher Cain | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen
Votes: 68,103 | Gross: $45.66M
23. Alamo: The Price of Freedom (1988)
G | 37 min | Short, Biography, Drama
In 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.
Director: Kieth Merrill | Stars: Casey Biggs, Enrique Sandino, Merrill Connally, Derek Caballero
Votes: 193
24. Dances with Wolves (1990)
PG-13 | 181 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Lieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant
Votes: 290,904 | Gross: $184.21M
25. Thousand Pieces of Gold (1990)
PG-13 | 105 min | Romance, Western
In 1880s China, a girl is sold into marriage by her father. Rather than becoming a bride, Lalu ends up in a gold-mining town where she forges a path for her own freedom and, ultimately, true love.
Director: Nancy Kelly | Stars: Rosalind Chao, Chris Cooper, Michael Paul Chan, Dennis Dun
Votes: 735 | Gross: $0.72M
26. Unforgiven (1992)
R | 130 min | Drama, Western
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris
Votes: 436,453 | Gross: $101.16M
27. Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama, History, Western
The story of the Apache chief and his armed resistance to the U.S. Government's subjugation of his people.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Jason Patric, Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, Wes Studi
Votes: 13,501 | Gross: $18.64M
28. Ishi: The Last Yahi (1993)
Not Rated | 57 min | Documentary
In the early 1900s, Ishi, the last of the Yahi Indian tribe, is discovered nearly 20 years after the Yahi tribe was thought to be wiped out. The curators of a museum agree to look after him... See full summary »
Directors: Jed Riffe, Pamela Roberts | Stars: Rayna Green, Linda Hunt
Votes: 122
29. Legends of the Fall (1994)
R | 133 min | Drama, Romance, War
In the early 1900s, three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of Montana are affected by betrayal, history, love, nature, and war.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond
Votes: 183,243 | Gross: $66.64M
30. Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (1997 TV Movie)
TV-G | 240 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
The story of the most important American exploration expedition in American history and the participants in it.
Director: Ken Burns | Stars: Hal Holbrook, Adam Arkin, John Logan Allen, Stephen Ambrose
Votes: 1,419
31. The Hi-Lo Country (1998)
R | 114 min | Drama, Romance, Western
Two cowboys have their friendship tested when they fall for the same girl.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Arquette, Cole Hauser
Votes: 4,576 | Gross: $0.16M
32. Seth Eastman: Painting the Dakota (2002 TV Movie)
60 min | Documentary, Biography
Director: Kristian Berg | Stars: Sarah Boehme, Gary Cavender, Naomi Cavender, Rena Neumann Coen
Votes: 13
33. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
G | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A captured mustang remains determined to return to his herd no matter what.
Directors: Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook | Stars: Matt Damon, James Cromwell, Daniel Studi, Chopper Bernet
Votes: 85,462 | Gross: $73.28M
34. Images of Indians: How Hollywood Stereotyped the Native American (2003 TV Movie)
25 min | Documentary, Western
Hollywood's depiction of Native Americans in Western films is traced through interviews and archive footage.
Directors: Chris O'Brien, Jason Witmer | Stars: Nicholas Schatzki, Casey Camp-Horinek, Ward Churchill, Chris Eyre
Votes: 60
35. Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 89 min | Documentary, Biography
Spattered with blood and controversy, Sam Peckinpah's Westerns revolutionized their genre. SAM PECKINPAH'S WEST: LEGACY OF A HOLLYWOOD RENEGADE goes in search of the man behind these ... See full summary »
Director: Tom Thurman | Stars: Sam Peckinpah, Kris Kristofferson, Fern Lea Peter, Harry Dean Stanton
Votes: 296
36. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
R | 121 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
Ranch foreman Pete Perkins looks to fulfill the promise to his recently deceased best friend by burying him in his hometown in Mexico.
Director: Tommy Lee Jones | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Dwight Yoakam, January Jones
Votes: 41,897 | Gross: $5.02M
37. Ride Around the World (2006)
Not Rated | 40 min | Documentary, Short, Adventure
Journey across Morocco, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Patagonia, Texas and British Columbia, to meet vaqueros, gauchos, baqueanos and cowboys - all part of a single global horse culture, an unbroken trail stretching back 1,500 years.
Director: Harry Lynch
Votes: 74
38. Truce (2005)
106 min | Drama, Western
Modern western detailing the drama of a man struggling to hold on to his ranch and struggling to raise a granddaughter he never knew.
Director: Matthew Marconi | Stars: Buck Taylor, Samantha Droke, Michaela Lange, Bow
Votes: 148
39. 100 Years of John Wayne (2007 TV Short)
15 min | Documentary, Short
Stars: Jim Beaver, Ward Bond, David Dean Bottrell, Myles Cabot
Votes: 21
40. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Ben Foster, Logan Lerman
Votes: 331,258 | Gross: $53.61M
41. True Grit (2010)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Western
A stubborn teenager enlists the help of a tough U.S. Marshal to track down her father's murderer.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Brolin
Votes: 357,738 | Gross: $171.24M
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