Favourite Westerns

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.

Eastwood's greatest achievement as a director in my view, and his best western. He puts in a pretty decent performance too as he slowly morphs from avenging angel back to something more like the man he was before the war. Chief Dan George, as ever, steals every scene he's in with that face, that voice and that delivery. Bill McKinney gives an unnervingly nasty performance as Terrill and John Vernon is very watchable as the world-weary Fletcher. It's essentially a tale of horror, tragedy and redemption, but it's shot through with humour, wit and compassion and it illustrates how companionship and simple human fellow-feeling can rescue even the most damaged people.

This is terrific and it easily transcends the limitations you might expect from a movie which was originally intended as a right wing riposte to High Noon. Wayne's performance is one of his best, and he gets very good support from Nelson, Brennan and Angie Dickinson. However, Dean Martin almost steals the movie as alcoholic deputy, Dude. The tenor of the film is a little complacent, and it fails to look at the hard issues which High Noon tackled, but it is still one of the most watchable and purely enjoyable westerns ever made.

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.

Widely regarded as the greatest western made to date in 1939, Stagecoach heralded a new approach. Its subsequent influence on virtually every later western underlines its importance to the genre. But leave all of that to one side and look at it without any of this baggage. I'm sure you'll agree that there are very few movies of this vintage which are still as vital and entertaining as Stagecoach. Its various joys include Wayne's wonderful first appearance, the pioneering use of Monument Valley as a backdrop, the witty script, the wonderfully drawn cast of travellers, and the excellent performances from Trevor, Carradine and Mitchell. A landmark movie.

Unforgiven uses its very large and characterful cast extremely well. Much of the pleasure in this movie is in the seemingly unimportant detail - like Little Bill building his house, or the Duke of Death interlude. All of the leads put in great performances, but I'd give a special mention to Gene Hackman and Frances Fisher. "It's a helluva thing to kill a man" is the movie's touchstone, and its relentless portrayal of the essentially squalid nature of violence in the west contrasts sharply with its more usual romanticised treatment. On that point, though, it could be said that this movie rather has its cake and eats it in its closing scenes. But ultimately that doesn't really detract from its overall effectiveness. It's widely regarded as Eastwood's greatest western, and despite my very slight preference for The Outlaw Josie Wales, I can't disagree too strongly.

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. A great 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.

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.

The first and in my opinion the best of the Cavalry Trilogy. Fonda is excellent as ever playing the thwarted, inflexible and arrogant lieutenant colonel who clashes with everyone, especially Wayne's pragmatic and capable Captain York. The immortal closing scene, where convenient and romanticised fiction eclipses uncomfortable reality, seems to encapsulate much of Ford's attitude to the West, and how he manages to both "print the legend" and show the true story, as he did most famously in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

A Vietnam allegory which features Burt Lancaster's greatest performance in a western as 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.

There are some great Elmore Leonard adaptations, but this is among the very 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.

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 top notch, 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.

A fantastic movie, and one in which Wayne shows he can (just about) hold his own against ostensibly more talented actors like Monty Clift, who is superb. There's great support too from Joanne Dru, Walter Brennan and John Ireland (as the improbably monickered gunman Cherry Vallance). This movie seems to have inspired many of the revenge westerns of the 1950s, centred around betrayal, obsession and brutality. The ending is a little too pat and upbeat, but what a great journey.

A tour-de-force, and possibly the Coen brothers' greatest movie. Virtually the entire cast give excellent performances, but despite Bridges' terrific reboot of the Rooster Cogburn role, the movie ultimately belongs to Hailee Steinfeld. Although the original Wayne picture is a masterpiece, I have to reluctantly admit that this is superior to it. The main advantage this movie has over the earlier one is the truly wonderful script. It must also be said that having Matt Damon rather than Glenn Campbell is also a big plus, and Deakins' sepia-tinged cinematography gives it an extra dimension. A triumph.

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.

This wonderful movie embodies the spirit of the best 1950s westerns but Peckinpah blends it with the darker and more realistic elements that became more prevalent in the 60s and 70s, particularly in his own later movies. Putting two classic western stars from a more innocent age at the centre of the action in this harsher and more complex world works superbly. The history and weight that McCrea and Scott bring to their roles make their search for purpose and redemption seem all the more poignant. McCrea's character says "All I want is to enter my house justified." He does.

A case could be made for Shane being the greatest ever western. It looks fantastic, the scenery (Grand Tetons) is breathtaking, it has great villains and it has a sublime central performance from Alan Ladd. It also has an outstanding ensemble cast, featuring great performances from Van Heflin, Jean Arthur and Jack Palance, and some of the most memorable scenes in any western - my own favourite being the funeral. As if this wasn't enough, its depiction of the classic western confrontation between ranchers and farmers is the best I've seen. Not just one of the great westerns, but one of the great movies.

The superlatives that this movie attracts are all fully justified. Wayne gives his best ever performance as Ethan Edwards, a man capable of humour and compassion, but a conflicted and essentially savage individual, whose motives are never pure, and who can never fit into civilised society. Jeffrey Hunter's character necessarily takes second billing to Wayne's but he gives a terrific performance too. Several of Ford's stock company appear (Bond, Curtis, Worden, Carey Jr) giving it that peculiar Ford flavour, and allowing a little humour and humanity in to lighten this dark and harrowing tale of dislocation, obsession, revenge and bigotry.

A really good chamber western. Impossible to pick which of the two leads is better, but although this is one of Anthony Quinn's best ever performances 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.

"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. Although the women's roles are noticeably underwritten, Donald Crisp is excellent as the unyielding but ultimately honourable cattle man. Arthur Kennedy puts in perhaps the best performance, though. If you want a conflicted bad guy in a western, Arthur's your man.

After a series of films and documentaries for the war effort, John Ford hit the ground running in his first post-WWII western. Fonda proves to be an inspired piece of casting as Wyatt Earp, and Victor Mature's performance as Doc Holliday is probably his greatest in any movie. Linda Darnell is also excellent as Chihuahua, and Walter Brennan, so often the comic relief, puts in a great turn as a villain. Ford also manages to leaven the prevailing tone of menace and foreboding quite effectively with some lighter touches, such as the Shakespearean actor and the famous dance scene. Also, I don't know if Monument Valley has ever been shot better or to greater effect.

Costner's best western by a mile. This fine movie features a typically great 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.

The last and one of the very best of the Ranown series. Once again, we're in Lone Pine, and it still looks fantastic, but this time Scott appears as an apparent bounty hunter. After negotiating a deal with the Comanches to release a kidnapped woman, he runs into trouble. Her husband is offering a reward, but others have their eye on the money. Great villains, particularly Akins, and a clever twist at the end.

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.

The best movie I've seen about the curse of the famous gunfighter. The cracking opening scene with Richard Jaeckel sets the sombre tone. This is probably Peck's best performance in a western as he tries to ditch his violent past and reconnect with his estranged family. Very atmospheric and nicely downbeat.

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.

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.

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.

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 genuinely unnerving as the unhinged villain, while Julie London gives the standout performance in the movie, one which really captures her character's toughness and vulnerability. Coop is great as usual as the man who can't escape his past.

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.

I've always felt this movie was really quite underrated. It's a fantastic story, well told and beautifully shot, and aside from Glen Campbell, the cast all put in great performances. Wayne and Duvall rather dominate the picture, but Kim Darby does a good job and Strother Martin's cameo is superb. Virtually every character in a fairly large ensemble is memorable, which is something you appreciate more with each viewing. Overall, it's only a hair less impressive than the 2010 version by the Coen Brothers, and in my opinion it's one of the top two or three westerns of the 1960s. An absolute must-see.

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.