Western roundup

 

Best Western films

Best Western films

Best Western films

Does the success of "True Grit"  mean that Western movies will ride high again at the box office? The jury is still out. But until then, here are a few country favorites for you to reminisce on. See if you can figure out the cast and guess the bonus questions.
'Stagecoach'

'Stagecoach'

Year released: 1939

 

The plot: Passengers take a cross-country trek during an Apache uprising. There's some terrific action, but the real thrill is in the interplay of the characters.
'My Darling Clementine'

'My Darling Clementine'

Year released: 1946

 

The plot: A chronicle of the friendship of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday and the famous shootout at the O.K. Corral.

'Shane'

'Shane'

Year released: 1953

 

The plot: When local farmers are persecuted by a ruthless cattle baron, a former gunfighter must once again strap on his weapons.

'The Searchers'

'The Searchers'

Year released: 1956

 

The plot: A racist Civil War veteran mounts a years-long search to find the tribe who killed his brother's family and kidnapped a young girl. This was director John Ford's letter of apology to American Indians.

'The Wild Bunch'

'The Wild Bunch'

Year released: 1969  

 

The plot: Running out of lawless frontier, a bank-robbing gang flees to Mexico and gets involved in the 1917 revolution on behalf of a despicable general with the federales.

'McCabe & Mrs. Miller'

'McCabe & Mrs. Miller'

Year released: 1971

 

The plot: A bumbling gambler decides to build a sporting house in a Northwest mining town. With a professional madam, he creates such a going enterprise that soon thugs representing big business show up to take over. 

'Dances With Wolves

'Dances With Wolves'

Year released: 1990

 

The plot: In the last days of the Civil War, a Union officer is sent to a remote post on the prairie and is adopted by a band of Lakota Indians. 

'Unforgiven'

'Unforgiven'

Year released: 1992

 

The plot: An apparently irredeemable bad man comes out of retirement to collect a reward offered by a maimed prostitute for the murder of her attackers. 

'Open Range'

'Open Range'

Year released: 2003

 

The plot: Cattle drivers run into trouble when they try to graze on ground claimed (illegally) by a powerful landowner.

'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'

'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'

Year released: 2007

 

The plot: This morally vexing yarn depicts Jesse James as an increasingly paranoid killer who's a danger to everyone.