A Fistful of Westerns

[Ralph]

Westerns seem a bit neglected on the Ratings War. It could be nobody's particularly fond of them and there's certainly plenty of pretty lacklustre ones that were churned out by Hollywood for years. Then "cowboys in Space" took over with Star Wars and the like as Westerns lost popularity rapidly in the 1970s. However I feel it's time for the downtrodden Western to be credited duly with the fine and oustanding films that have been made throughout the years.

It's a genre that was certainly done to death but in my view some of the finest films ever made fall into this genre and I'd like to share some thoughts on what I feel are some of the very best. I'm not a fan of the "Magnificent Seven" or "How The West Was Won", I don't rate those very much at all, in my view those weren't that great but thats down to personal taste I guess. Plus I also prefer the more "modern" era of the genre which was 1950s onwards.

I intend watching maybe a dozen Westerns over the coming year and perhaps anyone interested might want to chip in? I'll leave you in anticipation as to the ones I may select Please indulge me

[Wayne]

I'll chip in if you've got any recommendations/loans.
Apart from 'A Fistfull of Dollars' & 'A Few Dollars More', i don't have any westerns in my collection, but i don't mind the odd western. When i was at my folks recently, i watched a western with my Dad which was quite enjoyable: 'The War Wagon' starring John Wayne, & Kirk Douglas. Totally throwaway, but still entertaining enough.
Truth be told, i quite like John Wayne even though i know he wasn't a great actor. But you'll understand that, being a Roger Moore fan.

[Ralph]

For me the ideal Western has a good conflict of interest between the characters with convincing performances and good scripts, elements of humour, fabulous scenery and a great soundtrack

Certainly Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Henry Fonda will be present and even DeForest Kelley

John Wayne and Kirk Douglas have indeed featured in many entertaining ones - sure Wayne just plays himself but it was a role that fitted him well. I may include a Wayne one along the way

Yes Mr Jefferies I'm sure I can lend you a copy of the movies to be featured as we mosy along the trail

[Wayne]

and even DeForest Kelley

I think i know the one you mean.

sure Wayne just plays himself but it was a role that fitted him well. I may include a Wayne one along the way

Difficult to choose one. I'm not familiar enough to really recommend one. I remember enjoying 'True Grit', & 'The Sons of Katie Elder', but i think my Dad rates 'The Searchers', & 'The Alamo'. I'll have to ask him as i'm visting at the weekend for my sister's birthday. I may even be able to borrow one or two.

[Ralph]

If your guess is correct then alongside DeForest Kelley will be Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark and Anthony Quinn

As for any pa Wayne has, I'm particulary keen on Henry Fonda ones, I've got quite a few of the key Eastwoods.

So far on the agenda I would like to check out/comment on:

The Tin Star (1957)
Warlock (1959)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)
Death Rides a Horse (1968)
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
A Fistful of Dynamite (1971)
High Plains Drifter (1973)
Unforgiven (1992)

[Wayne]

If your guess is correct then alongside DeForest Kelley will be Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark and Anthony Quinn

As for any pa Wayne has, I'm particulary keen on Henry Fonda ones,

I was right.
As for what my Dad might have beyond John Wayne westerns, i'm not really sure, But there might be a few.
Looks yet another good 'Ralph the film buff' thread, anyway. How many threads is it now?

[Ralph]

I was right.
As for what my Dad might have beyond John Wayne westerns, i'm not really sure, But there might be a few.
Looks yet another good 'Ralph the film buff' thread, anyway. How many threads is it now?

Well I like a few Film threads running concurrently so as I can switch genres/directors/particular actors and group comments

On John Wayne movies can they stand up to the likes of some of these? Do they make the grade?

[Wayne]

On John Wayne movies can they stand up to the likes of some of these? Do they make the grade?

I've never bothered much with westerns so i don't really know. I've only ever seen 3 of the films on your list, & they're all Clint Eastwood ones.
I have seen BC&TSK but it was so long ago i barely remember it. Same with most John Wayne films i've ever seen. Until i watched that one with my Dad recently, I'd not seen one since i was a kid.

[Jon Masters]

I'd certainly be interested in a western thread. Personally, there are a few John Wayne's that I think make the grade when they're not the 'shoot the Indians, let the white folk rule ' kind - definitely True Grit (but not Rooster Cogburn), The Searchers, El Dorado and The Shootist.

The latter also features another worthy Western actor James Stewart - especially when he's playing a slightly nasty character like Winchester'73 or (I can't remember the name of it) where he's a particularly unlikeable bounty hunter.

What's more worrying is how Ralph could have missed out the classic Eastwood in Hang 'Em High !!

Edited to add - just found the JS film I was thinking of - The Naked Spur.

[Ralph]

My brother took me along to the Cinema club in his School way back in 1975 -thats when I first saw "A Fistfull of Dollars" - it made quite an impact. In the late 70s BBC2 had a Spaghetti Western Season and I thought curiously why Spaghetti? I tuned in and was amazed at the style and soundtracks of these movies, they were like no Westerns I'd ever seen, even the good guys had shades of grey - it just seemed much more realistic than the bog standard Cowboys and Indians Hollywood fayre. In these movies the photography and angles were so different and the music was as sweeping as the scenery, I just found them magic to watch.

While the John Wayne ones could often have good entertainment value, Wayne is always a good guy, he never does the dirty or unexpected. Wayne's movies were therefore much more predictable. He's always far too clean cut - have you ever seen Wayne unshaven for instance! I guess by the time he did Rooster Cogburn they tried to get him looking a bit more rough and ready and then he won an Oscar

In my formative years I never purposefully watched out for Westerns other than Italian ones but more came across the rest and after watching for a few minutes if it was a good one I'd become absorbed in the story. Quite often though I found it easy to switch off.

[Ralph]

Oh any admin can drop an "L" off of Fistfull - I made a mistake - for god's sake change it or I'll have Jon on my back

[Wayne]

Yay for Jon! I know 'El Dorado' is another one my Dad rates. I'll see if i can borrow that & 'The Searchers' off him.

[Ralph]

I'd certainly be interested in a western thread. Personally, there are a few John Wayne's that I think make the grade when they're not the 'shoot the Indians, let the white folk rule ' kind - definitely True Grit (but not Rooster Cogburn), The Searchers, El Dorado and The Shootist.

The latter also features another worthy Western actor James Stewart - especially when he's playing a slightly nasty character like Winchester'73 or (I can't remember the name of it) where he's a particularly unlikeable bounty hunter.

What's more worrying is how Ralph could have missed out the classic Eastwood in Hang 'Em High !!

Edited to add - just found the JS film I was thinking of - The Naked Spur.

Well I had thought of Hang Em High but I read the DVD quality's not so good so was holding off - the quality of the restored ones really puts it to shame apparently. Having said that I know it is a good un I'm a fuss arse as Wayne knows on quality!

Yes agreed James Stewart is another fine actor in many a Western.

[Ralph]

Yay for Jon! I know 'El Dorado' is another one my Dad rates. I'll see if i can borrow that & 'The Searchers' off him.

El Dorado, is that the one where James Caan wears the funny hat? as I liked that one I don't think I've ever watched The Searchers, I've only seen bits of it. The Sons of Katie Elder with a drunken Dean Martin is fun to watch as I recall

[Jon Masters]

El Dorado, is that the one where James Caan wears the funny hat? as I liked that one I don't think I've ever watched The Searchers, I've only seen bits of it. The Sons of Katie Elder with a drunken Dean Martin is fun to watch as I recall

Yes, that's the one. It also has a pissed Dean Martin in it (the character, rather than the actor) who has to sober up.

[Ralph]

Yes, that's the one. It also has a pissed Dean Martin in it (the character, rather than the actor) who has to sober up.

Dean Martin seems to play that part so well! I have a Dean Martin Christmas Collection CD and it sounds like he's had a few - either that or he's just got a unique relaxed style of singing and good fun to listen to especially when you're drinking as well!

[Ralph]

For what it's worth I thought it might be interesting to see whats regarded as the top 50 on IMDB. I've put in bold the ones I've marked down for the thread so far.

1 Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966) 8.9/10 (78816 votes)
2 C'era una volta il West (1968) 8.7/10 (40418 votes)
3 Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948) 8.5/10 (19512 votes)
4 Wind, The (1928) 8.4/10 (1342 votes)
5 Ox-Bow Incident, The (1943) 8.3/10 (4695 votes)
6 High Noon (1952) 8.3/10 (21545 votes)
7 Per qualche dollaro in più (1965) 8.2/10 (22323 votes)
8 Unforgiven (1992) 8.2/10 (56851 votes)
9 Wild Bunch, The (1969) 8.2/10 (19386 votes)
10 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) 8.1/10 (35720 votes)
11 3:10 to Yuma (2007) 8.1/10 (21839 votes)
12 Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The (2007) 8.1/10 (5365 votes)
13 Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (1962) 8.0/10 (14122 votes)
14 Searchers, The (1956) 8.0/10 (18776 votes)
15 Per un pugno di dollari (1964) 7.9/10 (21077 votes)
16 My Darling Clementine (1946) 7.9/10 (4745 votes)
17 Rio Bravo (1959) 7.9/10 (12325 votes)
18 Hud (1963) 7.9/10 (4570 votes)
19 Grande silenzio, Il (1968) 7.9/10 (2025 votes)
20 Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) 7.9/10 (4394 votes)
21 Red River (1948) 7.9/10 (6967 votes)
22 Stagecoach (1939) 7.8/10 (9349 votes)
23 Magnificent Seven, The (1960) 7.8/10 (17515 votes)
24 Dances with Wolves (1990) 7.8/10 (47390 votes)
25 Way Out West (1937) 7.7/10 (1883 votes)
26 Winchester '73 (1950) 7.7/10 (3287 votes)
27 Destry Rides Again (1939) 7.7/10 (2768 votes)
28 Blazing Saddles (1974) 7.7/10 (30189 votes)
29 Gunfighter, The (1950) 7.7/10 (1954 votes)
30 Little Big Man (1970) 7.7/10 (9904 votes)
31 3:10 to Yuma (1957) 7.7/10 (2205 votes)
32 Outlaw Josey Wales, The (1976) 7.7/10 (13437 votes)
33 Shane (1953) 7.7/10 (9222 votes)
34 Mark of Zorro, The (1940) 7.7/10 (2074 votes)
35 Big Country, The (1958) 7.7/10 (3389 votes)
36 Giù la testa (1971) 7.6/10 (4814 votes)
37 Lonely Are the Brave (1962) 7.6/10 (1434 votes)
38 Giant (1956) 7.6/10 (7745 votes)
39 Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, The (2005) 7.6/10 (10212 votes)
40 Fort Apache (1948) 7.6/10 (3614 votes)
41 Shootist, The (1976) 7.6/10 (5669 votes)
42 Dead Man (1995) 7.6/10 (19837 votes)
43 El Dorado (1966) 7.6/10 (4578 votes)
44 Viva Zapata! (1952) 7.6/10 (1736 votes)
45 Ride the High Country (1962) 7.6/10 (3116 votes)
46 Tombstone (1993) 7.5/10 (29053 votes)
47 McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) 7.5/10 (4519 votes)
48 Lone Star (1996) 7.5/10 (11420 votes)
49 High Plains Drifter (1973) 7.5/10 (8674 votes)
50 Proposition, The (2005) 7.5/10 (10313 votes)

I think I'll give fourth place 1928's "The Wind" a miss.... perhaps an early version of Blazing Saddles?

Oh and I hope you can read Italian!

And there's no doubt about it, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is the Head Honcho of Westerns...

[MacNimon]

Are you just planning to stick to movies only, Ralph, or would you consider looking at any tv later on? I'm not talking about those long-running old series like Bonanza etc, but rather mini-series like the fantastic Lonesome Dove starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones (it's one of my favourite westerns of all) and possibly a look at the recent Deadwood (which I haven't got round to checking out yet, but am reliably informed that it's excellent)

[Ralph]

Hi Mac, howdy pardner, while my main intention here is to saddle up and look at a selection of some of the best movies that have been released over the years if you want to progress it later to "mini-movie" series like the ones described then fair enough. I agree I don't want to look at Bonanza, High Chapparal, Alias Smith & Jones etc on this particular thread (fool's gold ). In any event perhaps a thread dedicated to TV Westerns might be the best idea as it makes everything easier to find in my view. I would think if there's sufficient interest on this thread it may well be a natural progression to hit the trail with another thread.

Anyways I hope you'll saddle up and join our posse...meantime gotta go we're burning daylight

[Wayne]

I'm going for a John Wayne avatar/sig-pic combi when the thread kicks off proper.

[Carol Baynes]

Yeee-haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! I just blew in from the windy city...The windy city is mighty pretteeeeee....But they ain't got what we got, no sirreeeee...
They've got shacks up to seven storieeeeeeeeeeees!!!!

"Calamity Jane"- Great film. John Huston's "Stagecoach" is an absolute classic too, with a very young John Wayne. "The Big Country", "High Noon", anything with James Stewart is worth watching on a Sunday afternoon. The Leone Spaghetti westerns are classics of a different kind too, obviously.

Two years ago I actually dressed up in western gear for Tapestry goes West festival 2005. I was shocked at how easy I slipped into the role!

[Paul Clement]

I love the Clint Eastwood 'Man With No Name' trilogy. He's also done two other great westerns in Pale Rider and The Outlaw Josey Wales. Fistfull of Dynamite's a pretty good film, as is Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid.
I was forced to watch Shane while at school (Shane was one of the books we read during English) and I truly hated it.

[Ralph]

.

Two years ago I actually dressed up in western gear for Tapestry goes West festival 2005. I was shocked at how easy I slipped into the role!

Well strech my breeches..... I think we'll need to see a pic!

Well howdy Cowgal Carol we'll maybe see you down the next barn dance - anyways nice to see a bit of enthusiasm

[Ralph]

My avatar's been updated so it's fairwell Sweeney, hello Frank from "Once Upon A Time In the West".

[Dirk Gently]

When I first saw this thread on the main page I thought it was about the Comic Strip Presents shows.

A Fistful of Travellers Cheques.