Your Favorite Westerns?

[Mennonite]

It seems like there are a lot of western fans around here. What are some of your favorite western movies? TV shows? Books? Songs? Radio programs? Video games?



Movies:

While I actually prefer what was known as the "psychological" westerns of the 1950s my top two favorite western movies are Lonesome Dove (1989) and Unforgiven (1992). Warlock (1959) is probably my favorite 50s western.


TV Shows:

Gunsmoke (fav. episode "Thirty a Month and Found" - Season 20)
The Wild, Wild West
Maverick
The Rebel (fav. episode "The Waiting" from season 2)
The Westerner (fav. episode 'Hand on the Gun")



Favorite western books:

The Searchers by Alan Le May
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Ramrod by Luke Short
The Unforgiven by Alan Le May (not related to the 1992 movie)
Death Ground by Ed Gorman


Songs:

El Paso by Marty Robbins
Big Iron by Marty Robbins or Johnny Cash
Cool Water by Hank Williams
Ghost Riders in the Sky by Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash
Cowboy's Lament by Burl Ives


Radio programs:

Gunsmoke

You may or may not know that the Gunsmoke tv series started out as a radio show. It starred William Conrad and ran for several years. It was excellent.


My Top 25:

02/14/1953 THE ROUNDUP
04/02/1955 BLOODY HANDS
04/30/1955 REWARD FOR MATT
10/02/1954 MATT GETS IT
09/27/1952 THE RAILROAD
07/19/1959 SECOND ARREST
09/19/1953 THERE WAS NEVER A HORSE
10/21/1956 TILL DEATH DO US PART
12/27/1952 THE CABIN
06/06/1953 SUNDOWN
11/10/1956 CROWBAIT BOB
03/20/1954 OLD FRIEND
08/08/1953 SKY
09/23/1956 BOX O' ROCKS
07/22/1956 LYNCHING MAN
02/21/1953 MESHOUGAH
02/26/1955 CRACKUP
03/06/1960 BLOOD MONEY
09/20/1954 THE F.U.
12/06/1959 BIG CHUGG WILSON
01/01/1955 THE BOTTLE MAN
07/02/1955 GENERAL PARSLEY SMITH
11/03/1957 BULL
05/06/1956 THE PHOTOGRAPHER

All those can be listened to for free at the Internet archive.


Video Games:

I'm old so I've never actually played any western games. I've heard good things about the Red Dead games though.

[Raiderhater]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Vera Miles would get the lifetime achievement award for also being pretty good in The Searchers.

One of my favorite scenes from that movie is -

Martin: Laurie, I been thinkin’ it’s time you and I started going steady.

Laurie: Why Martin Pawley, you and I been going steady since was three years old!

Martin: We have?

Laurie: ‘bout time you found out about it.

Just like a woman.

I also liked her as Duke’s ex-wife in Hellfighters. The scene where he and his new unexpected son in law (Jim Hutton) are sitting in a restaurant waiting on her and the daughter/wife to show up and Dutton is all nervous and tells Duke he has butterflies in his stomach and Duke calmly and plainly says, “Mine are dive bombers.”

[Raiderhater]

If anyone is looking for something different in a western I’d recommend Bone Tomahawk with Kurt Russell. It’s billed a horror western. It’s different. Different enough that I’ve only seen it once but, will inevitably watch again, if no other reason than it stars Kurt Russell.

[Mennonite]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Vera Miles would get the lifetime achievement award for also being pretty good in The Searchers.

I always remember her from the first episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It's a good episode, but the part that sticks with me is a scene early on where Vera Miles is sunbathing in her front yard and Aunt Bea from the Andy Griffith show comes over to chat and is clearly ogling her. I guess if you're Alfred Hitchcock you can get away with that sort of stuff.

Originally Posted by Raiderhader

Good call on Quigley! Another dvd I like to throw in the player from time to time that I forgot about.

I just watched that one on Youtube the other day. For anyone who hasn't already seen it it's available for free in good quality but has ads. If you have an adblocker installed it solves that problem without any interruptions.

[Easy 6]

While not technically a western for obvious reasons, I believe Last of The Mohicans belongs as a great in this genre… at one point the Wild West wasn’t in the west, it was in the eastern third of the country

[srvy]

Originally Posted by Jenson71

I like all your recommendations, sully, but The Assassination of Jesse James -- that was painfully slow. Terrence Malick said it was too slow! Now that's when you know you've hit some level of glacial speed in cinema not seen outside of art houses.

I don't believe the Coen's True Grit or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance have been mentioned yet -- they make my list of favorite westerns.

This one is very high up my flagpole as one of the great westerns. Lee Marvin was awesome.

[srvy]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

Movies - Unforgiven, Josie Wales, Tombstone, Lonesome Dove, High Plains Drifter, Open Range, Magnificent Seven, Young Guns… yes, Young Guns

TV - not much here these days, used to watch Gunsmoke, Big Valley, and Bonanza pretty religiously as a kid, but not so much anymore. If Little House on the Prairie can be considered a western, I do still watch it regularly

Books - Son of the Morning Star about Custer, Geronimo in his own words, Valdez Is Coming by Elmore Leonard

Next to Gunsmoke the Virginian is my favorite. I'd put Rawhide high on my list those cattle drives were always good for unique stories.

I could never get into Big Valley. Even today ill switch to it to see if I was wrong about it. Ill to this day find something else the characters and stories just never hit me.

[sully1983]

Originally Posted by Jenson71

I like all your recommendations, sully, but The Assassination of Jesse James -- that was painfully slow. Terrence Malick said it was too slow! Now that's when you know you've hit some level of glacial speed in cinema not seen outside of art houses.

I don't believe the Coen's True Grit or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance have been mentioned yet -- they make my list of favorite westerns.

Ha very true it is quite slow. For those expecting lots of shoot outs and action sequences yeah they'll be in for a world of disappoint. The acting in it is the main reason why I dig it so much (the entire cast did a superb job in that department). As was the brilliantly done train robbery. It was so well directed and haunting (especially this shot)



Also great call on the Coen bros' True Grit remake. Can't go wrong with the Dude.

[sully1983]

Originally Posted by Raiderhader

If anyone is looking for something different in a western I’d recommend Bone Tomahawk with Kurt Russell. It’s billed a horror western. It’s different. Different enough that I’ve only seen it once but, will inevitably watch again, if no other reason than it stars Kurt Russell.

Oh shit outstanding call right there! That film also features quite possibly one of the worst death scenes I've ever seen on screen. So ****ed up and my jaw was on the floor when I first saw it. I was literally like

[Mennonite]

Originally Posted by srvy

Next to Gunsmoke the Virginian is my favorite. I'd put Rawhide high on my list those cattle drives were always good for unique stories.

I could never get into Big Valley. Even today ill switch to it to see if I was wrong about it. Ill to this day find something else the characters and stories just never hit me.

I haven't watched that many episodes of The Virginian. The episodes are really long and it seems padded. I didn't really care for Big Valley or Bonanza. Maybe the problem is that all three shows focus on well-to-do families.



I do like several episodes of Rawhide.


My Top 15:

(In no particular order)

Incident at Deadhorse (Season 6)
The Race (Season 7)
A Time for Waiting (Season 7)
Corporal Dasovik (Season 7)
Incident of the Portrait (Season 5)
Incident of the Challenge (Season 3)
Encounter at Boot Hill (Season 8 )
Incident of the Red Wind (Season 6)
The Calf Women (Season 7)
Incident of the Travellin' Man (Season 6)
Backshooter (Season 7)
Retreat (Season 7)
Incident of the Dogfaces (Season 5)
Incident of El Toro (Season 6)
Incident of the Day of the Dead (Season 2)




Honorable Mention:

Incident of the Blue Fire (Season 2)
Incident at the Buffalo Smokehouse (Season 2)
Incident of the Haunted Hills (Season 2)
Incident of the Valley in Shadow (Season 2)
Incident at Two Graves (Season 6)
Incident of the Swindler (Season 6)
Incident of the Running Man (Season 3)
Vasquez Woman (Season 8 )
Incident of the Wager on Payday (Season 3)
Incident of the Sharpshooter (Season 2)




Ranking the Seasons:

2
3
6
7 (contains some of the best and worst episodes)
1 (Consistently good, but rarely great episodes)
8 (Not as bad as its reputation.)
5 (Mostly bad, but with a few gems)
4 (Only three episodes that I liked)

[srvy]

Once Upon a Time in the West?

Also Hombre Dick Boone was one of the best bad guys ever. That movie was chock full of great lines.

Audra Favor : I can't imagine eating a dog and not thinking anything of it.

John Russell : You even been hungry, lady? Not just ready for supper. Hungry enough so that your belly swells?

Audra Favor : I wouldn't care how hungry I got. I know I wouldn't eat one of those camp dogs.

John Russell : You'd eat it. You'd fight for the bones, too.

Audra Favor : Have you ever eaten a dog, Mr. Russell?

John Russell : Eaten one and lived like one.

Audra Favor : Dear me.
****************************************************************

Grimes : Mister, you've got alot of hard bark on you walkin' down here like this. Now, I owe you. You put two holes in me.

John Russell : Usually enough for most of 'em.

Grimes : Don't try it again, that Vaquero is more than a fair hand.

Grimes : You got the money?

John Russell : Guess I brought my dirty laundry down by mistake.

Grimes : Let me see it.

John Russell : Look for yourself.

Grimes : [opens bag, pulls out a handful of clothes] Well now, what d'ya suppose hell's gonna look like?

John Russell : We all die, just a question of when.
********************************************************************

Mexican Bandit : [coming up the hill, waving a red handkerchief tied to a stick] Hey, hombre!

John Russell : [Russell finishes loading his rifle and goes to see what the Mexican Bandit wants]

Mexican Bandit : Look amigo, how close you come!

[indicating the wound on his stomach]

John Russell : I tried to do better; I think you moved.

Mexican Bandit : You can be sure I move! How do you prefer them, eh, tied to a tree?

John Russell : That'd be nice.

Mexican Bandit : You like to pull the trigger, eh?

John Russell : I can do it again for you.
******************************************************************

Jessie : And we got him a marble headstone. It had his name on it, and underneath, we had them put, "In the Fullness of His Years." Is that all right with you?

John Russell : I'd settle for that on my own slide.

Jessie : Well, what do you figure yours is going to read?

John Russell : Shot Dead, probably.

Jessie : Don't people take to you, Mr. Russell?

John Russell : It only takes one who doesn't.

[srvy]

Have Gun-Will Travel- I enjoy this one when I can find episodes. Dick Boone as Paladin. I even kinda remember the series was name Paladin then changed to Have Gun Will Travel for some reason.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

Honestly haven’t watched it since it aired, but remember being pretty amped for it because I’d already read the book several times… just remember being disappointed with several things

Struck me as what it was, a made for tv series with a limited budget

You’re more than welcome to your take, glad you enjoyed the movie… but dude the book is considered possibly the definitive story, look up some ratings and reviews

It’s a wealth of insight into all sides of that story

I've read more books about Custer than I can remember. I'm not saying it was bad; I enjoyed it. It's collecting dust on the bookshelf in the hall about 20 feet from me. But Connell rambled from topic to topic in no particular order, which I found annoying. It was like the reading a Nolan movie.

[Just Passin' By]

I love the genre, and I'd find it very difficult to nail down a favorite. But I'll post a couple I've seen posted that I'd like to add a bit to, and some that I didn't see mentioned that I think some might really like.

• Stagecoach (There are so many John Wayne options, that I'll just go with this one)
• No Name On The Bullet (The way the hero and villain roles are set all in a jumble is something I always find worth watching when this comes on)
• Johnny Guitar
• The Naked Spur
• The Wild Bunch
• Destry Rides Again
• Shane
• Winchester '73
• Ride The High Country
• The Ox-Bow Incident

And, for one that might be off the board, you might want to check out "El Topo".

[srvy]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

I love the genre, and I'd find it very difficult to nail down a favorite. But I'll post a couple I've seen posted that I'd like to add a bit to, and some that I didn't see mentioned that I think some might really like.

• Stagecoach (There are so many John Wayne options, that I'll just go with this one)
• No Name On The Bullet (The way the hero and villain roles are set all in a jumble is something I always find worth watching when this comes on)
• Johnny Guitar
• The Naked Spur
• The Wild Bunch
• Destry Rides Again
• Shane
• Winchester '73
• Ride The High Country
• The Ox-Bow Incident

And, for one that might be off the board, you might want to check out "El Topo".

Nice list! Shane was a good movie but the annoying boy Joey nearly ruined it with his Shane Shane Shane don't go. Alan Ladd was wonderful and Jack Palance was such a prick of a bad guy

[srvy]

The Classic Winchester 73 with Jimmy Stewart is awesome. I didn't care for the 1967 remake with John Saxon though.