With cowboys, gunfights, and renowned actors, the Western will forever be iconic within cinema. For more than a century, we have appreciated these classic movies, from well-known actors like Clint Eastwood and John Wayne to brilliant directors like John Ford, Sergio Leone, Howard Hawks, Sergio Corbuccci, and Burt Kennedy. They're packed with action, and most of the time, they even have quite a heartwarming and thoughtful story behind them, either historically based or just emotionally grounded. The themes of the genre explored the American frontier, the contrast between heroism and the violent nature of the cowboy life, and how the wild west transformed humans as much as the humans transformed the wild west.
Update May 23, 2023: This article has been updated by Mona Bassil with even more great Westerns from the 1960s.
At one point, Westerns were the most popular films at the box office, they started to fall out of favor in the 1960s. This was partially due to the emergence of the space race pushing audiences more towards science fiction but also to how the American West was viewed through new historical lenses and real-life atrocities. The 1960s was the last truly great decade for Westerns as a dominant genre at the box office, and it delivered some great iconic films. Here are the best Westerns of the 1960s, ranked.
10 El Dorado (1966)
Starring the iconic American Western actor John Wayne alongside Edward Asner, Howard Hawks' El Dorado is loosely based on Harry Brown's novel, The Stars in Their Courses and follows Bart Jason (Asner), who wants to force the MacDonald family out of the town with hopes of claiming their land. In order to do this, he hires a bunch of ruthless thugs. But, unfortunately for the family, the town's Sherrif, J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum), is a drunken mess and can't be of much help. Luckily, Harrah's friend, Cole Thorton (Wayne), is a pretty gifted shooter; he gets Harrah up and ready for an epic gunfight.
El Dorado is thrilling, exciting, and full of action, as can be expected from most films starring John Wayne, as he is expected to ride in to save the day. This is the middle film in Howard Hawks' brilliant western trilogy with Wayne in similar roles, preceded by the masterpiece Rio Bravo and followed by the director's last film, Rio Lobo.
9 Django (1966)
Italian filmmaker Sergio Corbucci, who gave us The Great Silence, Compañeros, and The Mercenary, is mostly known for enthralling Spaghetti Western fans with Django. Scored by Luis Bacalov (The Grand Duel, The Postman), the violent, political, brutal, and somewhat Gothic filmfollows a former Union soldier, Django (Franco Nero), whose journey takes him to a southern border town. His entrance, as he drags a coffin hiding his machine gun, is among the most memorable of the subgenre.
After saving the local prostitute from being burned at the stake, he finds himself caught between the KKK and a group of Mexican bandits. The movie’s huge success inspired dozens of unofficial sequels in the 60s and 70s. It also served as the titular inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.
8 A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Who doesn't love a bit of Clint Eastwood, with his rugged good looks, his cool demeanor, and that great gun-slinging action? We see Eastwood play a man with no full name or known background, who is sometimes referred to as Joe. A Fistful of Dollars was Eastwood's first leading role; it initiated the rise in popularity of the spaghetti western subgenre, and it was the first installment of what soon became known as the Man With No Name Trilogy, which includes For a Few Dollars More, and the more popular The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The movies' plots aren't related in any way, but the leads play similar characters, and Leone's directing style leaves a clear, distinctive mark.
In this first film, the man with no name finds himself in San Miguel, a Mexican village, up against the three Rojo brothers and Sheriff John Baxter. When a few Mexican soldiers bring gold to the village in order to purchase new weapons, the man with no name sees this as an opportunity for him to use it for his own benefit. With an iconic soundtrack and plenty of violence, it's no wonder it was considered the first part of a solid trilogy; you can't go wrong with a classic western storyline like this, and Leone milks it for everything it's got with his thrilling, violent, and immensely entertaining style.
7 For a Few Dollars More (1965)
Eastwood returns in the second Dollars installment, For a Few Dollars More, as the bounty hunter Manco, alongside Lee Van Cleef as the vengeful Colonel Douglas Mortimer, Gian Maria Volonté as the psychopathic bank robber and killer El Indio, Mario Brega as his acolyte Niño, and Mara Krupp as the frustrated hotel manager's wife. Manco is after Indio and his henchmen for the reward money, but the Colonel only wants payback because that criminal abused and murdered his sister years ago.
6 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Starring John Wayne as Tom Doniphon, James Stewart as Ransom Stoddard, Vera Miles as Hallie Stoddard, and Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is directed by John Ford and adapted from a 1953 short story by Dorothy M. Johnson. When a senator is asked why he is attending a modest rancher’s funeral, he reminisces how, 25 years ago, he was severely beaten and robbed by the criminal Valance and his posse and was taken in by the rancher and his girlfriend.
The movie's iconic line, "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” is both great on its own, but a line that summarizes the Western as a genre at the time, that the legend is one endures. The Man Who Shot Libert Valance is one of the best movies made by everyone involved and recently got a spotlight in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans.
5 The Magnificent Seven (1960)
With a brilliant all-star cast including Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson, and one of the most iconic theme songs in movie history, The Magnificent Seven is just a sheer classic. The film, a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Seven Samurai, is set in a small village that has just been attacked by the outlaw Calvera. Consequently, in order to protect themselves, three Mexican farmers head out to buy some guns. By this point, we know for sure we're about to see some much-loved gun-fighting, shootout action.
When they are advised to hire professional gunmen instead, they manage to recruit a group of skilled fighters and create a plan on how they can protect their town from further threats and attacks and, ultimately, how they can take down Calvera. It's an exciting, riveting action film that has set the template for team-up movies like that of The Avengers and Justice League.
4 Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
The 1968 epic western Once Upon a Time in the West was directed by the legendary creator of the Spaghetti Western subgenre, Sergio Leone. It is based on a story written by him, Dario Argento, and Bernardo Bertolucci, all equally masterful Italian filmmakers. It stars Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson as his enemy, Claudia Cardinale, and Frank Wolff. We follow the ruthless rail baron Morton, who wants to claim a piece of land as his own, and thus sends his henchman, Frank, to scare off the owner. The overzealous Frank takes his mission a little too seriously and kills him instead.
To cover his tracks, he blames it on Cheyenne, who is already an outlaw of ill repute. To throw more problems into the mix, arriving in town is a strange and mysterious man (who isn't afraid of slinging a few guns) with his wife. As the plot unravels and more are discovered, we can't help but become hooked on the characters and speculate on how the story will end. One of the greatest movies in the history of cinema Once Upon a Time in the West is a beautiful, grand depiction of the birth of modern America.
3 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Written by William Goldman and directed by George Roy Hill, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a western loosely based on the true story of two infamous Wild West outlaws, Robert LeRoy Parker (who became known as Butch Cassidy) and his partner Harry Longabaugh (who was referred to as the Sundance Kid). The plot focuses on these two characters on the run from a gang following a series of train robberies. They are accompanied by Sundance's lover, Etta.
It's ultimately a story of friendship, adventure, difficult romance, crime, and life as an outlaw that never fails to be exciting. Butch and Sundance might just be the most lovable criminals in Western history, and Paul Newman and Robert Redford provide us with a brilliant, amusing, but grippingly dramatic movie that features one of the most iconic endings in history.
2 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1967)
Eastwood returns in this final part of the so-called Dollars or Man with No Name Trilogy, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The film finds Eastwood (the Good), Lee Van Cleef (the Bad), and Eli Wallach (the Ugly) as they oscillate between teaming up and competing for a great deal of money. Blondie (Eastwood) and the wanted criminal Tuco (Wallach) form a sneaky partnership that consists of the former turning the latter in as an outlaw in order to receive the reward money and then rescuing him last minute, just as he is about to be hanged.
They would then escape with the bounty money. When Blondie eventually ends their partnership, an angry Tuco seeks vengeance and attempts to have him murdered, but they later team up together again to look for a sizable hidden bag of cash. Fun, fast-paced, and thrilling, with a globally recognizable score composed by Ennio Morricone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has to go down as a classic gun-slinging western, and the three leads have unmatched on-screen energy and chemistry.
1 True Grit (1969)
Iconically known as one of John Wayne's best westerns, especially since it saw him win an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, it's no wonder we see True Grit in our top-ranked westerns of the '60s.The hero is one Rooster Cogburn, whom young Mattie Ross hires, following her father's murder. Looking for revenge, Mattie asks Cogburn to help her track down the man responsible.
Together, they go on a dangerous and exciting journey to bring justice to Mattie's father, though Cogburn has some eccentric hunting and tracking techniques. True Grit became a well-known classic within the Western genre and is possibly one of Wayne's most recognizable characters. Its success eventually led to a surprisingly well-received modern remake from the Coen brothers and has gone down in history as one of the best Western movies not just of its decade but of all time.
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