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John Wayne Ranked

by rmailander • Created 5 years ago • Modified 5 years ago
A ranking of John Wayne's film performances.
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  • 139 titles
  • John Wayne, Natalie Wood, Ward Bond, Jeffrey Hunter, and Vera Miles in The Searchers (1956)

    1. The Searchers

    19561h 59mApproved94Metascore
    7.8 (101K)
    An American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJeffrey HunterVera Miles
  • Stagecoach (1939)

    2. Stagecoach

    19391h 36mApproved93Metascore
    7.8 (57K)
    A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneClaire TrevorAndy Devine
  • John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, and Joanne Dru in Red River (1948)

    3. Red River

    19482h 13mApproved96Metascore
    7.7 (37K)
    Dunson leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son.
    DirectorsHoward HawksArthur RossonStarsJohn WayneMontgomery CliftJoanne Dru
  • Maureen O'Hara, John Wayne, Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, and Victor McLaglen in The Quiet Man (1952)

    4. The Quiet Man

    19522h 9mApproved85Metascore
    7.7 (45K)
    A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBarry Fitzgerald
  • James Stewart, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Andy Devine, Vera Miles, and Edmond O'Brien in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

    5. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

    19622h 3mApproved94Metascore
    8.1 (86K)
    A senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJames StewartJohn WayneVera Miles
  • John Wayne, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ben Johnson in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

    6. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

    19491h 44mApproved87Metascore
    7.2 (20K)
    Captain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJoanne DruJohn Agar
  • Harry Carey Jr., Ben Johnson, Victor McLaglen, J. Carrol Naish, and Chill Wills in Rio Grande (1950)

    7. Rio Grande

    19501h 45mApproved
    7.0 (19K)
    A cavalry officer posted on the Rio Grande is confronted with murderous raiding Apaches, a son who's a risk-taking recruit and his wife from whom he has been separated for many years.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBen Johnson
  • John Wayne, Glen Campbell, and Kim Darby in True Grit (1969)

    8. True Grit

    19692h 8mG83Metascore
    7.4 (54K)
    A drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in the old American West.
    DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneKim DarbyGlen Campbell
  • Lauren Bacall, James Stewart, John Wayne, Ron Howard, Richard Boone, Sheree North, and Hugh O'Brian in The Shootist (1976)

    9. The Shootist

    19761h 40mPG77Metascore
    7.6 (28K)
    A dying gunfighter spends his last days looking for a way to die with a minimum of pain and a maximum of dignity.
    DirectorDon SiegelStarsJohn WayneLauren BacallRon Howard
  • John Wayne, John Agar, and Adele Mara in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

    10. Sands of Iwo Jima

    19491h 40mApproved75Metascore
    7.0 (12K)
    Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.
    DirectorAllan DwanStarsJohn WayneJohn AgarAdele Mara
  • John Wayne and Thomas Mitchell in The Long Voyage Home (1940)

    11. The Long Voyage Home

    19401h 45mApproved
    6.9 (5.3K)
    A merchant ship's crew tries to survive the loneliness of the sea and the coming of war.
    DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneThomas MitchellIan Hunter
  • John Wayne and Gail Russell in Angel and the Badman (1947)

    12. Angel and the Badman

    19471h 40mApproved
    6.8 (7.1K)
    Quirt Evans, an all round bad guy, is nursed back to health and sought after by Penelope Worth, a Quaker girl. He eventually finds himself having to choose between his world and the world Penelope lives in.
    DirectorJames Edward GrantStarsJohn WayneGail RussellHarry Carey
  • John Wayne and Marguerite Churchill in The Big Trail (1930)

    13. The Big Trail

    19302h 5mPassed
    7.2 (4.9K)
    Breck Coleman leads hundreds of settlers in covered wagons from the Mississippi River to their destiny out West.
    DirectorsRaoul WalshLouis R. LoefflerStarsJohn WayneMarguerite ChurchillEl Brendel
  • Hondo (1953)

    14. Hondo

    19531h 23mPG79Metascore
    7.0 (13K)
    Army dispatch rider Hondo Lane discovers a woman and young son living in the midst of warring Apaches and becomes their protector.
    DirectorJohn FarrowStarsJohn WayneGeraldine PageWard Bond
  • John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Ray Milland, Paulette Goddard, Raymond Massey, Lynne Overman, and Robert Preston in Reap the Wild Wind (1942)

    15. Reap the Wild Wind

    19422h 3mApproved
    6.6 (3.7K)
    Florida ship salvager Loxi falls for Jack, captain of a ship wrecked on the Key West shore. However, their romance is complicated by the arrival of another suitor.
    DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsRay MillandJohn WaynePaulette Goddard
  • Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, John Wayne, and Harry Carey in The Spoilers (1942)

    16. The Spoilers

    19421h 27mApproved
    6.7 (3.5K)
    In Nome, Alaska, miner Roy Glennister and his partner Dextry, financed by saloon entertainer Cherry Malotte, fight to save their gold claim from crooked commissioner Alexander McNamara.
    DirectorRay EnrightStarsMarlene DietrichRandolph ScottJohn Wayne
  • John Wayne, Jan Sterling, David Brian, Laraine Day, Phil Harris, Robert Newton, Robert Stack, and Claire Trevor in The High and the Mighty (1954)

    17. The High and the Mighty

    19542h 27mApproved
    6.6 (6.9K)
    When a commercial airliner develops engine problems on a trans-Pacific flight and the pilot loses his nerve, it is up to the washed-up co-pilot Dan Roman to bring the plane in safely.
    DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsJohn WayneClaire TrevorLaraine Day
  • John Wayne, Ward Bond, Walter Brennan, Angie Dickinson, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, and John Russell in Rio Bravo (1959)

    18. Rio Bravo

    19592h 21mApproved93Metascore
    8.0 (71K)
    A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
    DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneDean MartinRicky Nelson
  • Big Jake (1971)

    19. Big Jake

    19711h 50mPG-1357Metascore
    7.1 (15K)
    In 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson and holds him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.
    DirectorsGeorge ShermanJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneRichard BooneMaureen O'Hara
  • John Wayne, Dean Martin, Michael Anderson Jr., and Earl Holliman in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

    20. The Sons of Katie Elder

    19652h 2mApproved72Metascore
    7.1 (20K)
    Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother.
    DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneDean MartinMartha Hyer
  • John Wayne, Richard Widmark, and Laurence Harvey in The Alamo (1960)

    21. The Alamo

    19602h 42mApproved
    6.8 (19K)
    In 1836, a small band of soldiers sacrifice their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.
    DirectorJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneRichard WidmarkLaurence Harvey
  • John Wayne, Donna Reed, and Robert Montgomery in They Were Expendable (1945)

    22. They Were Expendable

    19452h 15mApproved86Metascore
    7.2 (9.8K)
    A Navy commander fights to prove the battle-worthiness of the PT boat at the start of World War II.
    DirectorsJohn FordRobert MontgomeryStarsRobert MontgomeryJohn WayneDonna Reed
  • How the West Was Won (1962)

    23. How the West Was Won

    19622h 44mG56Metascore
    7.1 (25K)
    A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.
    DirectorsJohn FordHenry HathawayGeorge MarshallStarsJames StewartJohn WayneGregory Peck
  • Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, and John Wayne in Pittsburgh (1942)

    24. Pittsburgh

    19421h 32mApproved
    6.4 (1.6K)
    Charles 'Pittsburgh' Markham rides roughshod over his friends, his lovers, and his ideals in his trek toward financial success in the Pittsburgh steel industry, only to find himself deserted and lonely at the top. When his crash comes, he finds that fate has dealt him a second chance.
    DirectorLewis SeilerStarsMarlene DietrichJohn WayneRandolph Scott
  • Sophia Loren, John Wayne, and Susan Hayward in The Fighting Seabees (1944)

    25. The Fighting Seabees

    19441h 40mApproved
    6.4 (4.1K)
    During WW2, the U.S. Navy implements a new idea of forming construction battalions that also are fighting units, in case of Japanese attack.
    DirectorEdward LudwigStarsJohn WayneSusan HaywardDennis O'Keefe

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