THE BEST 1950s WESTERNS
The Eisenhower 50s was the decade of great adult westerns. What New York Times critic Vincent Canby derisively dismissed as "horse operas" captured the American imagination. During an era of declining theater attendance, westerns pried former moviegoers away from their TV sets and filled empty seats. Conformist 50s' audiences identified with the lonely hero and were reassured that they descended from honorable, courageous ancestors--rugged individuals who knew the difference between right and wrong and would never barter their principles for a buck.
Grandfather and great-grandfather had been unbowed by a hostile world.
The following is a list of the decade's best westerns.
Grandfather and great-grandfather had been unbowed by a hostile world.
The following is a list of the decade's best westerns.
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- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJeffrey HunterVera MilesAn 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.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGregory PeckJean SimmonsCarroll BakerA New England sea captain in the 1880s arrives at his fiancée's sprawling Texas ranch, where he becomes embroiled in a feud between two families over a valuable patch of land.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsAlan LaddJean ArthurVan HeflinAn ex-gunfighter defends homesteaders in 1889 Wyoming.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartArthur KennedyDonald CrispNewcomer Will Lockhart defies the local cattle baron and his sadistic son by working for one of his oldest rivals.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGary CooperGrace KellyThomas MitchellA town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartShelley WintersDan DuryeaA cowboy's obsession with a stolen rifle leads to a bullet-ridden odyssey through the American West.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsGlenn FordVan HeflinFelicia FarrBroke small-time rancher Dan Evans is hired by the stagecoach line to put big-time captured outlaw leader Ben Wade on the 3:10 train to Yuma but Wade's gang tries to free him.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneWilliam HoldenConstance TowersIn 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsBurt LancasterKirk DouglasRhonda FlemingLawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsKirk DouglasAnthony QuinnCarolyn JonesA marshal tries to bring the son of an old friend, an autocratic cattle baron, to justice for his role in the rape and murder of the marshal's Native American wife.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsHenry FondaAnthony PerkinsBetsy PalmerA cynical former sheriff turned bounty hunter helps a young, recently appointed acting sheriff with his advice, his experience and his gun.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsWilliam HoldenEleanor ParkerJohn ForsytheDuring the Civil War, a group of Confederates escapes from the Union POW camp at Fort Bravo but has to contend with the desert, the Mescalero Apaches and the pursuing Union troops.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottGail RussellLee MarvinA former sheriff blames himself for his wife's death during a Wells Fargo robbery and vows to track down and kill the seven men responsible.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckHelen WestcottMillard MitchellNotorious gunfighter Jimmy Ringo rides into town to find his true love, who doesn't want to see him. He hasn't come looking for trouble, but trouble finds him around every corner.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartRock HudsonArthur KennedyWhen a town boss confiscates homesteaders' supplies after gold is discovered nearby, a tough cowboy risks his life to try and get it to them.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsGlenn FordBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA bitter land dispute causes a Civil War veteran to take extreme action.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartRuth RomanCorinne CalvetA self-minded adventurer locks horns with a crooked lawman while driving cattle to Dawson.
- DirectorRussell RouseStarsGlenn FordJeanne CrainBroderick CrawfordIn the western frontier town of Cross Creek, storekeeper George Temple is a polite and soft spoken man with a secret past. When 3 bank robbers on the lam stop in town to change horses, George's past comes back to haunt him.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsKirk DouglasJeanne CrainClaire TrevorSharpshooting drifter Dempsey Rae comes back to Wyoming to work for beautiful rancher Reed Bowman. But Reed's plan to fence in her land's wide open spaces angers other ranchers and soon embroils Dempsey in a bloody range war.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartJanet LeighRobert RyanA bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-trustworthy strangers.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsGlenn FordErnest BorgnineRod SteigerA new foreman rejects the sexual advances of a frustrated rancher's wife, which leads to conflicts that could get him killed.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsGary CooperPhyllis ThaxterDavid BrianMajor Lex Kearney becomes the North's first counterespionage agent as he tries to discover who's behind the theft of Union cavalry horses in Colorado during the Civil War.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsGary CooperBurt LancasterDenise DarcelDuring the Mexican Rebellion of 1866, an unsavory group of American adventurers are hired by the forces of Emporer Maximilian to escort a countess to Vera Cruz.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsJohn WayneGeraldine PageWard BondArmy dispatch rider Hondo Lane discovers a woman and young son living in the midst of warring Apaches and becomes their protector.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottRichard BooneMaureen O'SullivanAn independent former ranch foreman is kidnapped along with an heiress, who is being held for ransom by trio of ruthless outlaws.
