Favorite western movie?

[Mephistopheles]

GOING SOUTH

Great cast of actors

 

[MamaBear]

Quigley Down Under and I like Clint Eastwood westerns, but I think my favorite is The Outlaw Josey Wales.

 

[Ed Guinn]

One of them:
"The Day of the Outlaw". 1959 black and white with Robert Ryan, Burl Ives, Tina Louse.

 

[Kid@Heart]

The Big Country.

Gregory Peck, Burl Ives, Charlton Heston and Jean Simmons.

 

[coastal steelheader]

The High Plains Drifter
The Long Riders
Ride With The Devil

 

[Sgt Nambu]

+1 On Ride With The Devil! Excellent movie!

 

[U8395279]

Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster in The Profesional s

Man alive, I cannot believe that you are the only person to mention THE PROFESSIONALS, which came out in 1966. It is like one of the top 3 westerns of all time. I would rate it right up there with HIGH NOON and THE SEARCHERS. It is close to a perfect action western, with a plot that has plenty of action and is never boring or predictable, excellent acting by Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, and Jack Palance, and fantastic photography with scenic landscapes filmed in Death Valley, CA and The Valley of Fire in Nevada that got it an Academy Award nomination for best Cinematography. Most of the westerns that have been listed here are nowhere close to being as well made as THE PROFESSIONALS. It takes place during the Mexican Revolution, just before World War I.

It has been out on DVD and Blue Ray for some time now. So it is easy to find to rent. Why it never gets played on TV I do not know. But if anyone here has never seen it, boy, oh boy, you sure have missed one of the very best Westerns ever made, starring Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster at the peak of their careers, and featuring some of the best western gunfight scenes ever.

P.S. - It was also nominated for the best original screenplay Academy Award, because of the well written story. And it was also nominated for Best Director, a nomination usually given to films that are also nominated for Best Picture.




Here are some screen captures that I made off my Blu Ray of the movie:

 

[U8395279]

One great old Black and White Western Classic that everyone has overlooked is 1956's THE FASTEST GUN ALIVE, starring Glenn Ford. Very short movie, only 89 minutes long, based on a short story. If you ever have a free hour and a half to kill, you could do a lot worse than watching THE FASTEST GUN ALIVE.

Ford plays the fastest gun in the old west, hiding his skill with a pistol in order to try to escape his past and the shame it gave him.






Here he looks down at his Colt Peacemaker:



And contemplates all of the notches carved into its grip:



His life of hiding is about to change, though, when a vicious gang of bank robbers come to his little town:

 

[USAF Medic]

Watching some good westerns this morning, Valdez is comming and Conagher. Love the old guns and gear they had in those movies. Got any favorites?

 

[U8395279]

Once upon a time in the west was going to be my pick, mostly because of Claudia Cardinale ...

You would love her in THE PROFESSIONALS. Spent a good portion of the movie wearing just a bath robe, which always looked like it was about to fall off:












Later, they eventually allowed her to put on more clothes:

 

[RicInOR]

@Lance Jacobs a Lewis Gun as a Cowboy FA?! That need to come into Wild Bunch matches for sure!

 

[U8395279]

@Lance Jacobs a Lewis Gun as a Cowboy FA?! That need to come into Wild Bunch matches for sure!

Well, it is roughly set in the same time frame as THE WILD BUNCH. The Mexican Revolution is going on, and I think that the year is supposed to be just before America's entry into WWI, so probably 1916.

So yes, a Lewis gun is a bit of a stretch. Sure, the gun was being made back then. But did the British sell any to Mexico in that timeframe? That is doubtful, in my opinion.

It is a real fun movie for firearms fans. You have traditional western guns like the Peacemaker and Winchester 92, combined with guns like the Winchester 97 shotgun and the double action Colt New Army M1892 revolver, and a variety of bolt action rifles.

Remember, only 4 men were trying to battle a small army of over 100 Mexican banditos/revolutionaries. They needed to have some kind of edge in firepower.

Here is Marvin as he is just about to open up on the Mexican banditos that are in pursuit:

This movie is extremely politically incorrect, as dozens upon dozens of Mexicans are slaughtered throughout the film by a small handful of American men. Perhaps that is why one never sees it being shown on TV.



.

 

[U8395279]

Once upon a time in the west was going to be my pick, mostly because of Claudia Cardinale ...

You would probably like Mexican actress Marie Gomez too. She played a Mexican Bandita in THE PROFESSIONALS in a major supporting actress role.

Both Gomez and Cardinale fully filled out their roles:

 

[ditchtiger]

No one here saw Terence Hill's " Trinity" movies?

GREATEST Movie Poker Scene Ever!

 

[38STUPER]

Watching some good westerns this morning, Valdez is comming and Conagher. Love the old guns and gear they had in those movies. Got any favorites?

IF TIME ALLOWS, 'LONESOME DOVE'

 

[jbett98]

McKenna's Gold was a campy western with Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas and Julie Newmar as a cutthroat Indian woman with trust issues.

 

[U8395279]

Julie Newmar was never much of an actress. She was also one of the brides in the Musical Western SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, another Western that I don't think anyone has mentioned.


The only role I ever liked her in was being the original Catwoman on the Batman TV series. She really did not do well in any serious acting roles, in my opinion.




She looks a lot better than Batman and Robin do now. Robin looks like he has been eating way too many worms.

 

[jbett98]

She is smart though, with two patents to her name, and she also made a lot of money in
Los Angles real estate.

 

[jeffotto]

John Wayne's "The Cowboys". A classic for anyone who appreciates the coming of age

Also, one of my favorite lines;

"Ladies, it's time we bow to the fact that it's a mans world".

 

[deadeye]

lots of good choices but this one needs an honorable mention, for a couple obvious reasons.