Best Western films of the '40s

- Director: Charles Vidor
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Runtime: 87 minutes

A wanted outlaw shows up in town with a plan to rob a bank. The problem, however, is that the bank has already been held up. This classic Western hits all the cliché notes, from the sheriff to the pretty girl, to the barroom brawls and a bouncing tumbleweed or two. "The Desperadoes" was Columbia Pictures' first Technicolor film.

- Director: Sam Wood
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Runtime: 135 minutes

Starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman, "Saratoga Trunk" is based on the novel by the same name, and tells the story about a gambling Texan and his mistress. Together they try to break free from a society that has cast them aside due to the reputation of their parents. Flora Robson, a white woman, was cast in the role of a woman of color, even though by this time blackface was considered offensive.

- Director: Cecil B. DeMille
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Runtime: 126 minutes

Gary Cooper plays a Texas Ranger who is sent to Canada in the late 19th century to pursue an outlaw. Along the way he meets a nurse and causes complications for her and another man in her life. According to IMDb, budget restrictions meant this movie was filmed on sound stages, though it was based in Saskatchewan.

- Director: Stuart Heisler
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Runtime: 90 minutes

Adapted from the novel "Useless Cowboy," this Western comedy tells the story of two men who stumble into a town, where one is mistaken to be a wanted outlaw. The movie starred Western icon Gary Cooper. In fact, according to AFI Catalog, this was his first shot as an independent producer on the film.

- Director: George Waggner
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Runtime: 100 minutes

John Green returns home from the War of 1812, where he finds love in a French exile whose land, it turns out, is in jeopardy. In addition to John Wayne, the movie stars Oliver Hardy (of Laurel & Hardy). This is one of the only films where Hardy made a film without his comedic partner.

- Director: Jack Conway
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Runtime: 105 minutes

A smooth-talking crook, played by Clark Gable, arrives in Yellow Creek, a town in the Wild West, where he rises to be its crooked boss. This was the first time Clark Gable and Lana Turner appeared in a film together: The duo would go on to do three more films together.

- Director: Raoul Walsh
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Runtime: 110 minutes

A Civil War soldier sets a gambling town right and takes the gambling equipment to start a new gig in the Wild West. Along the way he meets a cast of characters, all of whom end up in Silver City, Nevada. Despite being ranked as one of the best Westerns of the decade, upon its debut, critics were underwhelmed. In fact, The New York Times went so far as to say it wasn't even entertaining.

- Director: Sidney Lanfield
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Runtime: 97 minutes

Two U.S. cavalrymen are killed while transporting a gold shipment, and an investigator is sent undercover to find their killers. Dick Powell stars alongside Jane Greer who, according to IMDb, was given the role only after Marlene Dietrich turned it down.

- Director: Henry Levin
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Runtime: 100 minutes

Glen Ford stars as a Union officer who developed a taste for blood during the Civil War. At the end of the war he returns home with his best friend, only to discover that one of them does not quite fit in with civilians anymore. This is one of the 1940s Westerns that portrayed the psychologically disturbing aspects of life, rather than the traditional Westerns that swung more optimistic, writes the Toronto Film Society.

- Director: Fritz Lang
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Runtime: 92 minutes

The sequel to the 1939 film "Jesse James," "The Return of Frank James" tells the story of Frank James, who is trying to avenge his brother's murder by the Ford brothers. The film studio purchased the rights to the James brothers' lives, but some facts were changed. For example, the Ford brothers died before Frank surrendered, and Frank was not responsible for either of their deaths.

- Director: Leslie Fenton
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 88 minutes

Alan Ladd stars as a railroad detective, Luke Smith, who is on a mission to stop a band of train robbers. The site of the railhead town was built on the lot of Paramount Pictures. Later, that same set was used as the set for "Bonanza" and many other movies. IMDb reports that there was even a line of track laid down so that real-life locomotives could appear to pull into town.

- Director: George Marshall
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 93 minutes

On their way to a new life in Texas, two Civil War veterans witness a stagecoach robbery. The soldiers decide to rob the robbers and are forced to split up for safety. When they reconnect, years later, they are on opposing sides of the law. According to IMDb, the director, George Marshall, preferred that all of his actors do their own stunts.

- Director: Wesley Ruggles
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 125 minutes

It's Tucson in the 1860s and a pioneer woman is working her way to the top of the freight and cattle business, combating corrupt locals and Native Americans along the way. According to "William Holden: A Biography," the majority of the film was shot in the desert outside of Tucson, where cast and crew faced extreme conditions, often shooting on days where the high was 130 degrees.

- Director: André De Toth
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 94 minutes

Connie Dickason inherits her late fiancé's ranch, and she is determined to win out against the violent and corrupt "boss" of the valley, Frank Ivey. According to IMDb, stars Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea did not get along behind the scenes. In fact, this was their first film together since 1941, and McCrea even turned down a film in 1942 to avoid working with her.

- Director: Arthur Lubin
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 82 minutes

Comedy duo Abbott and Costello star as two peanut vendors at a rodeo show who get into hot water with their boss. They hop a train headed west and get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch. There are many Hollywood inside jokes peppered throughout the film: For example, the depot, called "Gower Gulch," is a reference to the area of Hollywood where low-budget films are made.

- Director: Fritz Lang
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 95 minutes

A reformed outlaw tries to set his life straight by working to wire the Great Plains for telegraph service in the 1860s. But a series of conflicts arise between him and his former gang, as well as the Native Americans whose land the team is wiring. Several movie houses were interested in turning the novel "Western Union" into a film, but Fox won it with a $25,000 offer.

- Director: Ray Enright
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 87 minutes

Set during Alaska's gold rush in 1898, two miners struggle to keep their gold claim out of the hands of a corrupt commissioner. Believe it or not, this was the fourth screen version of Rex Reach's 1906 novel. It starred Marlene Dietrich, who rose to stardom in the 1930s, but whose fame was in decline by the 1940s because of her German roots. Universal Studios made it a point to Americanize her image.

- Director: Charles Barton
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 78 minutes

Another Western starring Lou Costello and Bud Abbott, the two main characters are on their way to California and make a stop in Wagon Gap, Montana. A murder happens while the two are in town and our heroes are wrongfully convicted of the crime. The story was based on a real law from Montana at that time, which said that a man who kills another man was responsible for supporting the victim's family.

- Directors: S. Sylvan Simon, George Marshall
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 90 minutes

Many tried, and many failed, to find the Lost Dutchman Mine. But one fortune seeker may have cracked the code that will lead him to the lost treasure. Most of the film is told through a flashback. Many of the action highlights that were filmed for the movie ended up as stock footage in future Columbia Pictures productions. One of the spots where the footage turned up was in an episode of "Captain Midnight."

- Director: Samuel Fuller
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 81 minutes

This film picks up after the murder of Jesse James, following the murderer Bob Ford. Ford was James' best friend, who shot him to obtain a pardon, which allowed him to marry his girlfriend. It was the directorial debut for Sam Fuller, who said he wanted to make this film because he wanted to stop putting Jesse James in the folk hero spotlight.

- Director: Michael Curtiz
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 121 minutes

A Union Officer escapes from Confederate prison and makes his way to Virginia City, Nevada. He discovers that the commander of the prison has a $5 million gold shipment on its way to help save the Confederacy. It was a follow-up to the film "Dodge City," though it was never called an outright sequel.

- Director: Raoul Walsh
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 94 minutes

Just before the Civil War, Texan Bob Seton arrives in Kansas to a town that is poised on the precipice of whether or not it will be pro- or anti-slavery. The division of the town causes many clashes and uprisings, which leaves Seton to defend the town and its pro-Union residents. It was the second time John Wayne worked with director Raoul Walsh. The first team up was for "The Big Trail" in 1930, when Walsh gave the then 23-year-old his first leading role.

- Director: Edward F. Cline
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 83 minutes

When Flower Belle Lee is run out of town, she meets a con artist and they fake a marriage to help rebuild her reputation. They land in Greasewood City and start another string of deceptions. Reception was mixed, mostly because of the chemistry (or lack thereof) between Mae West and W.C. Fields. The New York Times called the effort "greatly strained."

- Director: Norman Z. McLeod
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 91 minutes

Calamity Jane is on a mission to find out who is selling rifles to the local Native Americans. She ends up married to a cowardly, bumbling dentist to help keep her undercover. The story is completely fictional, but the character of the dentist was potentially based on a real-life dentist called Painless Parker, who worked as a side show in the 1890s.

- Directors: King Vidor, Otto Brower, William Dieterle, Sidney Franklin, William Cameron Menzies, David O. Selznick, Josef von Sternberg
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 129 minutes

A psychological Western film, "Duel in the Sun" tells the story of a biracial woman who goes to live with her white relatives following the hanging of her father. There were strong sexual overtones for the era, which proved to be challenging when it was time to get the film released. It was nicknamed "Lust in the Dust," which served as inspiration for the actual film, "Lust in the Dust," released in 1985.

- Director: Jacques Tourneur
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Runtime: 92 minutes

Businessman Logan Stuart is torn between two women in 1856 in Jacksonville, Oregon. A series of subplots ensues, featuring love triangles, corruption, gambling, and murder. It was one of the top-earners in 1946, earning $2,250,000 in rentals.

- Director: Robert Wise
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Runtime: 88 minutes

A clash between homesteaders and a cattleman leads a less-than-honest Tate Riling to hire an unemployed cowhand to help settle the dispute. It was a well-received movie. Variety praised it for its believable characters, suspenseful action sequences, and out-of-the-box storytelling.

- Director: Edward Buzzell
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Runtime: 80 minutes

In their 10th film together, the Marx Brothers set out to help save a man's land, help him marry his love, and to settle an old family feud. According to IMDb, Groucho Marx's character name, "S. Quentin Quale," is a subtle joke. The term San Quentin quail is a euphemism for "jail bait."

- Director: James Edward Grant
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Runtime: 100 minutes

A man from the wrong side of the law is nursed back to health by a good Quaker woman. Soon he finds himself having to choose between his life of crime and her pious world. The film was produced by John Wayne, who also happens to be the Badman. The New York Times called it "a notch or two superior to the normal sagebrush saga."

- Director: Henry Hathaway
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 98 minutes

Daniel Howitt, a quiet and gentle stranger, stumbles into an Ozark Mountain town that is festering with hatred. Howitt's influence begins to have a calming effect on the residents, all except for one man who is determined to kill his own father. At one point, the female lead removes her shirt and displays her bare back, to the shock of The Hays Office. The director claimed it was a man standing in for Betty Field. Years later, according to IMDb, he admitted that it was, in fact, Field's own bare back.

- Director: Norman Foster
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 93 minutes

A widower farmer brings in an indentured servant, who eventually becomes his new wife. But this isn't looked upon favorably when an old friend of the farmer shows up. Shortly after the film wrapped, Robert Mitchum was arrested for marijuana possession, which inspired RKO to rush the release of the film to take advantage of Mitchum's name in the headlines.

- Director: Cecil B. DeMille
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 146 minutes

In the wake of the French and Indian War, a frontiersman and a felon work together to save Fort Pitt from the Seneca Native Americans, all the while combating other villains along the way. This was one of Cecil B. DeMille's biggest budget films of his career. According to the book "American Indian Image Makers of Hollywood," the budget was roughly $4 million, $1 million of which went to actor salaries.

- Director: Edwin L. Marin
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 87 minutes

A new ranch hand rides into town to start a new job, only to find his employer has been murdered and that the townsfolk aren't too thrilled to have a newcomer. This was the last film pairing of John Wayne and George Hayes, who had been long-time friends both on and off screen.

- Director: Jack Conway
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Runtime: 119 minutes

Two friends evolve from wild men to oil tycoons over the span of two decades. During this time, however, they realize they're in love with the same woman. Clark Gable stars in the film and, according to Classic Movie Hub, he was happy to take on the role considering his father's work as an oil rigger in Oklahoma.

- Directors: King Vidor, Jack Conway, W.S. Van Dyke
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Runtime: 126 minutes

Two friends team up with Rogers' Rangers during the French and Indian War. The film tells the story of the raid on Fort St. Francis and what happens before and after the historic battle. Actors did their own stunts, which was particularly challenging during the "human chain" scene where they cross a dangerous river. The shot started at Idaho's Payette Lake but had to be completed in the studio because it was far too treacherous.

- Director: George Sidney
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Runtime: 102 minutes

Susan Bradley, played by Judy Garland, is on a train headed west where she is promised as a mail-order bride. On the way, she meets a team of traveling women who are headed off to open a Harvey House restaurant. Originally the role of Bradley was envisioned for Lana Turner, but the film eventually cast Garland. Other actors considered for the film were Clark Gable and Gene Kelly.

- Director: John Ford
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Runtime: 106 minutes

Three bank robbers on the run find the newborn of a recently deceased woman and risk their freedom to return the baby to civilization. The movie is a remake of director John Ford's 1919 silent movie, "Marked Men." It starred Ford's friend Harry Carey, who died in 1947, hence the dedication to Carey in the beginning of the film.

- Director: Raoul Walsh
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Runtime: 94 minutes

This film tells the story of a Colorado territory outlaw who escapes from jail to pull off yet another heist. But along the way he meets the pretty Julie Ann, and suddenly wonders if the bandit life is the one he really wants. According to a review in The New York Times, the film bore remarkable resemblance to a film from eight years earlier, "High Sierra," which did very well at the box office.

- Director: Raoul Walsh
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Runtime: 101 minutes

A boy is taken in by a neighboring family after his entire family was murdered. While living with the family, he starts to fall for his adoptive sister, but her brother and uncle want to see him meet his end. It was met with mixed reviews, but Variety praised it for its psychological elements, strong direction, cast, and beautiful shots of New Mexico.

- Director: Clarence Brown
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Runtime: 128 minutes

A Civil War veteran lives on a farm in Florida with his wife and only surviving son, Jody. The son takes a liking to an orphaned fawn, but his mother is not supportive of their bond. The movie was filmed on location in the Ocala National Forest. In fact, the forest has a Yearling Trail where visitors can discover the landscape that inspired "The Yearling" novel, written in 1938.

- Director: Raoul Walsh
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Runtime: 140 minutes

This film (loosely) follows the life of George Armstrong Custer from his arrival at West Point to his death at the battle of the Little Bighorn. Facts have definitely been blurred in the movie on all levels. For example, to fill the background with Native Americans, the director employed hundreds of Filipino extras. Only 16 real-life Sioux were used for the close-ups.

- Director: William Wyler
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Runtime: 100 minutes

The Westerner tells the tale of Vinegaroon, Texas, a town run by Judge Roy Bean. The corrupt judge befriends Cole Harden, a drifter who is convicted of horse theft. Harden is a con man himself, and ends up talking his way out of a hanging. Gary Cooper never wanted to make the film, thinking that starring alongside Walter Brennan would eclipse his role. But it actually became the first of five pair-ups for the two, the last being "Task Force" in 1949.

- Director: John Ford
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Runtime: 104 minutes

Captain Nathan Brittles is on the brink of retirement, but he does one last patrol to help fend off a Native American attack. John Wayne was not John Ford's first choice to play Captain Brittles, a character who was supposed to be twenty years older than Wayne actually was. But Ford changed his mind after seeing Wayne's performance in "Red River."

- Director: William A. Wellman
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Runtime: 98 minutes

A team of robbers are on the run and hiding out in a ghost town. Here they discover a gun-slinging tomboy and her grandfather, who are intended to be their next target, until one of the gang members falls in love with the granddaughter. The exteriors of the film were shot at Death Valley National Monument. A construction crew built a ghost town in the desert near Lone Pine, California.

- Director: Rouben Mamoulian
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Runtime: 94 minutes

The son of a California aristocrat returns to the territory only to discover it is in the hands of a dictator. He dons a secret, masked identity to avenge his family's homeland. "The Mark of Zorro" was a remake of a silent film movie of the same name, and would go on to be remade again in the '70s, meaning the story has been told without sound, in black-and-white with sound, and in color.

- Director: John Ford
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Runtime: 128 minutes

A war veteran and his regime find themselves under the command of a younger lieutenant colonel at Fort Apache. Conflicts arise when the more established veterans realize their new commander has no respect for the local tribe. The film was received with critical acclaim, making its way into the American Film Institute's Top 10 list. Variety praised the film as masterful, using words like "superb" and "tremendous."

- Director: John Ford
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Runtime: 97 minutes

The Earp brothers are on a vengeance-seeking mission against the Clanton family after their brother is murdered and their cattle are stolen. According to True West Magazine, Wyatt Earp was a regular in Hollywood back when the Western genre was taking shape. John Ford worked as a prop assistant and would often listen to Earp tell stories about the fight at the O.K. Corral.

- Directors: Howard Hawks, Arthur Rosson
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Runtime: 133 minutes

"Red River' is the story of Tom Dunston, a rancher who is driving his 10,000 cattle to market more than 1,000 miles away. But his dictatorial leadership skills cause a mutiny in his party, led by his adopted son. John Wayne's performance in "Red River" led to John Ford casting him in complicated roles in his films. Prior to this performance in "Red River," Ford never fully believed the breadth and scope of Wayne's skills.

- Director: William A. Wellman
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Runtime: 75 minutes

Three men are accused of killing a local farmer. They are captured by a local posse, who quickly become divided over whether or not the men deserve a hanging. The movie received very positive reviews, especially over the raw, unfiltered portrayals of hangings. Variety says "hardly a gruesome detail is omitted," but means this as a compliment.

- Director: John Huston
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Runtime: 126 minutes

Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston star in this iconic Western that tells the story of two Americans in Mexico looking for work. They smooth-talk an old prospector into helping them pan for gold in the rugged Sierra Madre Mountains. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest Westerns of all time. It won four Academy Awards and in 1990 it was chosen for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."