John Wayne’s Ten Best Westerns!

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John Wayne has 184 credits on his resume.  Although he made movies in many genres, he was best known for his westerns.  So I decided to come up with my list of his ten best…

01.  The Searchers (1956): John Wayne plays Ethan Edwards, a Civil War veteran with a hatred of Indians.  John Ford directs.  Co-starring Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond and Natalie Wood.

When his niece is kidnapped by Comanches, Ethan Edwards vows to find her no matter how many years it takes.

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02.  Stagecoach (1939): John Wayne plays The Ringo Kid.  John Ford directs.  Co-starring Claire Trevor, Andy Devine, John Carradine and Thomas Mitchell.

When strangers on a stagecoach traveling across the frontier are attacked by Indians secrets are revealed.  It’s not often there’s a specific scene where an actor becomes a star.  Stagecoach has one and John Wayne is in it.

Stagecoach was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won two…

  • nominee Best Picture,
  • nominee Best Director – John Ford
  • nominee Best Cinematography, Black-and-White – Bert Glennon
  • nominee Best Art Direction – Alexander Toluboff
  • nominee Best Film Editing – Otho Lovering, Dorothy Spencer
  • winner Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Thomas Mitchell
  • winner Best Music, Scoring – Richard Hageman, W. Franke Harling, John Leipold, Leo Shuken

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03.  Hondo (1953): John Wayne plays Hondo Lane.  John Farrow directs. (Final scenes directed by John Ford who was not credited.)  Co-starring Geraldine Page, Ward Bond, Michael Pate and James Arness.

Hondo Lane, a US Army Scout, comes across a woman and her six year old son living on a homestead in the middle of Indian Territory.  Due to a broken treaty, hostilities between Indians and settlers are high. A war is brewing. Hondo encourages the woman to take her son and travel to a safer location.  The woman refuses thinking they’re safe.  They’re not.

Hondo was nominated for two Academy Awards...

  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Geraldine Page
  • Best Writing, Motion Picture Story – Louis L’Amour

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04.  True Grit (1969).  John Wayne plays Rooster Cogburn.  Henry Hathaway directs.  Co-starring Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper.

Wayne plays hard-drinking U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn who is hired by teenager Mattie Ross to capture the man who killed her father.  Cogburn, along with Mattie and Texas Ranger  ‘La Boeuf’ head into the badlands in search of Lucky Ned Pepper and his gang of outlaws.

True Grit was nominated for two Academy Awards and one won…

  • nominee for Best Music, Original Song – Elmer Bernstein (music), Don Black (lyrics)
  • winner for Best Actor in a Leading Role – John Wayne

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05.  The Cowboys (1970).  John Wayne plays Wil Anderson.  Mark Rydell directs.  Co-starring Roscoe Lee Browne and Bruce Dern.

Wil Anderson is left without cattle hands, when they all leave to join a gold rush.  With no other options, Anderson hires teenagers and a few children to make the cattle drive.  Along the way, they will deal with hostile territory, bad weather and cattle rustlers.  Not everyone will make it.

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06.  Red River (1948).  John Wayne plays Thomas Dunson.  Howard Hawks and Arthur Rosson direct.  Co-starring Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru and Walter Brennan.

Thomas Dunson spent fourteen years building his cattle ranch.  He will lose it all if his cattle drive to market fails.  The drive will be long and arduous.  As things continue to go wrong, Dunson becomes more tyrannical and his men lean towards a mutiny.

Red River was nominated for two Academy Awards…

  • nominee for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story – Borden Chase
  • nominee for  Best Film Editing – Christian Nyby

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07.  Three Godfathers (1948).  John Wayne plays Robert Marmaduke Sangster Hightower.  Directed by John Ford.  Co-starring Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carrey, Jr. and Ward Bond.

Three outlaws on the run come across a dying woman and her baby.  The woman asks the men to save her child.  Risking their freedom and lives, the men vow to get the baby to safety.

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08.  The Shootist (1976). John Wayne plays aging gunfighter J.B. Books.  Directed by Don Siegel.  Co-starring Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart, Richard Boone and Hugh O’Brien.

J.B. Brooks is dying from terminal cancer.  With only a couple of months to live, J.B. takes a room at a quiet boarding house owned  by widow Bond Rogers.  Word spreads that a gunfighter is in town.  Soon folks looking to profit off J.B.’s reputation show up.

The Shootist was nominated for one Academy Award…

  • nominee Best Art Direction-Set Decoration – Robert F. Boyle Arthur, Jeph Parker

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09.  The War Wagon (1967).  John Wayne plays Taw Jackson.  Directed by Burt Kennedy.  Co-starring Kirk Douglas, Bruce Cabot and Howard Keel.

Three years ago Taw Jackson was set up, imprisoned and his ranch stolen by Frank Pierce.  Now a free man, Jackson plans to get back what was his.  He’ll start by taking down Pierce’s war wagon – an armored stagecoach that travels with gunfighters on horseback.  The war wagon is used to transport gold found on Jackson’s land.

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10.  El Dorado (1966).  John Wayne plays Cole Thorton.  Directed by Howard Hawks.  Co-starring Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Ed Asner and Christopher George.

Bart Jason is a corrupt landowner forcing honest folks off their land around the town of El Dorado.  When gunfighter, Cole Thorton refuses to work for him, Bart searches for another gunslinger.  Cole knows that his old buddy, J.P. Harrah, the sheriff of El Dorado is over-matched. Harrah drinks too much and isn’t as young as he used to be.  Cole decides to take a stand with Harrah and a young hotshot called Mississippi.