How the West Was Won (1962)

How the West Was Won (1962)

[8] Debbie Reynolds and George Peppard get the lion's share of screen time in the all-star epic western How the West Was Won. The film chronicles the Prescott family as they charge west in the 1830s, encountering river pirates, deadly…
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

[7] James Stewart and John Wayne star in this intimate John Ford western about a lawyer and a gunslinger who hold differing ideas about how best to deal with the town's most notorious criminal, Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Stewart plays…
Baby Face (1933)

Baby Face (1933)

[8] Barbara Stanwyck stars as Lily Powers, the poor daughter of a speakeasy owner, who takes an old philosopher's advice to start using her feminine wiles (or 'lily power') to get ahead in life. After her nasty father dies in…
McQ (1974)

McQ (1974)

[5] John Wayne gave up the lead in 1971's Dirty Harry and came to regret it. McQ is his attempt to get in on the vigilante cop craze, playing a cop who starts out investigating the murder of a friend…
Big Jake (1971)

Big Jake (1971)

[6] John Wayne stars as a crotchety loner cowboy who goes in search of the gang who kidnapped his grandson. Big Jake is not a serious western. It's more of a nostalgic love letter to old big-studio westerns. Sometimes that…
El Dorado (1967)

El Dorado (1967)

[7] John Wayne and Robert Mitchum headline this Howard Hawks western about a gunfighter-for-hire (Wayne) who teams up with a drunk sheriff (Mitchum) to help a family protect their land from a rival rancher. The plot to El Dorado was…
The Searchers (1956)

The Searchers (1956)

[7] John Ford reteams with frequent leading man John Wayne in what is often considered one of the best Hollywood westerns ever made. Wayne plays Ethan Edwards, a loner returning home from the Civil War. After his brother's family is…
Chisum (1970)

Chisum (1970)

[7] John Wayne worked pretty much right up until the end of his life, and even in that last decade there are gems to be found. Chisum stars Wayne as the title character, John Chisum, a New Mexico cattle baron…
The High and the Mighty (1954)

The High and the Mighty (1954)

[6] John Wayne leads an ensemble cast in this William Wellman film about the passengers and crew of a trans-Pacific flight who experience engine failure and a loss of fuel. When they realize they won't reach the California shore, everyone…
True Grit (1969)

True Grit (1969)

[7] John Wayne took home the Oscar for his performance as crotchety Rooster Cogburn, an alcoholic US Marshall recruited by a young girl (Kim Darby) to capture her father's killer and bring him to justice. Wayne is low key as…