The Hateful Eight review

The Hateful Eight (2015)
Dir. Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Walton Goggins

John "the Hangman" Ruth (Russell) is traveling to the town of Red Rock with his latest bounty, Daisy Domergue (Leigh), when a blizzard strands him at Minnie's Haberdashery with several other questionable characters.

The Christmas Kid review

The Christmas Kid AKA Joe Navidad (1967)

Dir. Sidney W. Pink

Starring: Jeffrey Hunter, Louis Hayward, Perla Cristal, Jack Taylor

On a Christmas Day, a baby is born in an old Pony Express shelter. After his mother dies during childbirth, he is raised by a resentful father and the 3 caring men that discovered him after birth, only to have to have to deal with corruption and evil as an adult.

The Ridiculous 6 Review

The Ridiculous 6

Dir. Frank Coraci

Starring: Adam Sandler, Terry Crews, Rob Schneider, Taylor Lautner, Danny Trejo, Nick Nolte, Harvey Kietel

Raised by Indians, White Knife (Sandler) meets his absentee father (Nolte), only to witness him be kidnapped and held for ransom. While attempting to raise money to get his release, White Knife gains allies in his newly met half-brothers.

Winchester '73 review

Winchester '73 (1950)

Dir. Anthony Mann

Starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Stephen McNally

After winning a prized rifle in a shooting contest, Lin McAdams is attacked, and the weapon is stolen. From there the story follows the gun as it moves from owner to owner.

Rawhide (1938) Review

Rawhide (1938)

Dir. Ray Taylor

Starring Lou Gehrig, Smith Ballew, Evalyn Knapp

Baseball star Lou Gehrig (playing himself) quits the game to live a quiet life working on his sister’s (Knapp) ranch in a town called Rawhide. Once there he discovers a protection racket preying on the local population, and he teams with a lawyer (Ballew) to take them down.

Whispering Smith

Whispering Smith

Dir. James Neilson

Starring: Alan Ladd, Robert Preston, Brenda Marshall,  Donald Crisp

Luke "Whispering" Smith (Ladd) comes to town in order to investigate the large number of train wrecks that have been occurring in the area. After reuniting with old friend Murray Sinclair (Preston) and later learning that his friend is involved with Barney Rebstock (Crisp) the rancher that is suspected of causing the accidents, the stage is set of a final showdown between two old friends.

Night Passage

Night Passage (1957)

Dir. James Neilson

Starring: James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea

Disgraced ex-railroad employee Grant McLaine (Stewart) gets tasked by his former employer to deliver the company's payroll after a series of robberies committed by a gang led by Whitey Harbin (Duryea) and the Utica Kid (Murphy).

Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers

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Texas Rangers (2001)

Dir. Steve Miner

Starring: James Van Der Beek, Ashton Kutcher, Usher Raymond, Dylan McDermott, Tom Skerritt, Robert Patrick

A ragtag group of youngsters band together after the American Civil War to form the Texas Rangers, a group charged with the dangerous, ruthless duty of cleaning up the West.

Young Guns 2 Review

Young Guns II (1990)

Dir. Geoff Murphy

Starring: Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Philips, Christian Slater, William Petersen, James Coburn

The continuing adventures of Billy the Kid (Estevez) in the aftermath of the Lincoln County Wars, including his pursuit by former friend Pat Garrett (Petersen).

Young Guns review

Young Guns (1988)

Dir. Christopher Cain

Starring: Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Philips, Terence Stamp, Jack Palance

A retelling of the adventures of Billy the Kid (Estevez) during the Lincoln County War staring a bunch of up and coming pretty boy actors from the eighties.

Face to Face review

Face to Face AKA Faccia a Faccia (1967)

Dir. Sergio Sollima

Starring: Tomas Milian, Gian Maria Volonte, William Berger

Professor Brad Fletcher (Volonte) retires to the west due to health problems, and inadvertently joins the gang of outlaw Solomon Bennett (Milian), and quickly adapts to the harsh ways of the west while Bennett begins to change his ways.

Seven Men from Now

Seven Men from Now (1956)

Dir. Budd Boetticher

Starring: Randolph Scott, Lee Marvin, Gail Russell

Ben Stride is on the trail of the seven men that killed his wife during a robbery.

Millionaire's Express Review

Millionaire’s Express AKA Shanghai Express* (1986)

Dir. Sammo Hung

Starring: Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Cynthia Rothrock, Yukari Oshima

Former outlaw Cheng (Hung) tries to bring financial success to his old hometown (and himself) by sabotaging a train of wealthy passengers in order to force them to spend money in the town. But this also causes several groups of thieves to enter the town seeking the passengers’ fortunes.

The Salvation review

The Salvation (2014)

Dir. Kristian Levring

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Johnathan Pryce

After seeking revenge for the death of his wife and son, Jon (Mikkelsen) becomes targeted by the brother of his family’s killer.

Paroled - to Die Review

Paroled - to Die (1938)

Dir. Sam Newfield

Starring: Bob Steele, Karl Hackett, Budd Buster, Frank Ball

After being framed for a bank robbery, Doug Redfern (Steele) sets out to clear his name and find out who framed him.

Hondo review

Hondo (1953)

Dir. John Farrow

Starring: John Wayne, Geraldine Page, Michael Pate, Ward Bond

Hondo Lane (Wayne) befriends a woman (Page) and her son living near a band of warring Apaches.

Westbound review

Westbound (1959)
Staring Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo
Dir. Budd Boetticher

In 1864 Cavalry Captain John Hayes (Scott) is ordered to leave the war and become a civilian boss of the Overland Stage Line, running the lines that carry gold from California for the war effort. But once he arrives in town he encounters resistance from Southern sympathizers who are out to destory the line, led by Clay Putnam (Andrew Duggan), who was once friend to Hayes but is now married to his former love (Mayo).

Albuquerque Review

Albuquerque (1948)

Dir. Ray Enright

Starring: Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, George “Gabby” Hayes, Lon Chaney

Cole Armin (Scott) arrives in the town of Albuquerque planning on going to work for his uncle’s freight company. But when he learns of his uncle’s unscrupulous business practices he goes to work for the honest working competition.

I Shot Jesse James review

I Shot Jessie James (1949)

Dir. Samuel Fuller

Starring: Preston Foster, Barbara Britton, John Ireland

In order to clear his name and marry the woman he loves, Robert Ford (Ireland) kills Jessie James, but then has to live with the guilt and public shame that comes from killing his best friend.

Bend of the River review

Bend of the River (1952)

Dir. Anthony Mann

Starring: James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Rock Hudson, 

While escorting a wagon train of settlers through thr west Glyn McLyntock (Stewart) stops a group of vigilantes from hanging Cole Emerson (Kennedy) for stealing a horse. Cole joins the group and aids Glyn after a merchant refuses to give the settlers the goods that they rightfully paid for.

Haunted Gold Review

Haunted Gold (1932)
Dir. Mack V. Wright
Staring John Wayne, Sheila Terry, Duke

John Mason (Wayne) and Janet (Terry) arrive in town after receiving mysterious notes about a mine that their fathers owned. In town they have to contend with a gang of thieves that are after the mine, and a mysterious Phantom that is haunting it.

The Big Stampede review

The Big Stampede (1932)
Dir. Tenny Wright
Staring John Wayne, Noah Beery, Duke

The governor sends John Steele (Wayne) out into the frontier to stop a gang of murderous cattle rustlers.

My Name is Shanghai Joe Review

My Name is Shanghai Joe AKA The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe, To Kill or to Die and The Dragon Strikes Back (1973)

Dir. Mario Caiano

Starring: Chen Lee*, Klaus Kinski

A Chinese immigrant travels to Texas to find some work, but gets involved in a fight to save some smugglers involved in a Mexican slave ring.

4 Dollars of Revenge review

4 Dollars of Revenge AKA 4 Dollars of Vengeance (1966)

Dir. Jaime Jesús Balcázar

Starring: Robert Woods, Diana Ghia,

While escorting a fortune in confederate gold, Capt. Roy Dexter and his men are attacking in an ambused and only he is left alive. After being framed for the attack, he escapes prison and begins to seek justice from the people that set him up.

Buchanan Rides Alone Review

Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)

Dir. Budd Boetticher

Starring: Randolph Scott, L.Q. Jones

Buchanan crosses over the Mexico border to Argy Town, a not very hospitable place that is ran by the Argy family. After having a run in with the local judge’s son in a bar, the son is shot by the angry Juan, Buchanan gets framed, and gets drawn into the brothers scheme to extort money from the father of Juan, and to cheat each other out of the money.

Slow West Review

Slow West (2015)

Dir. John Maclean

Staring Micheal Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Mendelsohn, Caren Pistorius

Ride Him, Cowboy Review

Ride Him Cowboy (1932) AKA The Hawk

Dir. Fred Allen

Staring John Wayne, Duke, Frank Hagney, Ruth Hall

John Drury (Wayne) is passing through town when he sees a horse on trial and about to be executed. He intervenes and saves the horse, then gets drawn into a manhunt for the outlaw named Hawk that has been terrorizing the area.  

Sukiyaki Western Django review

Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)
Dir. Takashi Miike
Staring: Hideaki Ito, Kōichi Satō, Yusuke Iseya, Takaaki Ishibashi

A gunman (Ito) gets drawn into a war between two gangs, the red dressed Heike and the white dressed Genji, who are at war over the town of Yuta, Nevada, in this Japanese homage to the classic spaghetti westerns.

Go West Review

Go West (1940)

Dir. Edward Buzzell

Starring: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, John Carroll, Diana Lewis

Con man S. Quentin Quale (Groucho Marx), and two brothers Joseph (Chico Marx) and Rusty Panello (Harpo Marx) that aim to find a fortune in gold head west and get inadvertently get drawn into a land dispute between some feuding families.

Support Your Local Gunfighter

Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971)

Dir. Burt Kennedy

Starring: James Garner, Suzanne Pleshettet, Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, Joan Blondell

Latigo Smith (Garner) arrives in the town of Purgatory in order to seek some medical help for an embarrassing affliction. But a case of mistaken identity draws him into a dispute between local businessmen in their fight for superiority.

Support Your Local Sheriff review

Support Your Local Sheriff (1969)

Dir. Burt Kennedy

Starring: James Garner, Joan Hackett, Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, Bruce Dern, Walter Brennan

While on his way to Austrailia, Jason McCullough (Garner) arrives in the town of Calendar, where gold was recently which caused the town to devolve into lawlessness. In order to make ends meet while he is in town, McCullough takes the job of sheriff, arrests the son (Dern) of a local landowner and gangleader (Brennan) and causes more violence to come to the town.

North to Alaska review

North to Alaska (1960)

Dir. Henry Hathaway

Starring: John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Capucine, Ernie Kovacs

After spending 3 years mining for gold in Alaska, George (Granger) sends his partner Sam McCord (Wayne) to Seattle to retrieve the French girl he had arranged to marry. Once in Seattle, Sam learns that George’s fiancée has already married someone else, and after a chance encounter with a prostitute named Angel (Capucine), he decides to bring her back to Alaska as a replacement for George. Once back in Alaska they also have to deal with claim jumpers and a sleazy con man named Frankie (Kovacs)

The Paleface Review

The Paleface (1948)

Dir. Norman Z. McLeod

Starring: Bob Hope, Jane Russell

Bob Hope stars as “Painless” Peter Potter, a dentist that gets unwittingly used by Calamity Jane (Jane Russell), who is being used by the government to find some gun runners that have been selling weapons to some Indians.

Cat Ballou

Cat Ballou (1965)

Dir. Elliot Silverstien

Starring: Jane Fonda*, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman, Nat King Cole, Stubby Kaye

 Catherine “Cat” Ballou (Fonda) returns home after receiving training to be a schoolteacher, only to learn that a corrupt developmental corporation has plans to force her father off his land. She plans to fight back with the help of a drunken gunfighter (Marvin) and a pair of wanted cattle rustlers.

A Million Ways to Die in the West

Dir. Seth MacFarlane

Starring Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovannu Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, and Liam Neesos

After being dumped by his girlfirend, Albert (MacFarlane), cowardly sheep farmer begins to fall for Anna (Theron) the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his new-found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival.

War Arrow Review

War Arrow (1953)

Dir. George Sherman

Starring: Jeff Chandler, Maureen O’Hara, Henry Brandon, John McIntire

A major and a pair of officers are sent to Indian Territory to recruit some Seminoles to fight the Kiowa tribe that has been striking the area.

The Duel at Silver Creek review

The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)

Dir. Don Siegel

Starring: Audie Murphy, Stephen McNally, Faith Domergue, Susan Cabot, Lee Marvin

A group of claim jumpers are killing people and stealing their land. After killing the Silver Kid’s (Audie Murphy) father, he encounters a marshall named Lightning Tyronne (McNally) on the hunt for the same group.

Comanche Station Review

Dir. Budd Boetticher

Starring: Randolph Scott, Claude Akins, Nancy Brooks

A man named Cody (Scott) makes a trade with some Comanche’s to free a woman being held prisoner. Soon after he is joined by a band of outlaws that are more interested in the woman due to the $5000 reward offered by her husband.

The Mystery of the Hooded Horsemen Review

The Mystery of the Hooded Horsemen (1937)

Dir. Ray Taylor

Starring: Tex Ritter

Tex and his pal Stubby wander into town and come across a gang of hooded men attacking another traveler, which leads to them uncovering a plot to take control of a local mining operation.

Blue Steel Review

Blue Steel (AKA Stolen Goods, An Innocent Man) (1934)

Dir. Robert N. Bradbury

Starring: John Wayne, George “Gabby” Hayes, Yakima Canutt

John Wayne stars as an undercover marshal on the trail of the Polka Dot Bandit, who teams up with a sheriff (Hayes) also on the hunt for the same criminal. After the pair stumble upon a wagon train robbery, they learn of a plot to swindle some homesteaders out of their land.

The Proposition Review

The Proposition (2006)

Dir. John Hillcoat

Starring: Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, Danny Huston, John Hurt

Guy Pearce is Charlie Burns, and member of a gang that is captured and then released by Captain Stanley (Ray Winston), who wants Charlie to kill his older brother Arthur Burns (Danny Huston) in order to save the life of his younger brother, as part of Stanley’s quest to civilize Austrailia.

Django the Bastard Review

Django the Bastard (1969) (AKA The Strangers Gundown)

Dir. Sergio Garrone

Starring: Anthony Steffen

A mysterious stranger arrives in town wanting revenge on a group of men. He begins by placing a cross with a man’s name and that day’s day written on it, and slowly begins working his way through his list. But is this a man or an avenging angel?

One Damned Day at Dawn…Django Meets Sartana!

One Damned Day at Dawn…Django Meets Sartana! (1967) (AKA Django Meets Sartana, Django Defies Sartana)

Dir. Demofilo Fidani

Starring: Hunt Powers (Jack Betts), Fabio Testi

The town of Black City is being ransacked by a gang of thugs. New sheriff named Jack Ronson arrives to set things right, but the famed bounty hunter Django arrives with his own score to settle with the criminals.

Django Kill, if You Live, Shoot!

Django Kill, if You Live, Shoot! (1967) (AKA Django Kill and Oro Hondo)

Dir. Giulio Questi

Starring: Tomas Milian

Tomas Milan stars as a bandit that is betrayed and left for dead following an ambush of a gold transport. Armed with some gold bullets he sets off for revenge but ends up involved in a power struggle between several gangs over the stolen gold.

Django (1966) Review

Django (1966)

Dir. Sergio Corbucci

Starring: Franco Nero

A man dragging a coffin walks into town with a score to settle.

This month Western Wednesday is going to be looking at some of the films that feature the character Django, so why not start with the first one?