Western

  • Edward Dmytryk – Broken Lance (1954)

    1951-1960DramaEdward DmytrykUSAWestern

    Synopsis:
    A patriarchal rancher’s empire is threatened by conflict within his family. On the day of his release from prison, the son of a cattle baron swears vengeance on his three half-brothers responsible for dispossessing him of his inheritance and driving his father to a fatal stroke. The ensuing story unfolds in flashback, tracing the sibling rivalries that led to the man’s imprisonment.Read More »

  • Fred Zinnemann – High Noon (1952)

    USA1951-1960ClassicsFred ZinnemannWestern

    Quote:
    A town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at high noon when the gang leader, an outlaw he sent up years ago, arrives on the noon train.Read More »

  • Tonino Valerii – I giorni dell’ira AKA Day of Anger (1967)

    1961-1970ActionEuro WesternsItalyTonino ValeriiWestern

    Synopsis:
    Amiable, unassertive Scott Mary picks up the trash, cleans the toilets, sweeps the floors in the town of Clifton. Then a gunfighter comes to town. He offers advice and guidance to Scott who quickly begins to toughen and mature, thus upsetting the balance of power in the town.Read More »

  • William A. Fraker – Monte Walsh (1970)

    Drama1961-1970USAWesternWilliam A. Fraker

    Synopsis:
    Monte Walsh (Lee Marvin ) and his pal Chet Rollins (Jack Palance) are two over the hill cowboys seeking work in the town of Harmony, Arizona in the final days of the Old West. As barbed wire and railways steadily eliminate the need for the cowboy, Monte and his friends are left with fewer and fewer options. New work opportunities are available to them, but the freedom of the open prairie is what they long for. Eventually, they all must say goodbye to the lives they knew, and try to make a new start.Read More »

  • Hugo Fregonese – The Raid (1954)

    1951-1960Hugo FregoneseUSAWestern

    A group of confederate prisoners escape to Canada and plan to rob the banks and set fire to the small town of Saint Albans in Vermont. To get the lie of the land, their leader spends a few days in the town and finds he is getting drawn into its life and especially into that of an attractive widow and her son.Read More »

  • Sergio Leone – Per un pugno di dollari AKA Fistful of Dollars (1964)

    1961-1970ClassicsEuro WesternsItalySergio LeoneWestern

    Synopsis:
    The Man With No Name (Clint Eastwood) enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers (Antonio Prieto, Benny Reeves, Sieghardt Rupp) and sheriff John Baxter (Wolfgang Lukschy). When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold intended to pay for new weapons is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the stranger inserts himself into the middle of the long-simmering battle, selling false information to both sides for his own benefit.Read More »

  • Sergio Leone – C’era una volta il West AKA Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

    1961-1970ClassicsSergio LeoneUSAWestern

    Synopsis:
    There’s a single piece of land around Flagstone with water on it, and rail baron Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) aims to have it, knowing the new railroad will have to stop there. He sends his henchman Frank (Henry Fonda) to scare the land’s owner, McBain (Frank Wolff), but Frank kills him instead and pins it on a known bandit, Cheyenne (Jason Robards). Meanwhile, a mysterious gunslinger with a score to settle (Charles Bronson) and McBain’s new wife, Jill (Claudia Cardinale), arrive in town.Read More »

  • John Huston – The Misfits (1961)

    1961-1970DramaJohn HustonMarilyn MonroeUSAWestern

    Synopsis:
    The final film of stars Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe is an elegy for the death of the Old West from writer Arthur Miller and director John Huston. Gable stars as Gay Langland, an aging hand traveling the byways and working at rodeos with his two comrades, Guido (Eli Wallach) and young Perce Howland (Montgomery Clift). The three men come up with a plan to corral some misfit mustangs and sell them for dog food, but Gay’s new girlfriend Roslyn Taber (Marilyn Monroe), a high-minded ex-stripper who has just divorced her husband Ray (Kevin McCarthy) in Reno, is appalled by the plan. Although both Guido and Perce are also in love with Roslyn, she stands by Gay, sure that in the end he will do the right thing, even as he and his pals begin their planned roundup.
    — Karl WilliamsRead More »

  • John Sturges – The Magnificent Seven [+commentary] (1960)

    1951-1960ActionJohn SturgesUSAWestern

    Synopsis:
    A remake of “The Seven Samurai.” Seven men are picked to defend a Mexican village from banditos that come every now and then to take whatever the town has grown since their last visit. When they are hired, they go to the town and teach the villagers how to defend themselves. When the leader of the bandits comes, they fight him and his men off. The second time he comes, the villagers give the seven to them, due to a heated argument. The leader of the bandits takes their guns and throws them out of town. He gives them horses and gives their guns back to them when they are far out of town. The seven decide that they aren’t going to run, and head back to the village for a final showdown.Read More »

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