John Wayne's Westerns Ranked
The greatest icon of western movies starred in many westerns. The Duke himself would admit that not all of them were classics, but his body of work is still unsurpassed. Here are all his westerns ranked, most of them classics of the genre.
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- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJeffrey HunterVera MilesAn American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneDean MartinRicky NelsonA small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJames StewartJohn WayneVera MilesA senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneClaire TrevorAndy DevineA group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.
- DirectorsHoward HawksArthur RossonStarsJohn WayneMontgomery CliftJoanne DruDunson leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneHenry FondaShirley TempleAt Fort Apache, an honorable and veteran war captain finds conflict when his regime is placed under the command of a young, glory hungry lieutenant colonel with no respect for the local Indian tribe.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsJohn WayneLauren BacallRon HowardA dying gunfighter spends his last days looking for a way to die with a minimum of pain and a maximum of dignity.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneRobert MitchumJames CaanCole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with an old Indian fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher who's trying to steal their water.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneKim DarbyGlen CampbellA drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in the old American West.
- DirectorMark RydellStarsJohn WayneRoscoe Lee BrowneBruce DernRancher Wil Andersen is forced to hire inexperienced boys as cowhands in order to get his cattle herd to market on time but the rough drive is full of dangers and a gang of rustlers is trailing them.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJoanne DruJohn AgarCaptain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsJohn WayneGeraldine PageWard BondArmy dispatch rider Hondo Lane discovers a woman and young son living in the midst of warring Apaches and becomes their protector.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraPatrick WayneWealthy rancher G. W. McLintock uses his power and influence in the territory to keep the peace between farmers, ranchers, land-grabbers, Indians and corrupt government officials.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneDean MartinMartha HyerRanch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBen JohnsonA cavalry officer posted on the Rio Grande is confronted with murderous raiding Apaches, a son who's a risk-taking recruit and his wife from whom he has been separated for many years.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WaynePedro ArmendárizHarry Carey Jr.Three outlaws on the run risk their freedom and their lives to return a newborn to civilization.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneWilliam HoldenConstance TowersIn 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks.
- DirectorsRaoul WalshLouis R. LoefflerStarsJohn WayneMarguerite ChurchillEl BrendelBreck Coleman leads hundreds of settlers in covered wagons from the Mississippi River to their destiny out West.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneStewart GrangerErnie KovacsDuring the Alaska gold rush, prospector George sends partner Sam to Seattle to bring his fiancée but when it turns out that she married another man, Sam returns with a pretty substitute, the hostess of the Henhouse dance hall.
- DirectorsJohn FordHenry HathawayGeorge MarshallStarsJames StewartJohn WayneGregory PeckA family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsJohn WayneElla RainesWard BondRanch hand Rocklin arrives in town to start his new job but his employer has been murdered and the locals don't seem too friendly.
- DirectorsMichael CurtizJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneStuart WhitmanIna BalinTexas Ranger Jake Cutter arrests gambler Paul Regret, but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner in an undercover effort to defeat a band of renegade arms merchants and thieves dealing with the Comanches known as Comancheros.
- DirectorBurt KennedyStarsJohn WayneKirk DouglasHoward KeelThe story of a man who was shot, robbed and imprisoned who returns to steal a large gold shipment from the man who wronged him. The gold is transported in an armored stage coach, the War Wagon.
- DirectorsGeorge ShermanJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneRichard BooneMaureen O'HaraIn 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson and holds him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsJohn WayneForrest TuckerChristopher GeorgeCattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County land war.