Western Movie Favorites

Hi!  I'd like to share some of my Western movie favorites with you.  These include outlaws of the Old West, Western comedy, and Western films with great horse action.  Enjoy and feel free to share your favorites with me.

Here is my list:

• Tom Horn (1980). Steve McQueen stars as an Old West cowboy hired by a rancher to protect livestock from cattle rustlers. The movie is based on the life of the real Tom Horn, who was a wrangler and army scout during the Apache wars before he was hired to protect cattle. He was convicted, quite possibly in error, of shooting 14-year-old Willie Nickell to death and hanged in 1903. Horse action in this movie is excellent and Steve McQueen performed his own stunts. This was McQueen's second to last film before his death. Directed by William Wiard.
  
• Bells of Rosarita (1945). Stars Roy Rogers as himself, Trigger-Roy's famous horse, George Hayes as Gabby Whitaker, and Dale Evans as Sue Farnum. Roy Rogers, Trigger, Dale Evans, and George Hayes starred in a series of lighthearted Westerns, including of course Bells of Rosarita. Sue Farnum inherits a circus, but her dead father's partner tries to swindle her. Roy Rogers and some famous actors gallantly come to her rescue. Like all Roy Rogers' movies, there is some excellent singing. Roy Rogers always sounds good and the boys choir that appears in Bells of Rosarita is also really good. Directed by Frank McDonald.
  
• My Pal Trigger (1946). This is my favorite from the Roy Rogers series of films. It again stars Roy Rogers, Trigger, Dale Evans, and Gabby Whitaker. Tells the story of how Roy Rogers' mare Lady got together with super stud Golden Sovereign to produce Trigger. The owner of Golden Sovereign is not impressed with Trigger, and Roy naturally has to set him straight. Directed by Frank McDonald.
  
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). You figure anything with Paul Newman and Robert Redford would be pretty good, right? "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" doesn't disappoint. The story is inspired by real-life bank robbers in late 1890s Wyoming. These two bad boys lead the Hole in the Wall gang on a string of robberies. The gang scatters after a robbery gone wrong and a posse relentlessly pursues Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Directed by George Roy Hill.
  
• The Villain (1979). This fun, lighthearted, and corny Western comedy stars Kirk Douglas as Cactus Jack Slade, Ann Margaret as Charming Jones, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Handsome Stranger. Slade is a villain who rides an incredible horse named Whiskey. The horse is absolutely gorgeous and he's a real scene-stealer, too. Charming Jones is the beautiful woman any Western movie must have. Handsome Stranger needs to protect Charming Jones and a load of loot from Slade using his custom made seven-shot six-shooter. The stunts with Kirk Douglas and Whiskey are the highlights of the movie. Directed by Hal Needham.
• The Man from Snowy River (1982). Tom Burlinson stars as Jim Craig, an extraordinary horseman from the mountains of 1880s Australia. Sigrid Thornton stars as Jessica Harrison and Kirk Douglas plays her father, a wealthy cattleman. Craig leaves home after his father dies in a tragic accident and winds up working for Mr. Harrison. He soon falls in love with Jessica, the beautiful and headstrong daughter of his boss. Predictably, her father is not pleased. Craig gets blamed when Mr. Harrison's most prized horse escapes and the action heats up as the chase is on to get him back. This film features breathtaking riding scenes and wild horses-two things I love to see in any Western movie. If you like horses, you won't want to miss this film. Directed by George Miller.
  
• Dances with Wolves (1990). I can't have a list of Western movie favorites without this one! Kevin Costner stars as Lt. John Dunbar, who gets himself assigned to a remote outpost so he can see the frontier before it's gone. He finds the post abandoned and proceeds to clean up the post and waits for reinforcements to arrive. Reinforcements never come and he eventually becomes one of the Sioux. Interactions with the Indians make this movie great to watch, in my opinion. The ending is tragic, but had to be expected. I enjoy living in the USA, but am sad that native American Indian cultures were decimated during the growth of the modern United States. Directed by Kevin Costner.