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Best Western Movies of the 1950s, Ranked by IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDB
83 western films from the 1950s are in our catalog; the 50 best are ranked below. Top of the list is High Noon (1952), at 7.9 on IMDb. The average IMDb score across this list is 7.3. Biggest split between audiences and critics: The Big Country, 7.9 on IMDb against 61 on Metacritic.
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| # | Movie | Genre | IMDb | Tomato | Meta | TMDB | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | High Noon '1952 | Western | 7.9 | 94% | 89 | 7.7 | Fred Zinnemann |
| 2 | Rio Bravo '1959 | Western / Drama | 7.9 | 96% | 93 | 7.8 | Howard Hawks |
| 3 | The Searchers '1956 | Western | 7.8 | 87% | 94 | 7.7 | John Ford |
| 4 | The Big Country '1958 | Drama / Western / Romance | 7.9 | 100% | 61 | 7.6 | William Wyler |
| 5 | The Gunfighter '1950 | Western | 7.7 | 93% | 94 | 7.4 | Henry King |
| 6 | Winchester '73 '1950 | Western | 7.6 | 100% | 83 | 7.3 | Anthony Mann |
| 7 | Giant '1956 | Drama / Western | 7.6 | 86% | 84 | 7.6 | George Stevens |
| 8 | Shane '1953 | Drama / Western | 7.6 | 97% | 85 | 7.3 | George Stevens |
| 9 | Bad Day at Black Rock '1955 | Western / Drama / Crime / Mystery / Thriller | 7.6 | 97% | - | 7.3 | John Sturges |
| 10 | Johnny Guitar '1954 | Western | 7.6 | 94% | 83 | 7.4 | Nicholas Ray |
| 11 | 3:10 to Yuma '1957 | Western / Drama / Thriller | 7.6 | 94% | 80 | 7.3 | Delmer Daves |
| 12 | Texas Tom '1950 | Animation / Comedy / Western | 7.7 | - | - | 6.9 | Joseph Barbera |
| 13 | Westward the Women '1951 | Western / Drama | 7.6 | 69% | - | 7.0 | William A. Wellman |
| 14 | The Lusty Men '1952 | Drama / Western | 7.4 | 100% | - | 6.7 | Nicholas Ray |
| 15 | The Furies '1950 | Western | 7.3 | 91% | - | 7.2 | Anthony Mann |
| 16 | Viva Zapata! '1952 | Drama / Western | 7.3 | 53% | - | 6.8 | Elia Kazan |
| 17 | Drip-Along Daffy '1951 | Animation / Comedy / Western | 7.7 | - | - | 7.2 | Chuck Jones |
| 18 | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers '1954 | Comedy / Drama / Western | 7.3 | 89% | 75 | 7.1 | Stanley Donen |
| 19 | Bend of the River '1952 | Western | 7.2 | 100% | - | 7.1 | Anthony Mann |
| 20 | The Naked Spur '1953 | Western | 7.3 | 100% | - | 7.0 | Anthony Mann |
| 21 | The Man from Laramie '1955 | Drama / Western | 7.3 | 93% | - | 7.1 | Anthony Mann |
| 22 | 7 Men from Now '1956 | Western | 7.4 | 100% | - | 6.8 | Budd Boetticher |
| 23 | Wagon Master '1950 | Western | 7.1 | 100% | - | 6.7 | John Ford |
| 24 | The Baron of Arizona '1950 | Romance / Western / Drama | 6.9 | 86% | - | 6.7 | Samuel Fuller |
| 25 | The Tall T '1957 | Western | 7.3 | 100% | - | 7.0 | Budd Boetticher |
| 26 | The Tin Star '1957 | Western | 7.3 | 89% | - | 7.0 | Anthony Mann |
| 27 | Broken Arrow '1950 | Western / Drama / Romance | 7.1 | 91% | - | 6.7 | Delmer Daves |
| 28 | El Siete Machos '1951 | Comedy / Western | 7.3 | - | - | 8.3 | Miguel M. Delgado |
| 29 | Old Yeller '1957 | Drama / Western | 7.2 | 100% | 84 | 6.9 | Robert Stevenson |
| 30 | Calamity Jane '1953 | Western | 7.2 | 73% | 74 | 7.0 | David Butler |
| 31 | Last Train from Gun Hill '1959 | Western | 7.3 | 91% | - | 7.1 | John Sturges |
| 32 | Rawhide '1951 | Western | 7.1 | - | - | 6.7 | Henry Hathaway |
| 33 | The Far Country '1954 | Western | 7.1 | 100% | - | 6.9 | Anthony Mann |
| 34 | The Big Sky '1952 | Western / Romance | 6.9 | 89% | - | 6.6 | Howard Hawks |
| 35 | Speedy Gonzales '1955 | Animation / Comedy / Western | 7.2 | - | - | 7.0 | Friz Freleng |
| 36 | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral '1957 | Western | 7.1 | 87% | 56 | 7.0 | John Sturges |
| 37 | Rio Grande '1950 | Western | 7.0 | 73% | - | 6.8 | John Ford |
| 38 | Day of the Outlaw '1959 | Western | 7.3 | 100% | - | 6.8 | André de Toth |
| 39 | Annie Get Your Gun '1950 | Comedy / Western / Romance | 6.8 | 100% | 77 | 6.7 | George Sidney |
| 40 | Jubal '1956 | Western / Drama | 7.1 | 100% | - | 6.9 | Delmer Daves |
| 41 | The Fastest Gun Alive '1956 | Drama / Western | 7.1 | - | - | 6.9 | Russell Rouse |
| 42 | Rancho Notorious '1952 | Drama / Western | 6.8 | 100% | - | 6.5 | Fritz Lang |
| 43 | The Horse Soldiers '1959 | Western / War | 7.1 | 81% | - | 6.9 | John Ford |
| 44 | Vera Cruz '1954 | Western / Drama | 7.0 | 93% | - | 6.7 | Robert Aldrich |
| 45 | Hondo '1953 | Western | 7.0 | 90% | 79 | 6.5 | John Farrow |
| 46 | Oklahoma! '1955 | Western / Musical / Romance | 7.0 | 87% | 74 | 6.6 | Fred Zinnemann |
| 47 | Wichita '1955 | Western | 6.9 | 100% | - | 6.4 | Jacques Tourneur |
| 48 | Silver Lode '1954 | Western | 6.8 | - | - | 6.2 | Allan Dwan |
| 49 | Warlock '1959 | Western | 7.1 | - | - | 6.8 | Edward Dmytryk |
| 50 | Ride Lonesome '1959 | Western | 7.1 | 90% | - | 6.7 | Budd Boetticher |
Our catalog covers roughly the 8,800 most-rated films on TMDB, so lesser-known titles may be missing. Order uses a confidence-weighted IMDb score so a perfect score from a handful of votes does not beat a well-established classic; the scores shown are the raw ones.
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Action of the 1950s Animation of the 1950s Comedy of the 1950s Crime of the 1950s Drama of the 1950s Fantasy of the 1950s Horror of the 1950s Musical of the 1950s Mystery of the 1950s Romance of the 1950s Sci-Fi of the 1950s Thriller of the 1950s War of the 1950s
Directors on this list
Fred Zinnemann Howard Hawks John Ford William Wyler Henry King Anthony Mann George Stevens John Sturges Nicholas Ray Delmer Daves Joseph Barbera William A. Wellman
Actors on this list
Gary Cooper Thomas Mitchell John Wayne Dean Martin Gregory Peck Jean Simmons James Stewart Shelley Winters Elizabeth Taylor Rock Hudson Jean Arthur Spencer Tracy