Five Favorite Classic Western Films

I like the Coen brothers a lot, but I would choose the original True Grit over their version. As someone posted earlier, Kim Darby was much better as the young girl, and I liked Robert Duvall much better in his role.

I slightly prefer the Coens' True Grit over the original.

3:10 to Yuma (2007) - is pretty good but loses me with the altered ending. Earlier version better.

The Magnificent Seven remake - MUCH weaker than the 1960 version - over compensates by using gatling guns and dynamite to make up for loss of character.

In spite of my contention that all any director needs to craft stirring moments of cinema are horses and a camera, westerns have simply never been my shot of rotgut. The period and surroundings they depict are ones I find difficult to access and relate to, so the westerns I enjoy most, even if they're not necessarily considered among the highest representations of the genre, are those that bring something off the beaten trail to the form. In no particular order: 

Destry Rides Again (1939) - Along with an unconventional hero, the town of Bottleneck presents an array of unexpectedly colorful inhabitants, into which the exotically European Marlene Dietrich fits as comfortably as she does into a chic chiffon gown. Even the time-honored saloon brawl is carried out not by menfolk but by good/bad girl Dietrich and nasal wisecracker Una Merkle. Funny? Yes, frequently, but not exactly a comedy, and veteran director George Marshall brings both lightness and gravity to their appropriate moments, tying them all together with understated sincerity.

Support Your Local Sheriff (1969) - An irresistible cast elevates drollery to an art form in an unfailingly good-humored exercise with nary a weak scene or character. This western satire succeeds in ways others don't, by mining comedy from squarely within the confines of the genre rather than stepping beyond its boundaries as farceurs Laurel & Hardy, the Marx Brothers, Bob Hope and Mel Brooks (as valuable as they are) did in their western spoofs.  

Station West (1948) - The modern urban sensibilities of film noir - femme fatale; shady hoods; dry, snappy dialogue; pervasive corruption - are transposed to the old west as Dick Powell goes undercover to investigate gold shipment thefts, and gets as much mileage in Stetson, vest and gun belt as from fedora, pinstripes and shoulder holster. Noir stalwarts Jane Greer, Steve Brodie, Raymond Burr and Tom Powers are on hand to reinforce the atmosphere, with a younger, clean-shaven Burl Ives providing wry, musical Greek chorus commentary. 

Five Card Stud (1968) - The "old dark house" murder mystery - a collection of strangers with something in common are bumped off one by one - finds its way into shadowy stable, darkened storeroom, eerie church bell tower and even a dusty, sun-drenched cemetery as itinerant gambler Dean Martin becomes de facto detective, facing off with preacher Robert Mitchum (channeling his Harry Powell persona from Night Of the Hunter) against a discordant, minor-key score by Maurice Jarre. It's as lightweight as paper, but the embossing - including wholesome Inger Stevens as a madam and oily Brit Roddy McDowall as grizzled Denver Pyle's no-good son - is intriguingly elaborate, atmospheric and disarming. 

Jeremiah Johnson (1972) - Not your usual western: snowbound mountain isolation takes the place of frontier towns, cowpokes, saloon girls, poker games and gunfights. Wilderness adventures are not usually my type of films either, but this one is so magically affecting that it transcends any ingrained tastes and prejudices I may have. Hate to repeat myself, but "magical" is the best word for this epic tale told on an intimate scale. After nearly a half-century and perhaps a dozen viewings, it becomes more profoundly moving each time I see it. 

I'm gonna bend the rules to give mention to four additional ones that are more traditional, yet offer extra dimensions I find appealing: The Gunfighter (1950); High Noon (1952); 3:10 To Yuma (1957); The Hanging Tree (1959). What you might call "psychological westerns;" on the quieter side and full of suspense, internalized angst, introspection and complex, richly-drawn characters.  

       

                  

In no order:

Last Train from Gun Hill

The Wild Bunch

Stagecoach (original John Ford film)

The Hired Hand

The Searchers