List of films based on western fiction

A list of films that are based on western fiction.

Geographically, this page encompasses the frontiers of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as Australia and South America.
At present, South Africa and Siberia are not included.

16th century

Explorers

FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
Cabeza de Vaca1991Nicolás EchevarríaMexico, Spain, USA, UKLa Relación
Naufragios
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca1542Memoir

17th and 18th centuries

Missionaries

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Black Robe1991Bruce BeresfordCanada & AustraliaBlack RobeBrian Moore1985Novel

Settlers

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Penn of Pennsylvania1942Lance ComfortUKWilliam PennC.E. Vulliamy1933[1]Biography

19th century

(and the Edwardian age)

Unclassified

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
nMonte Walsh1970William A. FrakerUSAMonte WalshJack Schaefer1963Novel
nMonte Walsh *2003Simon WincerUSAMonte WalshJack Schaefer1963Novel
nShane[2]1953George StevensUSAShaneJack Schaefer1949Novel
nThe Searchers[3]1956John FordUSAThe SearchersAlan Le May1954Novel
nThe Avenging TexansAlan Le May1954Serial
nWarlock1959Edward DmytrykUSAWarlockOakley Hall1958Novel
nValdez Is Coming1971Edwin SherinUSAValdez Is ComingElmore Leonard1970Novel
nThe Shootist1976Don SiegelUSAThe ShootistGlendon Swarthout1975Novel
nStagecoach[4]1939John FordUSA"The Stage to Lordsburg"Ernest Haycox1937Story
nRed River[5]1948Howard HawksUSA"Chisholm Trail"Borden Chase193?Story
nThe Cowboys1972Mark RydellUSACowboyWilliam Dale Jennings1971[1]Novel
nShalako1968Edward DmytrykUSAShalakoLouis L'Amour1962Novel
nThe Jack Bull *1999John BadhamUSAMichael KohlhaasHeinrich von Kleist1811Novella
nBroken Lance1954Edward DmytrykUSAI'll Never Go There Any MoreJerome Weidman1941[1]Novel
nThe Bravados1958Henry KingUSAThe BravadosFrank O'Rourke1957Novel
nBreakheart Pass1975Tom GriesUSABreakheart PassAlistair MacLean1974Novel
  • * television film.

Frequently filmed: Riders of the Purple Sage

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Riders of the Purple Sage1931Hamilton MacFaddenUSARiders of the Purple SageZane Grey1912Novel

Bushrangers

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Ned Kelly2003Gregor JordanAustraliaOur SunshineRobert Drewe1991Novel

Cavalrymen

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Hallelujah Trail1965John SturgesUSAHallelujah TrainWilliam Gulick1963[1]Novel

Cowboys

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Four Faces West1948Alfred E. GreenUSAPasó por aquí (?)Eugene Manlove Rhodes193?Novel

Entertainers and mythmakers

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateTypeTVDateCountry
1Annie Get Your Gun1950George SidneyUSAAnnie Get Your GunHerbert Fields & Dorothy Fields (book),
Irving Berlin (lyrics)
1946Musical---
2Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson1976Robert AltmanUSAIndiansArthur Kopit1969Play---

Explorers

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Far Horizons1955Rudolph MatéUSASacajawea of the ShoshonesDella Gould Emmons1943[1]Novel
2Passage2008John WalkerCanadaFatal PassageKen McGoogan2001Non-fiction
  • † Dramatized documentary.

Forty-niners and goldseekers

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Hanging Tree1959Delmer Daves & Karl Malden (uncredited)USAThe Hanging TreeDorothy M. Johnson1957Stories (?)

California Gold Rush

1848–1855

Gauchos, charros y vaqueros

Frequently filmed: Martín Fierro

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Nobleza gaucha1915Humberto Cairo, Ernesto Gunche,
Eduardo Martinez de la Pera
ArgentinaMartín FierroJosé Hernández1872–1879Poem
1Santos VegaRafael Obligado188?Poem
2Martín Fierro1968Leopoldo Torre NilssonArgentinaMartín FierroJosé Hernández1872–1879Poem

Gunfighters

FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
Open Range2003Kevin CostnerUSAThe Open Range MenLauran Paine1990Novel

Hunters

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Last Hunt1956Richard BrooksUSAThe Last HuntMilton Lott1954Novel

Indians

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Broken Arrow1950Delmer DavesUSABlood BrotherElliott Arnold1947[1]Novel
2Ishi: The Last of His Tribe *1978Robert Ellis MillerUSAIshi in Two Worlds: a Biography
of the Last Wild Indian in North America
Theodora Kroeber1961[1]Biography
3The Last of His Tribe *1992Harry HookUSAIshi in Two Worlds: a Biography
of the Last Wild Indian in North America
Theodora Kroeber1961[6]Biography
  • * television film.

Frequently filmed: "A Man Called Horse"

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1A Man Called Horse1970Elliot SilversteinUSA"A Man Called Horse (short story)"
from Indian Country
Dorothy M. Johnson1950/1968Story

Lawmen

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1High Noon[3]1952Fred ZinnemannUSA"The Tin Star"John W. Cunningham1947Story
2Wild Bill1995Walter HillUSADeadwoodPeter Dexter1986Novel
2Fathers and SonsThomas Babe1978Play

Frequently filmed: Destry Rides Again

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Destry Rides Again[7]1939George MarshallUSADestry Rides Again"Max Brand"1930[1]Novel

Lumberjacks

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Seven Brides for Seven Brothers1954Stanley DonenUSA"The Sobbin' Women"Stephen Vincent Benét195?Story

Missionaries

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Hawaii1966George Roy HillUSAHawaiiJames Michener1959Novel

Mountain men

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Jeremiah Johnson1972Sydney PollackUSACrow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson (uncredited)Raymond Thorp &
Robert Bunker
1969[1]¤Non-fiction
1Mountain Man (uncredited)Vardis Fisher1965Novel

Mounties

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Clancy of the Mounted1933Ray TaylorUSA"Clancy of the Mounted Police"
from Ballads of a Cheechako
Robert W. Service1909Poem
2Fighting Trooper1934Ray TaylorUSA?James Oliver Curwood19??Novel
3Susannah of the Mounties1939William A. SeiterUSASusannah of the MountiesMuriel Denison1936Novel
nJesuit Joe1991Olivier AustenFranceJesuit Joe
Jésuite Joe
Hugo Pratt1980Bande dessinée

Twice filmed: Tiger Rose

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Tiger Rose1923Sidney FranklinUSATiger RoseWillard Mack & David Belasco191?Play

Outlaws

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Great Train Robbery[5]1903Edwin S. PorterUSAThe Great Train RobberyScott Marble1896Play
23:10 to Yuma1957Delmer DavesUSA"Three-Ten to Yuma"Elmore Leonard1953Story
3Catlow1971Sam WanamakerUSACatlowLouis L'Amour1963Novel

Railroaders and railwaymen

(The USA has railroads. Canada has railways, as did the rest of the British Empire.)

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Union Pacific1939Cecil B. DeMilleUSATrouble ShooterErnest Haycox1936Novel
2The National Dream *1974Eric Till & James MurrayCanadaThe National DreamPierre Berton1970Non-fiction
2The Last SpikePierre Berton1971Non-fiction
  • * TV miniseries.

Schoolmarms

Frequently filmed: The Rainmaker

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Rainmaker1956Joseph AnthonyUSAThe RainmakerN. Richard Nash1954Play
  • ♠ A spinster smart enough to be a schoolmarm falls for a con man.

Settlers and sodbusters

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Cimarron1931Wesley RugglesUSACimarronEdna Ferber1929Novel

Outback

("The Never-Never", "the back of beyond", "the back of Bourke")

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1We of the Never Never1982Igor AuzinsAustraliaWe of the Never NeverMrs Aeneas Gunn1908Novel/Memoir

Sourdoughs and cheechakos

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Shooting of Dan McGrew1924Clarence G. BadgerUSA"The Shooting of Dan McGrew"
from The Songs of a Sourdough
Robert W. Service1907Poem
2The Trail of '981928Clarence BrownUSAThe Trail of Ninety-Eight, A Northland RomanceRobert W. Service1910Novel
3Klondike Annie1936Raoul WalshUSAFrisco KateMae West1930Play (unproduced)
4Jack London1943Alfred SantellUSAThe Book of Jack LondonCharmian London1921Biography
5North to Alaska1960Henry HathawayUSABirthday GiftLadislas Fodor195?Play

Telegraphers

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Western Union1941Fritz LangUSAWestern UnionZane Grey1939Novel

Temperance crusaders and teetotallers

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Hallelujah Trail1965John SturgesUSAHallelujah TrainWilliam Gulick1963[1]Novel

Vigilantes

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Ox-Bow Incident[8]1943William A. WellmanUSAThe Ox-Bow IncidentWalter Van Tilburg Clark1940Novel

Whalers

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The White Dawn1974Philip KaufmanUSAThe White Dawn: An Eskimo SagaJames Houston1971Novel

20th century

Explorers

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Journals of Knud Rasmussen2006Zacharias KunukCanada & DenmarkAcross Arctic America: Narrative of the Fifth Thule ExpeditionKnud Rasmussen1927Memoir

Indians

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1Lost in the Barrens *1990Michael ScottCanadaLost in the Barrens[9][10]Farley Mowat1956Children's novel
  • * television film.

Individualists

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Mosquito Coast1986Peter WeirUSAThe Mosquito Coast[11]Paul Theroux1982Novel
2At Play in the Fields of the Lord1991Hector BabencoUSAAt Play in the Fields of the LordPeter Matthiessen1965Novel

Missionaries

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1At Play in the Fields of the Lord1991Hector BabencoUSAAt Play in the Fields of the LordPeter Matthiessen1965Novel
2The Other Side of Heaven2001Mitch DavisUSAIn the Eye of the StormJohn H. Groberg19??Memoir

Prospectors

#FilmDateDirectorCountrySource
work
AuthorDateType
1The Treasure of the Sierra Madre[5]1948John HustonUSADer Schatz der Sierra Madre"B. Traven"1927Novel

19th century warfare

Certain wars are considered to fall under the general category of Western.
For these, see the corresponding sections in the List of films based on war books.

Texas Revolution

1835–1836

<Go to main section>

Mexican-American War

1846–1848

<Go to main section>

Eureka Stockade

1854

<Go to main section>

Utah War

1857–1858

<Go to main section>

Franco-Mexican War

1861–1867

<Go to main section>

Cypress Hills massacre

1 June 1873

<Go to main section>

American Indian Wars

<Go to main section>

Sand Creek Massacre

29 November 1864

Black Hills War

1876–1877

Battle of the Little Bighorn

25–26 June 1876

North-West Rebellion

1885

<Go to main section>

Johnson County War

1892

<Go to main section>

Early 20th century warfare

Philippine–American War

1899–1913
US participants in this conflict were often experienced Indian fighters.

<Go to main section>

Mexican Revolution

1910–1920

<Go to main section>

Yaqui-Mexican War

1916–1927

<Go to main section>

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Publication details for this title have been confirmed by the catalogue of the US Library of Congress.
    Source: Library of Congress Online Catalog.
  2. Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1993.
  3. 1 2 Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1989.
  4. Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1995.
  5. 1 2 3 Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1990.
  6. "The Last of his Tribe". ahafilm. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  7. Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1996.
  8. Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1998.
  9. Recipient of the Governor General's Award in 1956.
  10. Recipient of the CLA Book of the Year Award in 1958.
  11. Recipient of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981.

See also

Pages with the same format


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