The Best John Wayne Movies of All Time | Wealth of Geeks

It’s been nearly half a century since he died in 1979, and yet no actor has wholly embodied the role of cinematic cowboy quite like John Wayne. Getting his start in B-movies in the 1930s, Wayne eventually became one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars by the start of the ’40s.

For the next four decades, Wayne appeared in everything from war films to romantic comedies. Still, his single greatest contribution to pop culture was his starring roles in the dozens of Westerns he was featured in throughout his career.

From his breakthrough success with Stagecoach to some of his most famous collaborations with John Ford and Howard Hawks, here are some of John Wayne’s best films, ranked from best to worst.

The Searchers

When a party of Comanche kidnaps his young niece (Natalie Wood), a cynical Civil War veteran (Wayne) and his adopted nephew (Jeffrey Hunter) set out on a lengthy journey to rescue the girl.

The most iconic of Wayne’s many films, The Searchers is also considered by many film historians to be the finest American Western ever made. Likened to the tale of Odysseus by French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard, it is as epic in scope as it is nuanced in its characters, action, and central narrative. It has continued influencing generations of aspiring filmmakers, with Wayne giving the greatest performance of his life as the embittered, hate-filled Ethan Edwards.

Rio Bravo

After arresting an influential land baron’s brother (Claude Akins) for murder, a small-town sheriff (Wayne), his past-their-prime deputies (Dean Martin and Walter Brennan), and a young pro gunfighter (Ricky Nelson) hole up in jail until U.S. Marshals arrive to relieve them.

Rio Bravo is unique among the top 10 entries on this list in that, unlike The Searchers or Red River, Wayne himself isn’t the definitive best thing about this movie. Instead, he’s one key player in an endlessly talented cast. All compliment each other unbelievably well in their performances — from Dean Martin’s recovering alcoholic to Nelson’s withdrawn, guitar-strumming gunslinger.

Stagecoach

On a stagecoach barreling across the American frontier, a group of passengers defends themselves against raiding Native American parties led by the famous Apache leader, Geronimo.

Wayne worked as an actor in Hollywood for over a decade before Stagecoach’s release in 1939. But when Wayne enters halfway through the film, the camera pushing tight into a close-up as Wayne performs his signature finger-loop load action, it is like audiences were seeing him for the first time. The most important film in Wayne’s career, contemporary viewers fell in love with Wayne’s lethargic Ringo Kid, helping Wayne gain renewed exposure by the start of the 1940s.

Red River

 

Finally setting out on a cattle drive that he’s spent the last decade eagerly preparing for, a Texan rancher’s (Wayne) combative nature triggers animosity between himself and his hired hands, with even the rancher’s son (Montgomery Clift) turning against him.

Like most actors of his day, Wayne suffered from mild typecasting not long after his ascension to stardom in the early 1940s. Helping break out of the preconceived heroic archetypes he’d established with Stagecoach was Red River, the first of several films Wayne would make with director Howard Hawks. Straddling a finer line between hero and villain, Wayne veers more heavily into the antagonist role with this film, creating a complex but achingly realistic man driven by his Ahab-like obsession to succeed.

True Grit

Wanting to find the man who killed her father, a strong-willed teenage girl (Kim Darby) hires a grizzled US Marshal (Wayne) and a suave Texas Ranger (Glen Campbell) to track down the murderer (Jeff Corey) in the remote Oklahoma wilderness.

In the film that won Wayne the Academy Award for Best Actor, Rooster Cogburn is the Duke at his most cantankerous. Swirling whiskey from the seat of his saddle and dual-wielding a repeater and six-shooter while riding full-speed into a gunfight, it was an Oscar that was very much overdue at this point in Wayne’s career.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Looking back at his life, an elderly U.S. senator (James Stewart) reveals the truth behind an incident involving a notorious outlaw (Lee Marvin) and a poor but strong-willed rancher (Wayne).

Jimmy Stewart is the main character of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, but audiences’ eyes can’t help but immediately drift to Wayne every time he wanders on-screen. Never letting his failing ranch negatively affect his pride, Wayne’s surly frontiersman is the walking personification of the Western hero: noble and loyal to his friends, yet prickly and standoffish with his rivals.

The Quiet Man

Retiring from his boxing career in America, the withdrawn Sean Thornton (Wayne) returns to his Irish hometown, catching the attention of a poor woman (Maureen O’Hara) whose hot-headed brother (Victor McLagen) desperately tries to keep them apart.

The Quiet Man can make for a slow burn for anyone used to the usual fast-paced Westerns of Wayne and Ford. In this sense, it’s a major stylistic experiment on both men’s part and works incredibly well. Free to create a more withdrawn personality than his usual, fiery-tempered heroes, The Quiet Man may mark Wayne’s most subtly affecting performance.

The Shootist

Suffering from terminal cancer, an aging gunfighter (Wayne) searches for a faster, more honorable way to die while trying to dissuade an eager protege (Ron Howard) from following in his footsteps.

The final film of Wayne’s career, The Shootist is as fitting a goodbye to the Western as Clint Eastwood’s own genre farewell with Unforgiven. Embodying the same breed of characters as most other entries on this list, Wayne departs from the limelight with a wink and a tip of his hat. His character in this movie may be named J.B. Books, but at this point, John Wayne was essentially playing himself.

The Longest Day

In 1944, the Allied Forces launched the largest amphibious invasion in military history. Landing on the beaches of Normandy, The Longest Day follows the various American, British, French, and German soldiers as they experience D-Day.

The Longest Day belongs to the same category of war films as 1977’s A Bridge Too Far. Made up of numerous interweaving narratives and incorporating a massive ensemble cast, the movie features Wayne up against the likes of Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery, Richard Burton, Rod Steiger, and many, many more.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

On the cusp of retirement, a Cavalry officer (Wayne) is tasked with evacuating a community of homesteaders before an imminent attack from warring Native American tribes.

The second entry in John Ford’s “Cavalry Trilogy,” She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is most assuredly one of Ford’s finest Westerns. It doesn’t come close to matching the popularity of The Searchers or Stagecoach. However, it’s still a rousing and hard-raising film, bursting with a vibrant Technicolor palette and a booming score accompanying the action.

Hatari!

Sean Mercer (Wayne) is a veteran hunter who makes his living tracking wild animals, capturing them, and selling them to zoos in Africa. So when he agrees to invite a magazine photographer alone on his safari, Mercer is shocked to find the photographer is a woman (Elsa Martinelli), leading to all kinds of comic misadventures.

It’s not often you see Wayne star in a romance film, and even less when you see him star in a romantic comedy. Reuniting with regular collaborator Howard Hawks, Wayne nevertheless has a crowd-pleasing presence at the heart of Hatari!, a role that seems to be almost poking fun at Wayne’s own trademark macho personality.

They Were Expendable

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a squadron of experimental Navy P.T. Boats patrolled by the Philippines, led by a determined naval commander (Robert Montgomery) and his right-hand man (Wayne).

Montgomery may be the star of this WW2 film, but Wayne still hands in an entertaining turn as Montgomery’s trusty lieutenant. It’s one of John Ford’s most underrated films, with powerful messages about personal sacrifice to achieve victory against overwhelming odds.

Sands of Iwo Jima

Ahead of the Iwo Jima invasion, the members of an American Marine squad view their sergeant (Wayne) as a cruel, taciturn tyrant who delights in punishing his troops. Upon landing on the Japanese-controlled beaches, though, the soldiers begin to understand the reason for their sergeant’s stringent discipline and bitter attitude.

One of Wayne’s finest dramatic performances, Sands of Iwo Jima illustrated Wayne’s ability to appear as an outwardly menacing, crotchety character who secretly harbors a much softer side he has trouble expressing. Balancing these two perfectly, his performance here feels like an equal mix between his Red River and The Quiet Man characters.

The Long Voyage Home

In the early days of World War 2, the merchant vessel crew did their best to brave against loneliness, drunkenness, boredom, and bitter in-fighting as they crossed the Atlantic from the Americas to England.

John Ford’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning 1940 adaption of Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, The Long Voyage Home benefits from some crisp cinematography and a script from Eugene O’Neill’s celebrated play of the same name. Years before he was typecast as a tough-talking cowboy, Wayne does an impressive turn as a Swedish crewmate longing for home, pouring his woes into hard liquor to escape his homesickness.

How the West Was Won

Spanning numerous decades, How the West Was Won follows several generations of a family settling in the West, facing perilous terrain, hostile Natives, predatory outlaws, and the upheaval of the Civil War.

There’s no questioning How the West Was Won’s scope and ambition, the movie utilizing a massive ensemble cast and sprawling storylines featuring the likes of Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart, and Eli Wallach, to name just a few stars. Unfortunately, the finished result is a bit overstuffed and overly long. Still, Wayne strolls into the movie for less than five minutes and utterly dominates as Union General William Tecumseh Sherman opposite Harry Morgan’s conflicted Ulysses S. Grant.

3 Godfathers

On the run from the law, three cattle rustlers (Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, and Harry Carey Jr.) adopt a lone newborn they found in the desert, risking their lives and freedom to ensure the baby reaches civilization.

Part comedy, part Western, 3 Godfathers is one of the unsung classics of John Ford and John Wayne’s respective careers. Mixing humor with plenty of heartfelt emotion, it breaks stereotypes regarding traditional cowboy characters, blurring the line between antagonist and protagonist.

Fort Apache

Captain York (Wayne) is a respected Union Cavalry officer sent to man the defenses of the isolated outpost known as Fort Apache. There, he clashes with a young, arrogant fellow Civil War veteran (Henry Fonda) who does not understand the local Native American customs.

The first entry in John Ford’s “Cavalry Trilogy,” Fort Apache kicked the trio of films off to a strong start. With its more nuanced and sympathetic portrayal of Native American culture, it’s one of the most forward-thinking films of Wayne’s career — far more so than the problematic portrayals of Indigenous peoples in The Searchers.

Big Jake

When his grandson is kidnapped and ransomed by a gang of outlaws, a legendary Texan rancher/gunfighter (Wayne) partners with his two estranged sons (Patrick Wayne and Christopher Mitchum) and his Apache best friend (Bruce Cabot) to rescue him.

Arguably the most underrated of Wayne’s many films, Big Jake blends a fairly grittier storyline with first-rate humor, action, music, and performances. In addition, its period setting (the early 1900s) helped the filmmakers utilize historical inventions rarely seen in Westerns at the time. The movie seems like a lighter successor to The Wild Bunch.

The Cowboys

Desperate for help transporting a massive herd of cattle from Montana to South Dakota, a surly rancher (Wayne) reluctantly hires a group of teenage schoolboys to assist him.

Big Jake and The Cowboys have the distinction of being two of Wayne’s most criminally overlooked Westerns. Yet, between the younger cast and a terrifying, expertly-cast Bruce Dern as the wild-eyed antagonist, it’s one of the great movies of Wayne’s later career.

McLintock!

G.W. McLintock (Wayne) is an influential, jovial landowner who uses his friendly attitude to maintain peace and balance in the land between feuding ranchers, power-mad politicians, and the local Comanche tribe.

A rare comedy for the Duke, McLintock! allows Wayne to flex his Shakespearean muscles in this Western take on The Taming of the Shrew. Wayne still relies on the larger-than-life persona he’d spent the previous two decades creating, but it’s always interesting to see him venture more fully into comedic territory.

The Sons of Katie Elder

Gathering for their mother’s funeral, four estranged brothers (Wayne, Dean Martin, Michael Anderson Jr., and Earl Holliman) put aside their differences to defend their land from a shady businessman (James Gregory).

The Sons of Katie Elder rightfully tends to pale compared to any of the above films starring Wayne on this list. When looked at on its own, however, the movie offers an exciting enough premise for a Western, making clever use of Wayne and Martin’s on-screen chemistry and some fantastic performances from character actors like Gregory, George Kennedy, and a young Dennis Hopper.

Hondo

Hondo Lane (Wayne) is a courier and professional scout reluctantly working for the U.S. Army. Stumbling upon a mother (Geraldine Page) and her young son (Lee Aaker) living in Apache-populated territory, Hondo warns the family about an imminent attack from the Natives, ultimately serving as the homesteaders’ protector.

Compared to the Western classic Shane (both movies directed by George Stevens), Hondo moves much slower than the Alan Ladd-led film, utilizing a script that places a heavier emphasis on dialogue, even if it ends with a massive shootout. In his interactions with Page and Aaker’s characters, Wayne demonstrates a more sympathetic side to his usual firebrand characters.

The Horse Soldiers

Deep behind Confederate lines, a Union Cavalry outfit is assigned to destroy a local supply station. Along the way, the unit’s commander (Wayne) repeatedly butts heads with the brigade’s surgeon (William Holden), as well as detaining a Southern belle (Constance Towers) who overheard their assignment.

Officially, The Horse Soldiers isn’t a part of John Ford’s thematically connected “Cavalry Trilogy.” But when you compare the movie to Ford’s earlier films, it’s nearly as good as any of the director’s three cavalry-centric films, characterized by memorably great banter between Wayne and Holden’s characters.

El Dorado

When he learns that his lawman best friend (Robert Mitchum) is under threat from an evil landowner (Ed Asner) and his hired goons, gunfighter Cole Thornton (Wayne) comes to his friend’s assistance.

Seven years after their momentous collaboration on Rio Bravo, Howard Hawks, and John Wayne reunited for El Dorado, a spiritual remake of their earlier film with an overarchingly similar storyline and characters. Swapping out an alcoholic Dean Martin for an alcoholic Robert Mitchum and a young, perky Ricky Nelson with a young, somber James Caan, the movie is a major drop-off from Rio Bravo — but it’s still far from terrible.

Rio Lobo

After the Civil War officially draws to a close, a Union officer (Wayne) enlists the help of his former Confederate captors (Jorge Rivero and Christopher Mitchum) in hunting down two Union spies whose betrayal led to the death of his best friend.

The second loose remake of Howard Hawks’ earlier, far better Rio Bravo, Rio Lobo is far and away the weakest of Hawks’ loosely-connected trilogy. Wayne has a notably stronger presence than in the second remake, El Dorado. The movie possesses the darkest tone of the three films. Rio Lobo doesn’t come anywhere close to matching the quality of the original movie it’s based upon.