# Please recommend a "B" western **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [July 10, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718 "2022-07-10T18:22:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/1 "2022-07-10T18:22:07Z")
As Patrick F. McManus wrote in one of his books: As a young lad, he knew that the “B” stood for BEST. But I’ve never been able to get through the “singing cowboy” and similar “serial” westerns. Do you have a “B” western that you enjoy watching again and again? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/2 "2022-07-10T18:26:08Z")
Do the Spaghetti Westerns count? _A Fistful of Dollars_, _[For a Few Dollars More](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_a_Few_Dollars_More)_ (1965) and _[The Good, the Bad and the Ugly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good,_the_Bad_and_the_Ugly)_ (1966) are the most famous and form the “Dollars Trilogy” * * * ETA: I can’t stand the B Westerns of the 30s and 40s. But I like the 60s B Westerns. Rio Bravo is my favorite pre-Spaghetti Western but I don’t think it can possibly count as a B with John Wayne in his prime plus Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson starring. Supported by Angie Dickinson & Walter Brennan. I suspect it was A level budget. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/3 "2022-07-10T18:28:23Z")
Gene Autry. > **[Amazon.com: Radio Ranch : Sinister Cinema: Movies & TV](https://www.amazon.com/Radio-Ranch-Sinister-Cinema/dp/B001AD54RK)** > > Amazon.com: Radio Ranch : Sinister Cinema: Movies & TV ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/4 "2022-07-10T19:15:31Z")
I won’t say that it’s not a B Western if it wasn’t made by Republic, but they did make the best ones. TV killed the cheap Saturday matinee Western genre, after the mid-50s the Westerns made for the big screens were made to complete with it. They were big budget spectaculars, or had sex and violence that couldn’t be shown on TV, or they dealt with contemporary issues like juvenile delinquency. Not bad Westerns, but not B Westerns. I once watched [Angel and the Bad Man](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_and_the_Badman) with a bunch of theater major roomates (because college kids couldn’t afford cable), and they were all over it from their perspective. The classic story of the individual conflicted between his dark and bright sides, Harry Carey sneaking up and acting as his conscience and relating off-stage action like a Greek chorus. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/5 "2022-07-10T19:19:56Z")
Rustler’s Rhapsody > **[Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089945/)** > > Rustlers' Rhapsody: Directed by Hugh Wilson. With Tom Berenger, G.W. Bailey, Marilu Henner, Andy Griffith. The Wild West goes wacko when the Greatest Fast-Drawin', Fancy-Dressin', Silver-Spurred, Geetar Playin', Singing Cowboy movie matinee idol Rex... As for Rio Bravo, I actually prefer the second version: > **[El Dorado (1966) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061619/)** > > El Dorado: Directed by Howard Hawks. With John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt. Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with an old Indian fighter and a gambler, they help a... ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/6 "2022-07-10T19:45:54Z")
[Garden of Eden](https://youtu.be/ACQbemjNHos) – Susan Hayward offers Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell a bunch of money to help rescue her husband who is trapped in a remote gold mine. Outside the box suggestion: [Rango](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192628/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). No singing cowboys, but it does have singing owls. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/7 "2022-07-10T19:57:13Z")
Look for the seven Randolph Scott movies directed by **Budd**" **Boetticher**. Boetticher was unusually talented for a B movie director. He did a lot on limited budgets. Tall T and Comanche Station are my two favorites. All the movies in the Ranown cycle are very good. > **[Budd Boetticher and the Westerns of Ranown – Senses of Cinema](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2001/budd-boetticher/biff_boetticher/)** > **[Amazon.com: The Films of Budd Boetticher (Tall T / Decision at Sundown /...](https://www.amazon.com/Boetticher-Decision-Buchanan-Lonesome-Comanche/dp/B001ER4CNO)** > > Amazon.com: The Films of Budd Boetticher (Tall T / Decision at Sundown / Buchanan Rides Alone / Ride Lonesome / Comanche Station) \[DVD\] : Randolph Scott, Richard Boone, Nancy Gates, Claude Akins, Skip Homeier, Richard Rust, Rand Brooks, Dyke Johnson,... ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/8 "2022-07-10T20:01:42Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SGYoChoijvY/hqdefault.jpg "You'd Do It for Randolph Scott") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGYoChoijvY) Though I think the Randolph Scott movies are exactly the garbage movies that you won’t be able to make it through **Bonum\_Legatum**. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/9 "2022-07-10T20:04:29Z")
Scott made a few movies I wouldn’t watch a 2nd time. Primarily because of limited budgets and bad directors. The Boetticher films are more ambitious and get into real emotion and consequences of violence. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/10 "2022-07-10T20:11:10Z")
I found the acting style very stilted and hard to watch. But that is true of a lot of 30s acting. One of the reasons William Powell & Myrna Loy stood out with the Thin Man series is they had a more natural acting style which was unusual for the 30s. Frank Morgan was good for a less stilted style also in his films even before Oz. I’m not aware of any early western stars that did act naturally. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/11 "2022-07-10T20:13:27Z")
Ride the High Country. Randolph Scott’s last film. Co-starred Joel McRae and some piece of fluff named Mariette Hartley. Directed by some clown named Peckinpah. Bridges the span between “B” westerns and a more modern approach. > **[Ride the High Country (1962) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056412/)** > > Ride the High Country: Directed by Sam Peckinpah. With Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley, Ron Starr. An ex-union soldier is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that... ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/12 "2022-07-10T20:22:29Z")
The challenge is “name a Western for people who don’t like Westerns?” I can craft my answer accordingly if that is the question. If you do like Westerns (and frankly, I do. I can watch Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger because they contain the same thematic elements of complex Westerns), you’d look and find that are still good, even with Randolph Scott (Ride the High Country), as well Audie Murphy (Walk the Proud Land) or Rory Calhoun (Raw Edge). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/13 "2022-07-10T20:24:52Z")
I can’t watch the 1930’s serial Westerns. Tom Mix, Gene Autry, and other stars. You know its bad when the hero is identified by the white hat and villian black. The earliest Westerns I’ll watch is _Stagecoach_ with John Wayne and _Destry Rides Again_ with Jimmy Stewart. Both released in 1939. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/14 "2022-07-10T20:28:58Z")
William S. Hart wore a black hat, and sometimes he shot the bad guys in the back. Try The Plainsman from 1936. The part where the Sioux kidnap Jean Arthur and then Gary Cooper rescues her is one of the best parts of any Western. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/15 "2022-07-10T20:29:52Z")
Thanks all. I’d consider some of the suggestions “better than B”, but I appreciate all of them. > [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Gene Autry. Special thanks. This would be precisely what I was thinking of for a B film. Something made to be shown at a Saturday matinee. I’ll have to try some. Do any particular ones stand out? ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/16 "2022-07-10T20:51:19Z")
For recommendations of authentic b westerns of the ’30s and ‘40s, some of these guys seem to know what they’re talking about: [The Greatest B Western Ever Made - NitrateVille.com](https://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16984) > [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > …Something made to be shown at a Saturday matinee. I’ll have to try some. Do any particular ones stand out? _The Phantom Empire_ (1935) - Intolerable singing cowboy Gene Autry discovers the lost city of Mu beneath his ranch. Campy sci-fi/b western/musical serial with great props/sets. “Entertainment” like this is why we have a fast-forward button. NOTE: This is not an actual recommendation. I had a list of, let us say, lesser well-known westerns to recommend, but it is clear from your additional comments that none of them are what you are actually looking for. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/17 "2022-07-10T20:57:06Z")
Word on Westerns youtube channel is primarily interviews with old actors. They have started posting full B movies. Classic Roy Rogers. There’s No charge. 1:06:00 is typical of movies intended for the Sat afternoon matinee that featured several movies. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2FLLvusiiZc/maxresdefault.jpg "Full Western Movie in Color & HD! Roy Rogers! Dale Evans! TRIGGER, JR! Directed by William Witney!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FLLvusiiZc) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/18 "2022-07-10T21:32:55Z")
I get curious or nostalgic about an old western now and then. I don’t ever want to watch any of them over and over if they’re “B” grade movies. Not that many “A” rated westerns ever appealed to me that much either. The original True Grit might be called an “A-” or “B+” a stellar performance from the Duke, but mediocre performances by his costars. They still do the job well enough to make this worth watching. The remake is very good as well. Silverado was a wonderful homage to the classic western themes. This movie has a star studded cast and contains several stories using familiar western plots. There are horses, gunfighters, gamblers, a jailbreak, a posse, a love story, revenge, and no western would be complete with a pure of heart good guy and a purely evil bad guy. Anyone who loves westerns will want to see it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/19 "2022-07-10T21:33:07Z")
_Shootout in a One-Dog Town_ was a made-for-TV movie that was much like an old B movie. Produced by Hanna-Barbera, BTW, but not a cartoon. > **[Shootout in a One Dog Town (TV Movie 1974) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072154/)** > > Shootout in a One Dog Town: Directed by Burt Kennedy. With Richard Crenna, Stefanie Powers, Jack Elam, Arthur O'Connell. A small town banker is forced to protect his town against a vicious gang of bank robbers determined to get the two hundred... ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/20 "2022-07-10T21:36:34Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > NOTE: This is not an actual recommendation. I had a list of, let us say, lesser well-known westerns to recommend, but it is clear from your additional comments that none of them are what you are actually looking for. By all means, please add your list. I didn’t mean to restrict this to _The Phantom Empire_ genre. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718.md?page=2)