# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/41 "2022-07-11T15:48:48Z")
I liked ‘High Plains Drifter’ though I’m not a fan of westerns. I guess I like it because it’s not like the classic “clean” westerns my father grew up watching. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/42 "2022-07-11T16:20:21Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Dumbass: I thought you were dead! > Big Jake: Not hardly > Shot Gun: BLAM!!! It was a running gag. Other folk said the same same thing to BJ several times until he says, “I swear the next man that says that, I’m gonna kill 'im!” The next man was, of course, Dumbass (Richard Boone). ---
**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 11, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/43 "2022-07-11T16:55:01Z")
A lot of Westerns don’t feature Indians. The Cavalry and Wagon train films are subcategories within Westerns. I’ve seen a lot of Westerns without any Indians. ---
**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 11, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/44 "2022-07-11T17:29:29Z")
At some point the movies changed to ‘sympathetic treatment’ of Indians. I don’t think the Indians who played the few important roles not filled by non-Indians were impressed. They probably weren’t thrilled with being left out of the movies altogether either. ---
**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 11, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/45 "2022-07-11T17:35:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > At some point the movies changed to ‘sympathetic treatment’ of Indians. Probably **Cheyenne Autumn** (1964). > **[Cheyenne Autumn (1964) ⭐ 6.7 | Drama, History, Western](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057940/)** > > 2h 34m | PG ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/46 "2022-07-11T17:39:50Z")
Mid-'70s treatment of Indians: > **[Winterhawk (1975) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075432/?ref_=ttgf_gf_tt)** > > Winterhawk: Directed by Charles B. Pierce. With Leif Erickson, Woody Strode, Denver Pyle, L.Q. Jones. In 1845 Montana, a Blackfoot Chief tries to buy a cure for his tribe's smallpox infection, but the white settlers are unsympathetic, forcing the... Not a bad flick if you can overlook Mary Ann always being fully made-up. ---
**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 11, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/47 "2022-07-11T18:08:48Z")
In the silent era, movies were able to go the “Noble Savage” route, resulting in sympathetic films like [The Silent Enemy](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0020405/?ref_=m_nmfmd_act_1), showing how tough life was for natives. [Daughter of Dawn](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daughter_of_Dawn) was a standard formula boy-meets girl movie, but done on horseback with an all-native cast. The Silent Enemy proves that Native Americans may claim first-nations status but only second-most-shat-on. Its star, [Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Buffalo_Child_Long_Lance) was born African American Sylvester Clark Long (it seems that like sumo wrestlers, the longer the name, the more likely they’re non-native). The great American genius for self-invention almost always observed the color line, and unlike all the Italians, Jews and [Levantines](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_Plainsman) playing Native Americans, Chief Long Lance shot himself. ---
**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 11, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/48 "2022-07-11T20:17:41Z")
I remember during childhood asking why we didn’t see Indians in the Western towns. Normal store keepers or stablemen that happened to have a Native American bloodline. _Cahill US Marshall_ provided John Wayne’s character a supportive Native American friend. He was loyal, didn’t drink, and died helping his friend. It wasn’t cast with a Native American. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/49 "2022-07-11T22:20:03Z")
IMHO, all Westerns are B pictures until they prove themselves otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/50 "2022-07-11T22:37:58Z")
Why limit yourself to “B” movies?. Why not skip all the way over to the letter “Z”? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xjTlNTbv-xs/maxresdefault.jpg "El Topo - Official 4K Trailer | Alejandro Jodorowsky") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjTlNTbv-xs) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/51 "2022-07-11T22:38:31Z")
They Call Me Trinity is a good one. Not sure this is a B movie, but for my money Hombre is the best western ever. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/52 "2022-07-12T04:00:38Z")
If we want to expand it to “Westerns that don’t get talked about a lot” _The Life And Times of Judge Roy Bean_ is one of the best movies ever made. (Featuring Anthony Zerbe AND Stacy Keach in small roles)…the soundtrack is so affecting, Tarantino used a small bit at the end of Once Upon A Time in Hollywood Another would be _The Long Riders_ which gets talked for its stunt casting, but is still a great film. That one has a Ry Cooder soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/53 "2022-07-12T04:13:17Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > _Cahill US Marshall_ provided John Wayne’s character a supportive Native American friend. He was loyal, didn’t drink, and died helping his friend. It wasn’t cast with a Native American. That would be Neville Brand, who was also a highly decorated WWII soldier. [Neville Brand - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Brand) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/54 "2022-07-12T20:14:21Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > for my money Hombre is the best western ever “'Ey, hombre! A compliment on your shooting! You put a hole in me! Whew. I never had a bellyache like this since I’m a little boy.” ---
**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 13, 2022, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/55 "2022-07-13T18:29:59Z")
I’ll add one, although you might consider it a B+. The Rounders (1965) with Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda. I good “buddy film”. And Glenn Ford makes great deadpan statements about what he’d like to do to their horse: “Sell him to a soap factory,” “Sell him to a dog food factory.” ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/56 "2022-08-06T21:49:15Z")
How about “The Little Covered Wagon” (1930) by Sig Neufeld. It was actually a short feature with an all-chimpanzee cast. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/57 "2022-08-07T14:00:03Z")
When I asked for a “B” western, I never thought that B was for Banana. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2022, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/58 "2022-08-07T14:08:30Z")
Chimps are nothin’ compared to the cast of dwarves in [The Terror of Tiny Town](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terror_of_Tiny_Town). You can watch the whole movie on the wiki page. And it’s a musical too. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/59 "2022-08-07T15:32:01Z")
If it hasn’t been mentioned yet, **this** “little picture,” another contemporary Western, was Kirk Douglas’s favorite: > **[Lonely Are the Brave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonely_Are_the_Brave)** > > Lonely Are the Brave is a 1962 American black and white Western film adaptation of the Edward Abbey novel The Brave Cowboy directed by David Miller from a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo and starring Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands and Walter Matthau. > Kirk Douglas plays cowboy Jack Burns, Gena Rowlands portrays his best friend's wife and Walter Matthau appears as a sheriff who sympathises with Burns but must do his job and chase him down. The picture also features an early score by composer Jerry Go... Walter Matthau and William Schallert make a great team. 👍 ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718/60 "2022-08-07T16:00:31Z")
I remember seeing “Lonely Are The Brave” for the first time only a few months ago on German TV (probably Arte TV). It was very good, and I especially remember an extended fist-fight between Matthau and Douglas. Also the only time I saw Walter Matthau in a Western, but he was very credible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-b-western/967718.md?page=4)