by Cathy Miller

Created on: September 22, 2008

What makes a Western movie not only a Western movie but a great one as well? For one thing, there has to be a hero or a group of heroes who are fighting the villains, whether it be for a town, a group of people or plain respect. And these heroes and villains usually have to be riding a horse...no automobiles please. And the gun (or bow and arrow if indians are involved) is the way a fight is resolved. There is no, "I'm going to call the cops" more like, "Draw!" Here are my favorite westerns of all time.

Any John Wayne movie. I mean, let's face it, John Wayne is the epitomy of a western hero. With that confident air and the drawl that says he means business, anyone would be crazy to mess with this man or call him Marion (John's real name if you can believe it). John Wayne is to the western what Elvis Presley is to rock and roll music. You can't think of the genre without thinking about the man.

If I had to choose my favorite John Wayne movie it would have to be "True Grit". I loved his portrayal of the rough and tough old marshal, "Rooster" Cogburn who helped a teen-age girl avenge her father's death.

Young Guns 1 and 2. A group of young bad boys who become deputies out to avenge their father figure's murder. A father figure who took them in and changed their lives before he was gunned down by an evil land baron. Of course Billy the Kid takes their roles of "deputies" too far and guns down almost all of the men instead of bringing them in, causing a war. With Emilio Estevez playing the lead role surrounded by the likes of Charlie Sheen, Keifer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips it's a can't miss movie.

Tombstone. When Wyatt Earp moves to Tombstone, Arizona he is reunited with not only his brother but Doc Holliday as well. There is, naturally, a band of outlaws called "The Cowboys" (how unique)causing problems for the town with various acts of random violence. Naturally, that violence leads to a shoot out between "The Cowboys" and the Earps and Doc Holliday at the OK Corral. Vintage western. And even if you pretty much know how this plot line is going to go, you can't help but watch the movie because of it's excellent casting. Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Jason Priestley and Powers Boothe to name a few.

Frisco Kid. I'm sorry. I can't write about my favorite westerns without adding this western/comedy to the mix. Gene Wilder was wonderful in his role of the naive, Jewish rabbi who comes to the old west to claim his bride and meets up with a wily gang of brothers who manage to rob him. Harrison Ford is equally as brilliant as the man Gene hires to get him to San Francisco. Harrison plays a bank robber who happens upon the rabbit and starts out helping him for the money. As the journey progresses they become friends who stand up against the bad guys. Naturally, they win and Gene takes his bride with Harrison standing beside him as best man. One of the funniest westerns I have ever seen. One worth watching over and over again.

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