There Are Hundreds of Classic Westerns, We'll Be Impressed If You Can Guess 20

By: William J. Wright
Estimated Completion Time
6 min
There Are Hundreds of Classic Westerns, We'll Be Impressed If You Can Guess 20
Image: The Mirisch Company/Alpha Productions

About This Quiz

Westerns are American mythology written in light and shadow. In its golden age in the post-war 1940s and '50s, the Western film was unrivaled in its popularity, reflecting a national mood of triumph and prosperity. It has been said that all short histories are great ones, and the films of directors like John Ford projected a myth of American exceptionalism in larger-than-life Cinemascope. The classic Westerns reinforced the idea that the US was a nation of rugged individualists filled with pioneer spirit who unfailingly did the right thing. In reality, the average '50s Western was about as accurate a portrayal of history as the average '50s sci-fi film was an accurate portrayal of space travel.

By the late 1960s through the 1970s, the popularity of the Western had declined. Nevertheless, Westerns were on the verge of a revisionist revolution as filmmakers like Sam Peckinpah and Robert Altman retooled the genre as a vehicle for allegory to explore themes as diverse as civil rights, politics and the conflict in Vietnam. Concurrently, European directors inspired by the Western's golden age branded the genre with their own stylized vision. Fifty years on, many of both the revisionist and the so-called "Spaghetti Westerns" have become classics in their own right. Although the Western's popularity waxes and wanes, it never rides off into the sunset for long.

So, are you an ornery trivia outlaw or a wet-behind-the-ears tenderfoot? Strap on your sixgun because we're calling you out for a Western movies showdown!



true grit
Paramount Pictures
Can you name the Western for which John Wayne received his only Oscar for Best Actor?
"True Grit"
"The Undefeated"
"Cahill U.S. Marshall"
"The Train Robbers"
9 - Shane
Paramount Pictures
The ending of this Western will bring a tear to the eye of the toughest gunfighter. Can you name it?
"Shane"
"The Badlanders"
"The Big Land"
"Branded"
10 - Hondo
Batjac Productions/Wayne-Fellows Productions
This popular 1953 Western starring John Wayne was shot in 3D. Can you name this movie?
"Southwest Passage"
"Hondo"
"The Moonlighter"
"Island in the Sky"

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5 - Stagecoach
Walter Wanger Productions
This classic Western from 1939 transformed John Wayne from a B-movie actor into a Hollywood heavyweight. Can you name it?
"Dodge City"
"The Arizona Kid"
"Stagecoach"
"Drums Along the Mohawk"
15 - The Magnificent Seven
The Mirisch Company/Alpha Productions
Which classic Western is a remake of a Japanese samurai epic?
"The Magnificent Seven"
"Flaming Star"
"Hell Bent for Leather"
"Seven Ways From Sundown"
6 - High Noon
Stanley Kramer Productions
Can you name the innovative 1952 Western that stars Gary Cooper as a lone lawman facing impossible odds?
"High Noon"
"Hangman's Knot"
"The Big Sky"
"Lone Star"

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7 - Little Big Man
Cinema Center Films
Do you know the title of this 1970 Western that stars Dustin Hoffman as the oldest man in the world?
"El Topo"
"A Man Called Horse"
"Two Mules For Sister Sara"
"Little Big Man"
12 - Cat Ballou
Harold Hecht Productions
This Western musical comedy was a box office smash in 1965. Can you name it?
"McLintock!"
"The Paleface"
"Support Your Local Gunfighter"
"Cat Ballou"
4 - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Campanile Productions/Newman-Foreman Company
Which '60s Western featured an Oscar-winning song that went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100?
"North to Alaska"
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
"The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean"
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"

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17 - The Shootist
Paramount Pictures/Dino De Laurentiis Company
Which of these Westerns was John Wayne's final film?
"Chisum"
"Big Jake"
"Rooster Cogburn"
"The Shootist"
3 - Tombstone
Hollywood Pictures/Cinergi Pictures
You're a daisy if you know this 1993 Western. What's its title?
"Young Guns"
"The Quick and the Dead"
"Tombstone"
"Wyatt Earp"
19 - Winchester '73
Universal Pictures
Can you name the 1950 Western in which a rare, stolen rifle spurs a manhunt?
"Laramie"
"Broken Arrow"
"Winchester '73"
"The Gun That Won the West"

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20 - The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Malpaso Company/Warner Bros.
In which film does Clint Eastwood intone the veiled warning "Dyin' ain't much of a livin', boy?"
"The Unforgiven"
"The Beguiled"
"The Outlaw Josey Wales"
"Pale Rider"
26 - The Alamo
The Alamo Company/United Artists/Batjac Productions
Do you remember this epic film starring John Wayne as a hero from American history?
"Angel and the Badman"
"She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"
"The Alamo"
"Fort Apache"
32 - Jeremiah Johnson
Sanford Productions (III)
A former soldier leaves society to become a mountain man in this 1972 film. Can you ID this movie?
"Man in the Wilderness"
"Jeremiah Johnson"
"The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams"
"The Mountain Men"

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36 - Hang 'Em High
The Malpaso Company/Warner Bros.
In which film does Clint Eastwood survive a lynching at the hands of a posse who falsely believe him to be a cattle rustler?
"Hang 'Em High"
"Paint Your Wagon"
"Bronco Billy"
"Ambush at Cimarron Pass"
34 - Fort Apache
Argosy Pictures
Which film stars Henry Fonda as an ambitious and arrogant cavalry commander?
"Fort Apache"
"The Cheyenne Social Club"
"Welcome to Hard Times"
"Drums Along the Mohawk"
30 - Support Your Local Sheriff!
Cherokee Productions/Three Pictures
A smooth talking gunslinger cleans up a Colorado boomtown in this 1969 Western farce. What's the title of this comedy?
"Blazing Saddles"
"The Villain"
"The Shakiest Gun in the West"
"Support Your Local Sheriff!"

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1 - The Searchers
C.V. Whitney Pictures
This 1956 John Ford film stars John Wayne as a man on a mission to rescue his niece from the Comanches. What's the name of this film?
"Rio Lobo"
"The Big Trail"
"The Searchers"
"El Dorado"
18 - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Warner Bros.-First National
This 1948 film brings the wild West into the 1920s. Can you ID this early neo-Western?
"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"
"High Sierra"
"Wagons Roll at Night"
"Virginia City"
31 - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Paramount Pictures
Which Western features the iconic quote, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend"?
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
"Lonely Are the Brave"
"Geronimo!"
"Shenandoah"

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33 - The Wild Bunch
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Can you name this hype-violent Western from director Sam Peckinpah?
"The Long Riders"
"The Hunting Party"
"The Wild Bunch"
"Heaven's Gate"
16 - The Virginian
Paramount Pictures
Do you know this 1946 Western starring Joel McCrea as a Wyoming cattle rancher?
"Black Horse Canyon"
"The Virginian"
"Four Faces West"
"Ramrod"
35 - How the West Was Won
Cinerama Releasing Corporation
What's the title of this epic Western that traces the lives of a single family over the course of 50 years as they migrate from New York to the West Coast?
"Saddle the Wind"
"How the West Was Won"
"California Gold Rush"
"The Rounders"

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21 - The Great Train Robbery
Edison Film
Which silent film is considered the first Western?
"Tumbleweeds"
"The Great Train Robbery"
"No Man's Law"
"Three Bad Men"
11 - The Ox-Bow Incident
Twentieth Century Fox
Starring Henry Fonda, this one was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar but lost to "Casablanca." Do you know the title of this film?
"The Outlaw"
"Devil Riders"
"Warlock"
"The Ox-Bow Incident"
14 - They Died With Their Boots On
Warner Bros. Pictures
This 1941 film about a famous figure of the Old West plays fast and loose with the facts. Can you ID this biographical Western picture?
"Custer's Last Stand"
"Sitting Bull"
"They Died With Their Boots On"
"The Legend of Custer"

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13 - A Fistful of Dollars
Jolly Film/Constantin Film/Ocean Films
Clint Eastwood is a man of few words in this 1964 film shot in Spain. Do you known the name of this Western?
"Gunfight at Red Sands"
"A Fistful of Dollars"
"High Plains Drifter"
"Joe Kidd"
25 - Rio Bravo
Warner Bros.
John Wayne enlists the aid of a colorful group of allies to stop a jailbreak in this Howard Hawks classic. Can you name this Western?
"Red River"
"Rio Lobo"
"Rio Bravo"
"The Big Sky"
23 - Ride the High Country
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Which film features cowboy star Randolph Scott's final performance?
"Comanche Station"
"Ten Wanted Men"
"Buchanan Rides Alone"
"Ride the High Country"

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27 - My Darling Clementine
Cinematográfica Filmex
Which classic Western by director John Ford is a highly fictionalized account of events in the life of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp?
"My Darling Clementine"
"How Green Was My Valley"
"Two Rode Together"
"Wagonmaster"
28 - McCabe and Mrs. Miller
David Foster Productions/Warner Bros.
What's the title of this 1971 revisionist Western directed by Robert Altman?
"Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson"
"McCabe and Mrs. Miller"
"Dirty Little Billy"
"The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing"
39 - Once Upon a Time in the West
Euro International Film/Paramount Pictures/Rafran Cinematografica/Finanzia San Marco
This 1968 Spaghetti Western finds actor Henry Fonda in a rare performance as a villain. Can you ID this film?
"Once Upon a Time in the West"
"Apache Fury"
"The Road to Fort Alamo"
"Seven Pistols For a Gringo"

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40 - Unforgiven
Malpaso Productions
Which Western earned an Oscar for Best Picture in 1993?
"Dead Man"
"Dances With Wolves"
"Unforgiven"
"Conagher"
2 - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Produzioni Europee Associate/United Artists
Can you name the film in which Clint Eastwood makes his final appearance as "The Man With No Name"?
"For a Few Dollars More"
"Coogan's Bluff"
"My Name is Nobody"
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
38 - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Which Western film features the music of Bob Dylan?
"Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid"
"They Call Me Trinity"
"Soldier Blue"
"Catlow"

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24 - Duel in the Sun
Vanguard Films
This passionate and complex Western romance from 1946 faced many challenges from censors. Can you name this film?
"Duel in the Sun"
"The Outlaw"
"Montana Belle"
"Heldorado"
37 - Will Penny
Paramount Pictures
Charlton Heston is a grizzled cowboy who just can't change, even for love, in this 1968 Western film. Can you name this film?
"The Big Country"
"The Last Hard Men"
"Pony Express"
"Will Penny"
29 - Ride Lonesome
Ranown Pictures Corp.
Randolph Scott is a vengeful bounty hunter who finds honor among outlaws in this 1959 film. Can you name it?
"Seven Men From Now"
"Comanche Station"
"Westbound"
"Ride Lonesome"

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22 - Johnny Guitar
Republic Pictures
Joan Crawford is more than a match for any outlaw in this revolutionary Western film from 1954. Can you name this movie?
"Johnny Guitar"
"Annie Get Your Gun"
"Calamity Jane"
"The Maverick Queen"