The Complete List of John Wayne Western Movies

John Wayne, known for his western films, died on June 11 1979 aged 72, made 162 feature films, was one of the 20th-century’s biggest Hollywood stars.

john wayne western movies

Are you a John Wayne fan? Then glance through all ‘Western Films De John Wayne’. Movies Duke did throughout his career contain a diverse genre range i.e. war, romance, drama, sports. I tried to enlist only westerns here. Because We are on a western movies website, right? 




Presented is the complete list of John Wayne Western Movies (excluding his TV serials and documentaries).

If you are a duke fan then clearly there will be many films among the John Wayne Movies that you have already seen, perhaps dozens of times.

Newly acquainted with John Wayne Movies? Then it is advisable to start from the bottom of the John Wayne Movies list. I mean his latest ones. You may not have a hardcore fan’s nerve to watch Duke’s earlier movies.

The Great K&A Train Robbery(1926)
This is first known western movie he acted in (he was an uncredited extra though). Tom Mix was the main star of the movie and performed his all stunts himself. A must watch for old western movie freaks.

The Big Trail (1930)

Marion Robert Morrison of Winterset, Iowa not only gets promoted from a help-boy to the first leading role of his movie career….but also he gets his new name from director Raoul Walsh…John Wayne!!

JohnWayne-young

And an era of John Wayne movies begins. Although the movie didn’t do well on box-office, our 23 year old John gives a nice performance and finds his way into small budget western movies and serials. It would be another 9 years till his star-making Stagecoach will happen.

Two Fisted Law (1932)
 John Wayne plays a rancher who is having hard times. He is about to lose his ranch, his girlfriend and everything he has. Then a robbery happens in the town and John Wayne ‘the Duke’ is the prime suspect. In a situation like this only ‘two fisted law’ can help.

From 1933 to 1950, The Duke starred in 54 films i.e. in a span of 17 years, average 3 films a year. During this time span, John Wayne acted in at least one western film each year (except 1946).

The Man from Monterey (1933)
Riders of Destiny(1933) 
riders_of_destiny john wayne western movieWayne plays a secret agent sent on a mission to help poor ranchers who are threatened by a gang of goons and their water supply is endangered. Duke is playing secret agent but don’t expect a 007 out of him. That was too early for him.

Blue Steel (1934)

The Man from Utah(1934)

Randy Rides Alone(1934)

The Star Packer (1934)

The Trail Beyond(1934)

The Lawless Frontier(1934)

Neath Arizona Skies(1934)

Texas Terror(1935)
texas-terror-movie-poster-1935-1020258427After holding himself responsible for the killing of his best buddy, a sheriff quits from his job. With a guilty self he starts living a secluded life in the high country. He comes back when his deceased friend’s daughter hires him as a ranch foreman. Eventually the two fall in love but story writer of movie played a wicked game and made the woman hear about the foreman’s involvement in her father’s death.

Rainbow Valley (1935)

The Desert Trail(1935)

The Dawn Rider(1935)

Paradise Canyon (1935)

Westward Ho(1935)

The Lawless Range (1935)

The New Frontier (1935)

The Oregon Trail(1936)

The Lawless Nineties(1936)

King of the Pecos(1936)

Winds of the Wasteland(1936)

The Lonely Trail(1936)

Born to the West aka Hell Town (1937)

Pals of the Saddle(1938)

Overland Stage Raiders (1938)

Santa Fe Stampede (1938)
santa fe stempade john wayneThis movie is a part of the Three Mesquiteers series from John Wayne Movies. A prospector (Farnum) finds gold (root cause of many westerns) and invites his friends (John Wayne, Corrigan, and Terhune) to share the claim and seeks their help. However when they reach to help him out, prospector is dead and law is on their trail. John Wayne is framed for the murder. The trio discovers Mason, a crooked politician is behind everything. No it’s up to them to set things right before it’s too late.

Red River Range(1938)

The Night Riders(1939)

Three Texas Steers (1939)

Wyoming Outlaw(1939)

New Frontier, aka Frontier Horizon(1939)

Stagecoach(1939)stagecoach western film john wayne

Although John Wayne films had created their audience by this time, it was John Ford’s Stagecoach in which his role as The Ringo Kid catapulted “The Duke” to real super stardom.

The Stagecoach tells the story of a trip which is spiced up by the fact that Geronimo Geronimo and his Apaches are on the warpath in the area. There are well written characters in this star-studded ride. A convict John Wayne, drunk doctor Thomas Mitchell (in a Oscar-winning role), scorned prostitute Claire Trevor, polished gambler John Carradine, pregnant teenager Louise Platt, a banker who has stolen his client’s money, whiskey salesman Donald Meek, lawman George Bancroft and driver Andy Devine. Shot in Utah’s Monument Valley Stagecoach tells a story never told before in western cinema. It outmoded the westerns came before and it set a benchmark for all which followed. Watch this western movie and see what made John Wayne the ‘duke’!

Allegheny Uprising, aka The First Rebel(1939)

Dark Command (1940)

The Shepherd of the Hills(1941)
The first one in Technicolor among John Wayne Movies. This western film was based on the novel of the same name by Harold Bell Wright.

The Spoilers (1942)

In Old California (1942)

A Lady Takes a Chance (1943)

In Old Oklahoma aka War of the Wildcats (1943)

Tall in the Saddle (1944)rsz_tall_in_the_saddle_john_wayne

This was his first film to be shown on American network television.

John Wayne plays Rocklin, a woman-hater, taciturn, rough and ready cow boy who is sent for by a rancher of a western town to work as a ranch foreman. But when a he arrives in the town he finds that his employer has been murdered.

Flame of the Barbary Coast (1945)

Dakota (1945)

Angel and the Badman (1947)

Fort Apache (1948)

FortApache1948-john wayne- western
This film was the first of the director’s “cavalry trilogy” and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950), both starring Wayne. John Wayne plays Captain Kirby York who is well respected in Apache Fort (an isolated U.S. cavalry post). He is expected to take charge of the post when the current commander is leaving. But to his surprise the command of the regiment was given to Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda). Now starts Thursday’s lust for power, honor, glory and recognition. Despite of Wayne and all other soldiers’ advice, he is adamant to go after native Indians. Director conveys a message that everyone deserves respect in this gem of John Wayne movies. read an interesting review from Johnny Matheis on Fort Apache.

Red River (1948)

3 Godfathers (1949)

The Fighting Kentuckian (1949)

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

Rio Grande(1950)
Rio Grande is set in the times of post Civil War when the Union was trying to solve the Apaches problem. Union officer Kirby Yorke(John Wayne) is posted in the Rio Grande where he hard trains new recruits.

Hondo (1953)

The Searchers(1956)the searchers john wayne western

The Searchers is also placed 12th on the American Film Institute’s 2007 list of the top 100 greatest movies of all time.

John Wayne plays Ethan Edwards an ex-army veteran, who returns from the Civil War to find out that the Texas ranch of his brother is destroyed and his family is massacred by Comanche raid under Chief Scar. He comes to know that Indians have taken away his niece Debbie. Ethan starts a years-long search for his niece along with his half Indian nephew Martin. Finally they find Debbie but she has been a converted to an Indian. Martin begins to suspect that his uncle’s hatred for the Indians is beginning to take over onto his Indian-turned niece. He becomes uncertain whether Ethan plans to rescue or to kill her. In 1989, the United States National Film Registry’s first year of selecting films for preservation, The Searchers was one of the twenty-five films to be deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.




Rio Bravo(1959)

The Horse Soldiers(1959)

The Alamo(1960)

North to Alaska(1960)

The Commancheros (1961)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance(1962)Man-Who-Shot-Liberty-Valance-john-wayne-western

In 2007, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

So this movie doesn’t stand tall only due to its mass popularity, it also has got official accolades to corroborate its significance among classic western movies. The movie opens on a funeral. The funeral of Tom Doniphan (John Wayne). A U.S. Senator (Ransom Stoddard -James Stewart) and his wife have come back to the small town of Shinbone to attend this funeral, in an unnamed Western state. The senator explains a newsman why he has come to bury an apparent nobody. He narrates the whole story and the film unfolds in flashback. Fold by fold movie reveals the secret behind the man once who shot a feared outlaw Liberty Valance. A must watch from John Wayne Movies collection!

How the West Was Won(1962)

McLintock (1963)

The Sons of Katie Elder(1965)

El Dorado(1966)

The War Wagon (1967)

True Grit (1969)true-grit-1969-john-wayne-western

Although John Wayne had 5 another prominent awards nominations and 6 wins, True Grit is the only movie which won John Wayne an Oscar for the Best Actor in a Leading Role.

The Undefeated(1969)

Chisum (1970)

Rio Lobo (1970)

Big Jake (1971)

The Cowboys (1972)

The Train Robbers (1973)

Cahill, United States Marshal (1973)

Rooster Cogburn(1975)

The Shootist (1976)The-Shootist-john-wayne

The Shootist is last western of John Wayne Movies. An era ended with this film.

John Bernard Books (John Wayne), a legendary gunfighter approaching his 58th birthday, comes in the town to see an old acquaintance Dr. Hostetler and finds out that he has rectal cancer and only two months to live. Dismayed by the knowledge of an awaiting painful death Books tries to keep a low profile and takes a room with a widow Mrs. Bond Rogers and her son, Gillom. But soon the whole town is stirred up by the presence of legendary J.B. Books. Most of the town people are in awe of him, some try to take him down to make their own name, Gillom idolizes him, the Marshal hates him, and Mrs. Bond becomes a friend after her initial disgust for J.B.Books. To avoid a painful death, Books comes up with an idea to go out with a bang. He invites all his rivals on his birthday in city bar to celebrate in an unforgettable way. And whole town is holding its breath to see who comes out of bar …Alive.

So there you have it, the complete list of John Wayne western movies. Enjoy!





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97 COMMENTS

  4. RANDY,

    I have a complete collection of 173 John Wayne movies, including silent movies and non-speaking parts that he was in. I’m downsizing my John Wayne collection and am interested in selling the movies. If you are interested, make a reasonable offer and maybe we can work something out.

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  8. You forgot his best movie, “Donovan’s Reef” as Michael Patrick ‘Guns’ Donovan, with Lee Marvin as Thomas Aloysius ‘Boats” Gilhooley.

    Also, Circus World in 1964.

  12. True grit movie I have seen by accident but it is a marvelous movie. At the end I wept. I have seen the remake also with latest technic but the former is superb.

  14. Saw only the ending of a John Wayne movie the other day and trying to find title. Two men and a woman were riding horseback trying to escape from an area where the landscape was crumbling around them. The rocks and cliffs kept falling as they frantically rode past them. They made it out before the whole place seemed to collapse onto itself. Any idea what this is?

  15. I(WENDY SELLS) like all of the movies with John Wayne and with Kirk Douglas in the western movie and with John Wayne is the greatest Actor in all of the movies that he made over the years and John Wayne good luck in all of your movies. from Wendy Sells

  16. I am looking for a movie I saw years ago, I believe it started John Wayne, if not I would still appreciate the help. Black and white, JW is called into to direct a railway project that is being derailed by confederate saboteurs.

    • If it was John Wayne, it would have been Horse Soildiers (1959).

      A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in strength to destroy a rail/supply center. Along with them is sent a doctor who causes instant antipathy between him and the commander. The secret plan for the mission is overheard by a southern belle who must be taken along to assure her silence. The Union officers each have different reasons for wanting to be on the mission.

    • If it was John Wayne, it would have been Horse Soldiers (1959).

      A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in strength to destroy a rail/supply center. Along with them is sent a doctor who causes instant antipathy between him and the commander. The secret plan for the mission is overheard by a southern belle who must be taken along to assure her silence. The Union officers each have different reasons for wanting to be on the mission.

  17. I’m 47 and a brand new John Wayne fan…just started watching his incredible movies this fall and I aim to see all of them. Every one of the Duke’s movies that I’ve seen so far is captivating. Hard to choose, but my top 5 are Hondo, North to Alaska, Rooster Cogburn,The Quiet Man, and Angel and the Badman. I appreciate how his movies transport you back in time…I enjoy the scenery and costumes, as well as the horseback riding. I also enjoy the humor and human-ness that Wayne brings to all of his characters,

  18. An excellent article. My top three John Wayne Westerns:
    1/ Rio Bravo
    2/ El Dorado (a remake of the same storyline as Rib Bravo)
    3/The Comancheros

    Besides John Wayne, Randolph Scott – both Hollywood legends and Western movie stars. You could watch just their westerns and never need another!

    • I have inherited my uncles John Wayne collection. He has several DVD’s and VCR tapes. If you are still interested in the movies I may have them. All of my uncles DVD’s and VCR tapes have never been opened or watched.
      Thank you
      Charlie Saylor

  28. hi please advertise this. there is a place you can buy all john wayne movies and a lot of other cowboy films. it s called filmcutts.com

  30. j/w starred in 176 films over a span of 50 years. i am currently looking for 16, but sadly a for a few of them there are no known copies. the john wayne film society is a great source for information. membership opens up to a lot more films..

    • Hi Randy,
      Unfortunately there seems no seller/store selling his complete movies. I am a collector of John Wayne movies and I do it by searching/buying his movies from local sellers and amazon.com. I wish there were one place to buy all Duke’s movies.

      regards

      • Hi I get my movies from this guy who does them. He has his early movies starting from 1926 being his first movie. He had a very small part. It is called ” Bardelys the Magnificent”. This man does real good art work too. I have bought a lot from him. If anyone is interested in his dvd’s let me know.

  33. In a scene where John Wayne is shot off his horse in a prarie land setting and the bad guy takes off on his horse. John Wayne whistles and the horse froma distance stops dead in his tracks and bucks off the bad guy and returns back to John Wayne where he is laying down on the ground. Been puzzling me for years wanting to know the movie that it occured in. Thank you in advance if you can answer this difficult question.

  34. #9 .question- about Wayne turning a cross upside down for danger,I believe you have the wrong movie as this occurred in” The Professionals” with Robert Ryan,Woodrow Strobe,Burt Lancaster etc.

    • Phil, early in his career, Wayne was chosen to play a singing cowboy but it wasn’t his voice as he really couldn’t sing very well nor could he play the guitar. That character was short-lived for the Duke.

    • Jim, his real first name was Marian and he couldn’t run around as John Wayne in his private life to a lot of his close friends, so when the nickname “Duke” hit his ears, he snatched that in a heartbeat and hung onto it! He stood at least 6’4″ tall, weighed solidly over 200 pounds and dealt death and destruction to every bad guy in Hollywood. Somehow, the name Marion just didn’t cut it for the Duke! LOL!

    • Jim Sullivan, his real first name was Marian and he couldn’t run around as John Wayne in his private life to a lot of his close friends, so when the nickname “Duke” hit his ears, he snatched that in a heartbeat and hung onto it! He stood at least 6’4″ tall, weighed solidly over 200 pounds and dealt death and destruction to every bad guy in Hollywood. Somehow, the name Marion just didn’t cut it for the Duke! LOL!

    • Jim, his real first name was Marian and he couldn’t run around as John Wayne in his private life to a lot of his close friends, so when the nickname “Duke” hit his ears, he snatched that in a heartbeat and hung onto it! He stood at least 6’4″ tall, weighed solidly over 200 pounds and dealt death and destruction to every bad guy in Hollywood. Somehow, the name Marion just didn’t cut it for the Duke! LOL!

    • A local fireman at the station on his route to school in Glendale started calling him “Little Duke” because he never went anywhere without his huge Airedale Terrier, Duke. He preferred “Duke” to “Marion”, and the nickname stuck.

  40. hello, i am looking john wayne western movie, black & white, where john was a gunfighter. He throw away his hat to the sky and star shooting to that hat. Also he teach how to shoot to a kid. what is the tittle for that movie? terima kasih (any help would be great thanks)

  41. want the name of a John Wayne movie in color, where he is walking out of a fort as a group of Indians are coming in. Aunion guard pushes an old chief and John offers the guard a cigar and tells himif he touches the chief again john will kill him. thanks for the help

  42. Looking for a John Wayne movie in color, where he is in a fort with indians coming in. A union guard pushes an old indian chief and john offers him a cigar and tells him if touches the old chief again he will kill him. please help

  45. Night of The Grizzly is not the movie Jeff is talking about but I am also looking for the same movie. The dog’s name is Bear Killer. The dog might be a wolf hound.

  46. I am looking for a movie like others it is in black and white and the story involves a local lottery they hold. He comes into town just as they are getting ready to do the lottary. We seen it once yrs. ago and now we can’t find it. If anyone knows please e-mail me. Thanks. Oh, and thanks for the list of his movies I’ve never had that before.

  48. Its not the shootist i thought it was so we bought it and although a good movie its not the one i am thinking. The one i’m trying to find has a widow and her younger son. John wayne stays with them they have a yellow house and the little boy gets in trouble and john tells him he is going to spank him in the wood shed and the mom gets mad. I’ve looked everywhere and i can not for the life of me figure out what this movie is.

  49. I am trying to find a movie. john wayne a widow her boy. there is a yellow house if i remember correctly john wayne was sick in this film. he tells the little boy he is going to spank himin the wood shed. I dont remember the whole plot its been almost 16 years since i watched it. but it use to be my and my grandfathers movie and i really want a copy of it does anyone know what i am talking about and it is not the shootist i just watched that

  50. I have been trying to find a John Wayne movie (if I recall Correctly) Where he kills a stranger and he ends up being his new found girls husband who has a young boy who he eventually has to tell. John has his dog in this one. Been so many years … that is all I can recall. Any one know the name of it? Thanks.

  53. hi,
    looking for a wayns movie acting an officer of us cavalry. catching
    an indian horse, young indian boy snake into the fort looking for the horse….
    ill be thankful for a name of this movie
    rgds, boris

  55. I hope all of his movies end up on DVD. Used to have most of them on VHS, but had to get rid of them. Now if I still have Social Security, I hope I can get them in DVD’s.

  61. I am also looking for the same movie that Jeff is looking for! I can’t remember the name of it. A cowboy hunting a grizzly bear along with his dog, I thought the dog was a jack russel though

  62. Hey Yeal ! I wish I could help but all the clues you have given are very common in almost all the westerns 🙂 ..let me look it up.

  63. hey!
    I’ll b so happy if you can help me..
    I’m looking for a western (it had colours so its not old) I wached it in around 1995. A boy was the hero I think, but tere was also a man. there was a scene on a train. I also remember a fight in a pub and a girl with red dress and a flower in her hair who was saved of course in the end.. I know it’s not much but I hope it will help (:
    there was also an amazing soundtrack, it was quiet and I think was played by a flute. I remember only the melody but dont know how to upload it..
    thank you!!

  65. hey we are trying to remember the title of a john wayne movie where he has kids as trail hands any help would be great thanks

  66. hello, i am looking for a title to a western. in the movie a cowboy is hunting a grizzly along with his dog (Rotweiler I believe) and the dog is killed by the bear and found floating down a river. It also rides in a sidesaddle on the mans horse. any help is appreciated. thanks

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