Though some of these movies are turning 100 soon, they are classic westerns from the 1930s that are still worth watching today. Older movies can be a turnoff for some modern viewers, but there are numerous gems from the formative days of Hollywood that are foundational pieces of the cinematic experience. This is especially true for the western in the 1930s.

Following the largesse of the Silent Era, Hollywood took a major hit during the Great Depression. Budgets were slashed and a lot of the early studio system was dismantled. Westerns were greatly impacted, and the once expensive genre was reduced to low-budget B-movie fare. The number of westerns being produced each year hit its lowest point since the birth of cinema, and things wouldn’t fully recover until the mid 1940s.

Filmmakers continued to make westerns during the Great Depression, and the adversity actually helped shape the trajectory of the genre. The 1930s saw the rise of stars like John Wayne and Randolph Scott, and directors like John Ford firmly established themselves as the burgeoning voices of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

With less money to work with, the storytelling in western films became richer and more complex to compensate. Instead of relying on the mere spectacle of motion pictures, the greatest westerns from the ’30s developed interesting characters and scenarios that still resonate today. While only a few of these movies are household names, they are all brilliant pieces of western cinema that every moviegoer should see at least once.

10

Frontier Marshal (1939)

The true story of Wyatt Earp and the town of Tombstone has fascinated filmmakers for generations, and 1939’s Frontier Marshal is one of the earliest movies to tackle the subject. Randolph Scott stars as Earp as he arrives in Tombstone and tries to establish some sort of order. Though the story is well-worn, it’s the side characters that really shine.

Jerry, played by Binnie Barnes, is as complex a female character as can be expected in a western from 1939. She’s morally grey, and she matches the overall tone of the action-oriented flick. Later movies would do the story better, but Frontier Marshal is still noteworthy because it embraces the gritty tone of B-movies. Scott would make a career headlining westerns that showed the harsher side of the Old West.

9

The Texas Rangers (1936)

King Vidor was one of the best filmmakers of Hollywood’s Golden Age, but The Texas Rangers is an overlooked part of his impressive filmography. A trio of bandits tries to get the law off their tail by joining up with the Texas Rangers. They want to use their newfound position to their advantage, but one has a change of heart. A young Fred MacMurray really shines in one of his earliest starring roles.

Though the movie’s style is very much by-the-numbers, The Texas Rangers is an endlessly entertaining film. The right aspects are allowed to shine through, and the compelling moral dilemma is enough to drive the relatively brisk story. It’s far from the best movie of the decade, but The Texas Rangers is an early illustration of how flexible the western genre can be when put in the right hands.

8

Law And Order (1932)

Law and Order has the distinction of being the very first film in history to depict the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, even if it is fictionalized. A lawman named Frame Johnson wanders into Deadwood, Arizona, and clashes with a local gang that rules the streets with violence and intimidation. Because it was made before the enforcement of the Hays Code, Law and Order is noticeably darker than other ’30s westerns.

It snags a spot on this list largely because it subverts expectations. Older westerns are known for their rosy idealism, but Law and Order asks tough questions about what justice even means in such a violent world. At only 75 minutes in length, it’s a quick and exciting movie that doesn’t overstay its welcome. In a lot of ways, it’s a precursor to the psychological westerns that would follow in the coming years.

7

Dodge City (1939)

After nearly dying off completely in the 1930s, the western epic came roaring back in the final year of the decade in movies like Dodge City. Golden Age icon Errol Flynn stars as a cattle driver who arrives in the titular Kansas town, and finally decides to clean up the place after years of lawlessness. The standard plot is supplemented with beautiful visuals and larger-than-life performances.

Dodge City looks noticeably bigger than many of its western contemporaries, and it shows the slow recovery of Hollywood after the Depression. Flynn and co-star Olivia de Havilland have strong chemistry as romantic leads, and his swashbuckling charm is on full display. Instead of B-movie grit, Dodge City brings Old Hollywood gloss thanks to the stylish direction of Michael Curtiz. It beats many other ’30s westerns simply because of how well it’s put together.

6

Three Godfathers (1936)

While the 1948 John Ford version is the definitive take on the classic story, 1936’s Three Godfathers shouldn’t be overlooked. Three bandits rob a bank on Christmas Eve, but while escaping into the desert, they discover a dying woman and her infant child. The film examines the best and worst of humanity, something the western genre is uniquely suited to do.

Unlike the aforementioned Ford version, Three Godfathers has a darker tone that really highlights the harshness of Old West living. The characters feel grounded and real, but it still has the Old Hollywood glitz that’s seen in the best of ’30s cinema. With strong pacing and a compelling narrative thread, Three Godfathers is arguably one of the best hidden gems from the era and is pretty distinct from its remake.

5

Union Pacific (1939)

If anyone could bring the western out of its slump in the 1930s, it was legendary producer and director Cecil B. DeMille. With its huge budget and even bigger scope, 1939’s Union Pacific returned the western genre to its epic roots. A rival businessman hires men to slow the progress of the Union Pacific Railroad so that his own ventures can succeed first. While the main plot plays out on the macro level, Union Pacific has several B-plots to flesh things out.

1939 was a banner year for movies in general, and Union Pacific was one of the bigger spectacles presented for film fans. While it isn’t nearly as rich as other ’30s westerns, it is undeniably charming and engrossing because of its scale. It snagged an Oscar nomination for its effects and was even scheduled to be part of the first Cannes Film Festival (but that was derailed thanks to WWII).

4

The Plainsman (1936)

Cecil B. DeMille’s The Plainsman is essentially a western fairy tale starring some of history’s most famous names, but it is a fun romp nonetheless. Wild Bill Hickok rescues Calamity Jane from Native Americans and charts a course for revenge on the man who supplied their weapons. Gary Cooper (in a role intended for John Wayne) and Jean Arthur make for a fascinating pair, and The Plainsman is not short on Hollywood gloss.

Unlike DeMille’s other famous ’30s western, The Plainsman is a bit more reserved in its scale. It has plenty of exciting action and bombastic characters, but it feels less like spectacle and more like a traditional western. It lands so high on the list simply because it gets all the beloved genre tropes right. It plays incredibly loose with history, and is certainly a product of its time, but there are few westerns from the period that are as much fun as The Plainsman.

3

The Big Trail (1930)

The 1930s were bookended by amazing westerns starring John Wayne, and The Big Trail kicked off the troubled decade. A fur trapper helps escort a wagon train through treacherous territory, but he also has romance and revenge on his mind. In his first starring role, Wayne immediately proved why he would be the face of the western genre for decades to come. The Big Trail is surprisingly complete for a film that’s nearly 100 years old.

Deftly mixing action and adventure, director Raoul Walsh captures the immensity of the American West on the big screen. Many films from the period are noted for their simplistic stories with only one gear, but The Big Trail features various levels of conflict that are both internal and external. If it wasn’t for other gems from later in the decade, it would easily be the best must-watch western of the 1930s.

2

Destry Rides Again (1939)

Perhaps more than any other genre, comedy has the tendency to age quite poorly. That’s not the case for Destry Rides Again, and the western laugh-riot is just as funny today as it was back in 1939. With an outlaw in charge of the town of Bottleneck, a legendary lawman sends his son to clean up the mess. James Stewart plays the unorthodox hero, and he lights up the screen with his signature brand of boy next door charm.

Destry Rides Again pairs Stewart with Marlene Dietrich, and the odd couple actually play off one another brilliantly. It uses every western cliché in the book, but subverts them with little quirks that often result in legitimate laughs. On a deeper level, Destry Rides Again advocates for peace, and doesn’t glorify violence like most westerns. This is especially important considering the world was teetering on the brink of war at the time.

1

Stagecoach (1939)

There were a lot of classic westerns on this list, but none of them even come close to John Ford’s 1939 masterpiece, Stagecoach. A disparate group board the titular conveyance, and have their own reasons for crossing the dangerous territory in a hurry. Along the way, they link up with a known outlaw who helps them through some tough spots. If The Big Trail was John Wayne’s debut, Stagecoach was where he truly came into his own.

The film is a clinic in screenwriting, and not a single frame is wasted. It moves at a pace that keeps things flowing constantly, but somehow finds time to build on each character. It has the typical action of other ’30s westerns, but also tackles deeper themes like reputation and belonging in a puritanical society. Stagecoach isn’t just the best western from the 1930s, it’s one of the best films of all time.