Best John Wayne movies

| FILM AND TV
Best John Wayne movies
We present our ranking of the best John Wayne movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about John Wayne.

TOP 25:
The Horse Soldiers
The Horse Soldiers
John Wayne as: Col John Marlowe
Genre: Adventure, History, Western, War
Release: 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.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best Bing Russell movies?

TOP 24:
In Harm's Way
In Harm's Way
John Wayne as: Capt. Rockwell Torrey
Genre: Drama, War
Release: 1965
A naval officer reprimanded after Pearl Harbor is later promoted to rear admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best Burgess Meredith movies?


TOP 23:
The War Wagon
The War Wagon
John Wayne as: Taw Jackson
Genre: Western
Release: 1967
An ex-con seeks revenge on the man who put him in prison by planning a robbery of the latter's stagecoach, which is transporting gold. He enlists the help of a partner, who could be working for his nemesis.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best Bruce Dern movies?

TOP 22:
The Comancheros
The Comancheros
John Wayne as: Jake Cutter
Genre: Action, Adventure, Western, Romance
Release: 1961
Texas Ranger Jake Cutter arrests gambler Paul Regret, but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner in an undercover effort to defeat a band of renegade arms merchants and thieves known as Comancheros.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best Lee Marvin movies?

TOP 21:
Fort Apache
Fort Apache
John Wayne as: Capt. Kirby York
Genre: Western
Release: 1948
In John Ford's sombre exploration the mythology of American heroes, he slowly reveals the character of Owen Thursday, who sees his new posting to the desolate Fort Apache as a chance to claim the military honour which he believes is rightfully his. Arrogant, obsessed with military form and ultimately self-destructive, Thursday attempts to destroy the Apache chief Cochise after luring him across the border from Mexico, against the advice of his subordinates.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best Valentina Lodovini movies?


TOP 20:
The Big Trail
The Big Trail
John Wayne as: Breck Coleman
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Western, Romance
Release: 1930
Young scout Breck Coleman leads a wagon train along the dangerous trail to Oregon as he tries to get the affection of the beautiful pioneer Ruth Cameron and plans his revenge on the harsh scoundrels who murdered a friend of his in the past.

TOP 19:
Big Jake
Big Jake
John Wayne as: Jacob McCandles
Genre: Western
Release: 1971
An aging Texas cattle man who has outlived his time swings into action when outlaws kidnap his grandson.

TOP 18:
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
John Wayne as: Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles
Genre: Western
Release: 1949
After Custer and the 7th Cavalry are wiped out by Indians, everyone expects the worst. Capt. Nathan Brittles is ordered out on patrol but he's also required to take along Abby Allshard, wife of the Fort's commanding officer, and her niece, the pretty Olivia Dandridge, who are being evacuated for their own safety. Brittles is only a few days away from retirement and Olivia has caught the eye of two of the young officers in the Company, Lt. Flint Cohill and 2nd Lt. Ross Pennell. She's taken to wearing a yellow ribbon in her hair, a sign that she has a beau in the Cavalry, but refuses to say for whom she is wearing it.


TOP 17:
How the West Was Won
How the West Was Won
John Wayne as: William Sherman
Genre: Western
Release: 1962
The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best Walter Brennan movies?

TOP 16:
And the Oscar Goes To...
And the Oscar Goes To...
Genre: Documentary, TV Movie
Release: 2014
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best George Chakiris movies?

TOP 15:

The Cowboys

The Cowboys
John Wayne as: Wil Andersen
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Western
Release: 1972
When his cattlemen abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his cowboys in order to get his herd to market in time to avoid financial disaster. The boys learn to do a man's job under Andersen's tutelage; however, neither Andersen nor the boys know that a gang of cattle thieves is stalking them.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best A Martinez movies?


TOP 14:

The Shootist

The Shootist
John Wayne as: John Bernard Books
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Western
Release: 1976
Afflicted with a terminal illness John Bernard Brooks, the last of the legendary gunfighters, quietly returns to Carson City for medical attention from his old friend Dr. Hostetler. Aware that his days are numbered, the troubled man seeks solace and peace in a boarding house run by a widow and her son.However, it is not Brooks' fate to die in peace, as he becomes embroiled in one last valiant battle.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best John Carradine movies?

TOP 13:

The Alamo

The Alamo
John Wayne as: Col. Davy Crockett
Genre: Western
Release: 1960
The legendary true story of a small band of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best Nicole Muñoz movies?

TOP 12:

The Sons of Katie Elder

The Sons of Katie Elder
John Wayne as: John Elder
Genre: Western
Release: 1965
The Elder boys return to Clearwater, Texas for their Mother's funeral. John the eldest is a well known gunfighter and trouble follows him wherever he goes. The boys try to get back their ranch from the towns gunsmith who won it from their father in a card game with which he was shortly murdered there after but not before getting through the troubles that come with the Elders name
Did you know that this movie is also one of best Dennis Hopper movies?

TOP 11:

Red River

Red River
John Wayne as: Thomas Dunson
Genre: Action, Western
Release: 1948
Headstrong Thomas Dunson starts a thriving Texas cattle ranch with the help of his faithful trail hand, Groot, and his protégé, Matthew Garth, an orphan Dunson took under his wing when Matt was a boy. In need of money following the Civil War, Dunson and Matt lead a cattle drive to Missouri, where they will get a better price than locally, but the crotchety older man and his willful young partner begin to butt heads on the exhausting journey.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best Glenn Strange movies?


TOP 10:

The Quiet Man

The Quiet Man
John Wayne as: Sean Thornton
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Release: 1952
An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.

TOP 9:

True Grit

True Grit
John Wayne as: Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Western
Release: 1969
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.
Did you know that this movie is also one of best James Brolin movies?

TOP 8:

El Dorado

El Dorado
John Wayne as: Cole Thornton
Genre: Action, Adventure, Western
Release: 1966
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with an old indian fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.

TOP 7:

Baby Face

Baby Face
John Wayne as: Jimmy McCoy Jr.
Genre: Drama, Romance
Release: 1933
A young woman uses her body and her sexuality to help her climb the social ladder, but soon begins to wonder if her new status will ever bring her happiness.

TOP 6:

The Longest Day

The Longest Day
John Wayne as: Col. Benjamin Vandervoort
Genre: Drama, History, War
Release: 1962
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"


TOP 5:

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
John Wayne as: Tom Doniphon
Genre: Western
Release: 1962
A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed.

TOP 4:

Stagecoach

Stagecoach
John Wayne as: The Ringo Kid
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Western
Release: 1939
A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo, and learn something about each other in the process.

TOP 3:

La Classe américaine

La Classe américaine
John Wayne as: George Abitbol (archive footage)
Genre: Comedy, TV Movie
Release: 1993
George Abitbol, the classiest man in the world, dies tragically during a cruise. With his last breath, he whispers: “Shitty world.” The director of an American newspaper, wondering about the meaning of these intriguing final words, asks his three best investigators, Dave, Peter and Steven, to solve the mystery… (16 French actors dub scenes from various Warner Bros. films to create a parody of “Citizen Kane,” 1941.)

TOP 2:

The Searchers

The Searchers
John Wayne as: Ethan Edwards
Genre: Western
Release: 1956
As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.

TOP 1:

Rio Bravo

Rio Bravo
John Wayne as: John Chance
Genre: Drama, Western
Release: 1959
The sheriff of a small town in southwest Texas must keep custody of a murderer whose brother, a powerful rancher, is trying to help him escape. After a friend is killed trying to muster support for him, he and his deputies - a disgraced drunk and a cantankerous old cripple - must find a way to hold out against the rancher's hired guns until the marshal arrives. In the meantime, matters are complicated by the presence of a young gunslinger - and a mysterious beauty who just came in on the last stagecoach.



If you like the best John Wayne movies, then you will also like the best Henry Fonda movies, where many of their films coincide.