Highest-Rated Movies about 'Cowboy', Sort by Popularity

Ride in the Whirlwind (1965), Buck (2011), Toy Story 3 (2010), Unforgiven (1992), A Town Called Panic (2009), The Hired Hand (1971), No Maps for These Territories (2000), The Ox-Bow Incident (1942) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Cowboy movies.

#16. Johnny Guitar (1954)

Storyline: Vienna has built a saloon outside of town, and she hopes to build her own town once the railroad is put through, but the townsfolk want her gone. When four men hold up a stagecoach and kill a man the town officials, led by Emma Small, come to the saloon to grab four of Vienna's friends, the Dancin' Kid and his men. Vienna stands strong against them, and is aided by the presence of an old acquaintance of hers, Johnny Guitar, who is not what he seems.

Plot Keywords: owner, rancher, friend, townsperson, cowboy, gunslinger, intense ...

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#17. Winchester '73 (1950)

Storyline: In a marksmanship contest, Lin McAdam wins a prized Winchester rifle, which is immediately stolen by the runner-up, Dutch Henry Brown. This "story of a rifle" then follows McAdams' pursuit, and the rifle as it changes hands, until a final showdown and shoot-out on a rocky mountain precipice.

Plot Keywords: sergeant, cowboy, sheriff, prostitute, outlaw, tense, spirited ...

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#18. True Grit (2010)

Storyline: Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with "true grit," Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her "grit" tested.

Plot Keywords: cowboy, gunslinger, assassin, marshal, dense, gritty, gripping ...

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#19. Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

Storyline: In order to free his best friend Paul Bondi from jail, cowboy Jack Burns gets himself imprisoned only to find out that Bondi does not want to escape. Thus Burns breaks out on his own and is afterwards being chased in the mountains by sheriff Johnson with a helicopter and jeeps.—Volker Boehm

Plot Keywords: cowboy, sheriff, wife, deputy, friend, disheartening, somber ...

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#20. The Little Fugitive (1953)

Storyline: When he sustains a rodeo injury, star rider Jeff McCloud returns to his hometown after many years of absence. He signs on as a hired hand with a local ranch, where he befriends fellow ranch hand Wes and his wife Louise. Wes has big dreams of owning his own little farm, and rodeo winnings could help finance it. Wes convinces Jeff to coach him in the rodeo ways, but Louise has her doubts. She doesn't want her man to end up a broken down rodeo bum like Jeff McCloud. Despite Louise's concern, the threesome hit the road in their Woody, chucking a secure present for an unknown future. Will they find success or sorrow? This picture features plenty of rodeo action and thrills.—Thomas McWilliams <tgm@netcom.com>

Plot Keywords: young boy, brother, friend, bully, carnival worker, charming, winsome ...

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#21. The Cowboys (1972)

Storyline: When his cattle drivers abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his drivers 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.

Plot Keywords: rancher, cowboy, young boy, cook, pretty woman, bandit, spirited ...

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#22. Open Range (2003)

Storyline: Boss Spearman, Charley Waite, Mose Harrison and Button freegraze their cattle across the vast prairies of the West, sharing a friendship forged by a steadfast code of honor and living a life unencumbered by civilization. When their wayward herd forces them near the small town of Harmonville, the cowboys encounter a corrupt sheriff and kingpin rancher who govern the territory through fear, tyranny and violence. Boss and Charley find themselves inextricably drawn towards an inevitable showdown, as they are forced to defend the freedom and values of a lifestyle that is all too quickly vanishing. Amidst the turmoil, life suddenly takes an unexpected turn for the loner Charley when he meets the beautiful and warm spirited Sue Barlow, a woman who embraces both his heart and his soul.

Plot Keywords: cowboy, hired hand, doctor, landowner, marshal, sister, suspenseful ...

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#23. The Misfits (1961)

Storyline: Dpressed divorcèe, Roslyn Tabor (Monroe), and Gay Langland (Gable), an aging ex-cowboy, who survives by rounding up and catching mustangs (and sselling them to slaughterhouses Wallach plays Guido, Langland's pilot partner, and Clift plays Perce Howland, a drifter rodeo rider.

Plot Keywords: divorcée, cowboy, gambler, rodeo rider, drifter, friend, winsome ...

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#24. Calamity Jane (1953)

Storyline: Deadwood, Dakota Territory, is largely the abode of men, where Indian scout Calamity Jane is as hard-riding, boastful, and handy with a gun as any; quite an overpowering personality. But the army lieutenant she favors doesn't really appreciate her finer qualities. One of Jane's boasts brings her to Chicago to recruit an actress for the Golden Garter stage. Arrived, the lady in question appears (at first) to be a more feminine rival for the favors of Jane's male friends...including her friendly enemy Wild Bill Hickock.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: frontier woman, lieutenant, cowboy, maid, saloon owner, amusing, cheery ...

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#25. The Man From Snowy River (1982)

Storyline: Jim Craig has lived his first 18 years in the mountains of Australia on his father's farm. The death of his father forces him to go to the low lands to earn enough money to get the farm back on its feet. Kirk Douglas plays two roles as twin brothers who haven't spoken for years, one of whom was Jim's father's best friend and the other of whom is the father of the girl he wants to marry. A 20 year old feud re-erupts, catching Jim and Jessica in the middle of it as Jim is accused of letting a prize stallion loose.—John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Keywords: cowboy, rancher, father, daughter, rival, young man, heartwarming ...

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#26. Paris, je t'aime (2006)

Storyline: Paris, je t'aime is about the plurality of cinema in one mythic location: Paris, the City of Love. Twenty filmmakers have five minutes each; the audience must weave a single narrative out of twenty moments. The 20 moments are fused by transitional interstitial sequences and also via the introduction and epilogue. Each transition begins with the last shot of the previous film and ends with the first shot of the following film, extending the enchantment and the emotion of the previous segment, preparing the audience for a surprise, and providing a cohesive atmosphere. There's a reappearing mysterious character who is a witness to the Parisian life. A common theme of Paris and love fuses all.

Plot Keywords: husband, wife, mistress, cowboy, mother, actress, passionate ...

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#27. The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Storyline: 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 their ranch back from the town's gunsmith who won it from their father in a card game, after which he was murdered. Troubles come, however, just because they carry the Elder name.

Plot Keywords: cowboy, sheriff, gunslinger, gambler, brother, mother, rousing ...

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#28. The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

Storyline: Double-crossed and left without water in the desert, Cable Hogue is saved when he finds a spring. It is in just the right spot for a much needed rest stop on the local stagecoach line, and Hogue uses this to his advantage. He builds a house and makes money off the stagecoach passengers. Hildy, a sex worker from the nearest town, moves in with him. Hogue has everything going his way until the advent of the automobile ends the era of the stagecoach.—John Oswalt <jao@jao.com>

Plot Keywords: business owner, reverend, prostitute, partner, cowboy, fascinating, profound ...

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#29. Colorado Territory (1949)

Storyline: Outlaw Wes McQueen is sprung from jail to help pull one last railroad job. He doesn't like his new partners - except dance-hall girl Colorado - and anyway fancies Julie Ann newly arrived from the east to set up home with her father. Maybe time to get out. Unfortunately he also has a $10,000 reward on his head, dead or alive.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Plot Keywords: cowboy, outlaw, sheriff, dance hall girl, native american, love interest, brash ...

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