My Ten Favorite Female-centric Westerns

When you think of western movies, I'm betting you think of stories that revolve around men.  Lone gunmen, groups of men, a man and a sidekick, and so on.  But there are actually quite a few westerns that are centered on women.  

Because people were grappling with life-and-death issues like food, shelter, and enemies trying to kill you in the Old West, they weren't always so caught up on little things like whether women should own and run businesses, boss men around, make decisions, choose their own husbands, defend themselves, own and work the land, and so on!  Hollywood has often used that reality to help tell stories about women that might not be suited to other time periods, including the ones they were making the movies in.

It may surprise you to find that 7/10 of the movies on this list were made before the year 1970.  Strong Female Characters might not be as recent a phenomenon as you've been led to believe.

Anyway!  Here they are :-)  Titles are linked to my reviews where applicable.

1. The Rare Breed (1966)

A British widow (Maureen O'Hara) and her daughter (Juliet Mills) accompany the prize bull they've sold on its way to its new owner (Brian Keith) with the help of a determined cowhand (James Stewart). I've seen this so often, the characters all feel like dear old friends.

2. The Quick and the Dead (1995)

A woman gunfighter (Sharon Stone) enters a quick-draw contest because she believes it's her best chance to avenge her father being murdered by a former outlaw (Gene Hackman).  This movie has one of my absolute favorite Russell Crowe characters in it, but the movie really belongs to The Lady.

3. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

A woman (Jane Powell) marries a man (Howard Keel) she just met that same day, and she's excited about the prospect of keeping house for just the two of them, back up in the mountains where he lives.  He fails tell her he has six brothers back home that he expects her to cook for too, and she is less than amused when she finds out. Trust me, this retelling of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is funnier than it sounds. Also, it has gobs and gobs of awesome dancing.

4. Angel and the Badman (1947)

Penelope Worth (Gail Russell) might not be quite an angel, but then again, Quirt Evans (John Wayne) isn't quite a bad man either. Her Quaker family takes him in when he's wounded, and he does everything in his power to make sure they don't regret that decision even though he's pitted himself against some pretty desperate characters.  Of all the movies on this list, this is the only one where you could argue that the woman isn't the central character, but Penny is so pivotal that I really think it counts.

5. Australia (2008)

A determined Englishwoman (Nicole Kidman) and a drifting Drover (Hugh Jackman) struggle to save each other and an orphaned Aboriginal child (Brandon Walters) in Australia's Outback during World War Two. This is the only movie that has ever given me cowboys and WWII soldiers in the same story.

6. True Grit (2010)

A fourteen-year-old girl (Hailee Steinfeld) hires a crotchety US Marshal (Jeff Bridges) to track down the man who murdered her father, and insists on accompanying him on the quest.  I love the unusual flavor of this movie's dialog, which comes straight from the book by Charles Portis.  You can read my review of the book here.

7. Calamity Jane (1953)

A completely fictional story revolving around Calamity Jane (Doris Day), Wild Bill Hickock (Howard Keel), and a big mix-up involving a famous singer who is supposed to come to Deadwood, but doesn't.  My favorite thing about it is that Calamity Jane's character arc doesn't involve her gaining a husband by giving up her "outrageous" behavior of wearing buckskins and trousers, shooting at outlaws, and guarding stagecoaches.  Instead, she finds love with a man who appreciates who she already is, not who she could become.

8. Cat Ballou (1965)

Cat Ballou (Jane Fonda) comes home to her family's ranch just in time to witness her father's murder by the notorious (and noseless) Tim Strawn (Lee Marvin).  She straps on a gunbelt and sets out to avenge him, eventually gathering up an outlaw gang of comically inept ne'erdowells, including washed-up gunfighter Kid Shelleen (also Lee Marvin).  This is a wacky, wild movie, but I like it.

9. The Redhead from Wyoming (1953)

A beautiful woman (Maureen O'Hara) arrives in town and starts running a saloon and buying cattle, all at the behest of a former lover (Alexander Scourby) who is trying to start a range war between the big cattle barons and the smaller farmers and ranchers.  A new sheriff (Alex Nicol) stands up against him, and the woman has to choose which side she'll support because the townsfolk like her so much, they'll follow her, not either of the men.

10. Westward the Women (1951)

One hundred and forty women travel west in a wagon train to find new husbands.  On the way, they learn to hitch horses to wagons, shoot and hunt, ford rivers, and generally protect themselves while surviving.  It's one of the most realistic portrayals of a wagon train that I have seen.

You'll notice that four of these are currently part of my Legends of Western Cinema Week giveaway, just in case you want to get a chance to own and watch them for yourself!  And, yes, this top ten list has been one of my contributions to this year's LOWCW shindig.

If you enjoyed this list, you might also enjoy some of my other Top Ten Favorite lists: 

Western Movies

Western TV Shows

Alan Ladd Westerns

John Wayne Westerns

Western Movie Couples

Western Movie Soundtracks

Episodes of The Magnificent Seven