Episodes
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Thank You for Listening
I'll just say it outright: After a two year battle with pancreatic cancer, my father has passed away. I don't know what words can do it justice, but here's quite a few anyway. I've recorded a final episode, the bulk of which is a conversation with my immediate family about my father's legacy, and…
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GODLESS!
On this episode, we'll be discussing the new limited series on Netflix, Scott Frank's Godless! The small mining town of LaBelle becomes the battleground for a conflict between two outlaws, one good, one very bad, and the population, mostly widows, find themselves in a war for their way of life....
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BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID!
Finally, an episode we've been looking towards since the start, one of the most beloved American Westerns and a film listed on the AFI's list of Hundred Best Films: 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, featuring the classic pairing of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the titular roles. An...
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EBENEZER!
Merry Christmas, everyone! On this special holiday episode of Westerns With Dad, we're discussing the little-seen 1997 Canadian TV production, Ebenezer! Starring noted Western stars Jack Palance and Ricky Schroeder, it's an adaptation of Charles Dickens' oft-adapted classic, A Christmas Carol,...
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TRUE GRIT 1969 & 2010!
On this belated episode, we are talking about both versions of the Charlie Portis novel True Grit! The original, from 1969, is famously the film that won John Wayne his Oscar, and the 2010 remake from the Coen Brothers! Both are great, as it turns out, and surprisingly similar in a number of ways...
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DEAD MAN!
Jim Jarmusch's utterly bizarre 1995 'Acid Western' Dead Man is the subject of this episode, featuring Johnny Depp at his height as a tenderfoot traveling into the Frontier and also, potentially, the reincarnation of the poet William Blake. Shot in B&W and featuring a unique Neil Young soundtrack,...
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JUBAL!
Coming from director Delmar Daves, 1956's Jubal tells a story of sexual obsession on the open plains, highly reminiscent of Shakespeare's Othello. Starring Glenn Ford as stoic loner Jubal Troop, it has come to more prominence lately, possibly owing to a fine Criterion restoration, and features a...
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GRIM PRAIRIE TALES!
To finish out our October tradition of Spooky Westerns, we wanted to talk about Near Dark, the cult classic vampire western from academy award winning director Kathryn Bigelow, but due to a lack of streaming options, we were unable to easily find it and instead watched a forgotten anthology…
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HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER!
Once again, October means that we're talking about Horror and Horror-Adjacent movies on Westerns With Dad, and this time, it's Clint Eastwood's 1973 allegory about Divine Justice, High Plains Drifter! Taking the form of a more traditional yarn - in this case, a town, threatened by villains, hires…
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LITTLE BIG MAN!
Arthur Penn's rambling, whimsical approach to the Western, Little Big Man follows the long life of Dustin Hoffman's Jack Crabb, a white man raised amongst the Cheyenne Indians, and observes the wave of Manifest Destiny rise, crest and recede in the American frontier! One of the early examples of...
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THE MAN FROM LARAMIE!
It's been too long since we've talked Jimmy Stewart on Westerns With Dad, so it's time to revisit his series of collaborations with director Anthony Mann, with The Man From Laramie! Their final film together, it tells the story of Will Lockhart, seeking justice for his dead brother in the…
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LONESOME DOVE!
On this episode, one of Dad's favorites' the TV miniseries adaptation of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove! One of television's most celebrated series, it tells the epic story of a cattle drive from Texas to Montana, taking the time to explore the details of frontier life and the the expansive...
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THE COWBOYS!
This episode features one of Dad's favorites, The Cowboys, starring John Wayne. A classic cattle drive Western, this movie features Wayne acting as mentor to cadre of boys on the cusp of manhood, finding adventures, life lessons and tragedy on the open range. And after years of less than…
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BLAZING SADDLES!
In this episode, we're talking about the legitimate comedy classic, Mel Brooks's 1974 western satire, Blazing Saddles! Largely agreed upon to be the funniest western ever made, it tells the story of a black sheriff appointed to a small town full of racists to better facilitate a land grab. But…
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THUNDERHEART!
In this episode, we discuss the largely uncommented-on Thunderheart, a 1992 police-on-a-reservation film inspired by the tumultuous events that took place during the 1970s. It stars Val Kilmer as a Federal Agent investigating a murder occurring amidst deep civil unrest! Featuring terrific...
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DEADWOOD SEASON 1!
This is an episode I've been dying to try out since we started, an in depth look at HBO's brilliant Western TV show Deadwood. Starring Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant, it tells the story of the historic South Dakota mining camp where Will Bill Hickok was killed. This being the first episode…
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RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY!
1962's Ride the High Country is the subject of this week's episode. An early Sam Peckinpah and a late victory lap for golden age Western stars Joel McRea and Randolph Scott, it follows a pair of aging gunslingers as they attempt to transport gold cross country. It's a nice adventure film about…
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FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE!
Returning to the Spaghetti Western and the films of Sergio Leone, this episode focuses on the middle entry in the Man With No Name trilogy, For a Few Dollars More. Bringing back Clint Eastwood's iconic gunslinger and adding Lee Van Cleef's mysterious counterpoint, it's the most underrated of the...
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THE SALVATION!
In attempting to examine the breadth of the Western genre, we want to focus on films from all eras, and that includes the modern movie landscape. So this week, we're taking a look at The Salvation, a genre exercise from only a few years ago! Starring acclaimed actor Mads Mikkelsen, this is a…
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THE SEARCHERS!
The Searchers, 1956, is arguably the greatest Western ever made. The most acclaimed film from both John Ford and John Wayne, it tells the purely American story of a kidnapped young girl and the two men driven to recover her, amidst the bloody crucible of the American Indian Wars. Both lauded for...
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DISNEY'S DAVY CROCKETT!
The TV miniseries that took 1950s American by storm, the focus of this episode is Walt Disney's Davy Crockett franchise, starring Fess Parker as the titular frontiersman. Appearing on ABC's Disneyland television show starting in 1954, this was the crown jewel of Walt Disney's TV empire and the...
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3:10 TO YUMA (1957 & 2007)!!
There are two notable films entitled 3:10 To Yuma, and we'll be taking a look at both in this episode. There's the 1957 original, a B&W studio Western directed by Delmar Davis, and the 2007 remake from James Mangold, with a cast full of famous names. It turns out both are pretty worthwhile, and…
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LAST TRAIN FROM GUN HILL!
In this episode, we have a discussion about another listener request, 1959's Last Train From Gun Hill, a John Sturges potboiler revenge yarn starring Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn. And this one is pretty damn kickass. Telling the story of Marshall Matt Morgan's quest for justice after the rape…
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MY NAME IS NOBODY!
Far and away one of the strangest films we've discussed on the podcast, right up there with the cannibal movies, is My Name Is Nobody, a comedic send-up of the Spaghetti Westerns from the very people who created them. Starring the legendary Henry Fonda and a goofy blonde himbo named Terence Hill,...
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HELL OR HIGH WATER!
In this episode, we take a good long look at last year's Best Picture nominee, Hell of High Water, an entry into the modern Western subgenre, with elements of the Crime Thriller and a hint of Noir. It's the socially relevant story of two brothers driven to bank robbery by a broken system that…
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HANG 'EM HIGH!
1968's Hang 'Em High is Clint Eastwood's first American Western and the first film of his production company Malpaso, marking it as a significant entry in the canon of American westerns. Following the journey of a lawman who survives his illegal lynching, it explores the fine line between justice...
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OPEN RANGE!
One of the few Westerns to see major release in the Aughts, Open Range is a great collaboration between Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner, proving correct the notion that all a movie needs is to be a good story, well told. One of Dad's favorites, and in my opinion the best Costner Western, this is...
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3 GODFATHERS!
It's the holiday season, and despite the near complete dearth of overlap between Westerns and Christmas movies, we have gone out of our way to find one, and are met with mixed success! The Christmas film in question is 3 Godfathers, a John Ford film from 1948 that ostensibly retells the story of...
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MAVERICK!
This episode focuses on Maverick, an adaptation of the old TV show, featuring Mel Gibson in his only stab at the Western. It's a goofy romp, very laid back and upbeat, and probably a bit better than its reputation at this point, by virtue of being so lightweight. Featuring a script by William...
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THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE!
Described as 'The Citizen Kane of Westerns' (by some guy on Rotten Tomatoes), this 1962 John Ford film certainly has a murderer's row of great Western talent, starring no less than John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin. It's also a deeply considered rumination on the building of America, and…
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RIO BRAVO!
After watching several new and/or weird versions of the Western, this week we're returning to what can only be described as a classic, Howard Hawks and John Wayne's most popular team-up, Rio Bravo. Featuring Dean Martin as a drunk, this beloved genre favorite has been remade both loosely and...
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RAVENOUS!
The attempt to focus on Halloween/Horror based Westerns in October continues with the cult classic Ravenous! A cannibal horror yarn, talking place in the wilds of Northern California during the Mexican American War, this 1999 feature balances a lot of craziness within its runtime, from the...
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WESTWORLD!
Because there's an exciting new HBO television series based on it, we decided it was time to take an in depth look at the Michael Crichton SciFi classic, Westworld! Featuring Yul Brynner, playing off his Magnificent Seven performance, this dry run for Jurassic Park features a Western-themed...
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THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 2016!
Brand new, in theaters right now, we're doing the big Western release of 2016, Antoine Fuqua's remake of The Magnificent Seven! The is remake brings the podcast to the movie theaters, and even flirts with relevance for a moment, as we discuss in detail something one rarely gets to look at when...
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JANE GOT A GUN!
This episode focuses on a film (barely) released earlier this year, Gavin O'Connor's Jane Got a Gun. Imagined as a star vehicle for Natalie Portman, this attempt at a Western from a feminine perspective had a long and tortured route to the big screen, going through various cast changes and a...
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JEREMIAH JOHNSON!
The essential Mountain Man adventure, Sydney Pollack's 1972 Jeremiah Johnson, is the subject of this episode. Starring Robert Redford as the titular trapper, this film is an ecstatic rumination on man's relationship to nature, as represented by some of the most gorgeous nature photography ever…
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A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS!
The first of Sergio Leone's famous Man With No Name trilogy, featuring the breakout movie star performance that launched Clint Eastwood's career, A Fistful of Dollars is one of the more revered Westerns out there. Credited with popularizing the Anti-hero and establishing the Spaghetti Western as…
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HONDO!
Hondo! This is the episode on Hondo! Your basic John Wayne studio western, Hondo adapts a Louis L'Amour novel about a noble drifter coming to the aid of a single mother and her son living on the outskirts of civilization. The plot resembles Shane in some superficial ways, but this film also has a...
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TOMBSTONE!
After several previous mentions, we finally get to Tombstone, the superlative one, the magnum opus, the towering classic by which all others shall be judged. Perhaps that's a bit of hyperbole, but by our own standards, it's hard to come up with a Western that we just purely enjoy more than this...
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The Last of the Mohicans!
For the first time on ur podcast about Westerns, we review a movie that just isn't a Western, Michael Mann's frontier epic, The Last of the Mohicans. It is, in fact, about half a dozen other genres before it's a western, and we discuss it at length, as well as why this film about Native Americans...
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SHANE!
One of the greatest movies ever made according to the American Film Institute, this week we're dealing with George Stevens' 1953 classic Shane. Setting the basic tone and template for dozens of westerns to come, Shane features Alan Ladd as the titular gunslinger, who arrive out of the mist to…
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CITY SLICKERS!
1991's big hit Billy Crystal comedy about nostalgia for old westerns is this weeks episode! Featuring an oscar-winning supporting turn for Western legend Jack Palance, this beloved family comedy explores what it means to be honest, to be masculine, and to be happy in the modern age while looking...
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SEVEN MEN FROM NOW!
In this episode, Dad and I take on the 1956 Bud Boetticher picture Seven Men From Now. The first collaboration between Boetticher and Randolph Scott, this set the tone for a series of formalist westerns and featured a memorable, star-making supporting turn from none other than Lee Marvin. It…
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THE HATEFUL EIGHT!
In hopes of creating the most awkward episode to date, Dad and I watched The Hateful Eight, Quentin Tarantino's violent pressure cooker of a Bounty Hunter story. Taking place almost exclusively inside a general store during a blizzard, this ultra-violet Western takes on an enormous amount,...
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SILVERADO!
This episode delves into the 1985 Lawrence Kasdan Western homage Silverado. The first appearance of Kevin Costner on the podcast, Dad and I have a good time reminiscing about watching this particular Western excessively in the 1980s, where it introduced me to the genre. The nostalgia extends back...
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THE NAKED SPUR!
After a longer than usual break, the podcast is back with a look at the 1953 “Western noir” The Naked Spur, starring Jimmy Stewart and Janet Leigh. And Robert Ryan, who we kind of shit talk a little bit here. One of Stewart’s several Western collaborations with Anthony Mann, this is a spare,...
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THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES!
This episode marks the first appearance of Clint Eastwood on the podcast, and we’ve chosen his first Western directorial effort, The Outlaw Josey Wales. A pure 1970s revisionist Western, this one offers the unusual perspective of heroic Confederates and evil Northerners clashing across the...
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BONE TOMAHAWK!
In this episode, we discuss last year’s low budget cannibal horror western, Bone Tomahawk. Starring the great Kurt Russell, this surprisingly excellent thriller is many things at once: charming, harrowing, stately, witty, and stomach-churning. Featuring a talented cast of bigger names than you’d...
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The Magnificent Seven
On this week’s episode, Dad and I take a look at the 1960 John Sturges classic, The Magnificent Seven. Starring Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen, this all time favorite inspired countless scores of sequels and imitations, establishing the basic parameters of ‘Men on a Mission’ films for decades to...
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QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER
Episode Two is now available for download. It covers the 1990 Tom-Selleck-goes-to-Australia Western Quigley Down Under. Chosen this week for the presence of the late, great Alan Rickman (who plays the villainous rancher Marston), this mostly ignored adventure yarn is considerably better than you...
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