Best Silent Westerns

by drjgardner | created - 08 Jul 2013 | updated - 06 Sep 2017 | Public

Because they are silent films and made nearly 100 years ago it's hard to truly assess them, but these are my favorites and I think they still stand up today despite the obvious limitations. In some cases it's the acting (Tumbleweeds) and sometimes it the photography (The Covered Wagon) which are exceptional.

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5 titles
Tumbleweeds

1. Tumbleweeds (1925)

Approved | 78 min | Western

6.5
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The government will grant a fringe of terrain for the settlers who want to live and work there. The starting sign will be a gunshot which will iniciate the run for the best fields and claims.

Directors: King Baggot, William S. Hart | Stars: William S. Hart, Barbara Bedford, Lucien Littlefield, J. Gordon Russell

Votes: 673

The Covered Wagon

2. The Covered Wagon (1923)

98 min | Adventure, Romance, Western

6.6
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Two wagon caravans converge at what is now Kansas City, and combine for the westward push to Oregon. On their quest the pilgrims will experience desert heat, mountain snow, hunger, and ... See full summary »

Director: James Cruze | Stars: J. Warren Kerrigan, Lois Wilson, Alan Hale, Ernest Torrence

Votes: 781 | Gross: $7.63M

Riders of the Purple Sage

3. Riders of the Purple Sage (1925)

Passed | 56 min | Action, Drama, Western

6.3
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A Texas Ranger searches for his kidnapped sister.

Director: Lynn Reynolds | Stars: Tom Mix, Beatrice Burnham, Arthur Morrison, Seessel Anne Johnson

Votes: 242

The Great Train Robbery

4. The Great Train Robbery (1903)

TV-G | 11 min | Short, Action, Adventure

7.3
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A group of bandits stage a brazen train hold-up, only to find a determined posse hot on their heels.

Director: Edwin S. Porter | Stars: Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, A.C. Abadie, George Barnes, Justus D. Barnes

Votes: 21,004

Not such a terrific film per se, but incredible for the time.

The Iron Horse

5. The Iron Horse (1924)

Passed | 150 min | Drama, History, Romance

7.2
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After witnessing the murder of his father by a renegade as a boy, the grown-up Brandon helps to realize his father's dream of a transcontinental railway.

Director: John Ford | Stars: George O'Brien, Madge Bellamy, Charles Edward Bull, Cyril Chadwick

Votes: 2,446 | Gross: $2.06M



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