David's Guide To Westerns - Latest people

Robert Woods

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 13:13:49 +0000

Sometimes credited as Robert Wood

Thomas Milian

Wed, 30 Dec 2015 11:45:21 +0000

A fairly prolific Spaghetti Western actor, and one that seemed to fall in the upper tier (at least in terms of non-American actors). I’m not particularly a huge fan – he has a tendency to overact – but he has been in some good films.

Fernando Sancho

Fri, 11 Sep 2015 19:54:15 +0000

The stereotypical large moustachioed Mexican bandit – he’s in a lot of Spaghetti Westerns.

Enzo G. Castellari

Sat, 14 Jun 2014 10:18:50 +0000

Surprisingly mixed Italian director.

Frank Wolff

Sat, 04 Jan 2014 18:26:37 +0000

A Spaghetti Western regular, usually in mid-sized roles, and generally reliable.

Robert Mitchum

Fri, 29 Nov 2013 08:08:20 +0000

A man who apparently claimed to be able to do two types of acting: on-horse and off-horse. Westerns are obviously the place where he demonstrates his full range. (That said, he was better than he gave himself credit for).

Ricardo Montalban

Sat, 20 Jul 2013 17:48:44 +0000

"KHAAAAAN!" – (although this obviously isn't Western-related)

Brett Halsey

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 19:29:55 +0000

Official site. Appeared in some minor US westerns before migrating to Italy to make Italian genre films (including some Spaghetti Westerns).

John McIntire

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:34:05 +0000

John McIntire is really in a lot of 50s Westerns, many of them classics, usually as a patriarch or occassionally as a villain. However—without the aid of credits—I rarely recognise him, probably because he's usually playing a character older than he was and made up with a variety of fake beards. For this reasons he's probably not listed in a few films that he should be...

Anthony Steffen

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:08:55 +0000

Also known as Antonio de Teffe.

Italian actor, not known for his great acting range, probably selected for his resemblance to Clint Eastwood.

Ivan Rassimov

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 22:20:11 +0000

Often credited as Sean Todd, a reasonably minor Spaghetti Western actor, who had starring roles in small films. Based on IMDB he looks to have enjoyed a career in the sort of films that tended to have naked women on their posters after finishing with Spaghetti Westerns.

DeForest Kelly

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 18:39:04 +0000

DeForest Kelly did a reasonable number of Westerns, although usually as small roles. He's listed here mostly because I quite enjoy Star Trek.

John Wayne

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:15:20 +0000

My views on John Wayne have changed slightly over the years. Originally I thought he really couldn't act. Now I've come to the conclusion that he can act, surprisingly well at times, and although he clearly has a very limited range he's pretty much perfect for the role he usually plays. The phrase "a stopped clock is right twice a day" may be partially applicable, although that's giving him too little credit—within his limited range he's actually pretty nuanced (or something!).

So clearly he had some ability, and fitted a given type of role so spot on that he became the definitive western actor. However

the acting in some of his earlier films is pretty poor—he clearly improved with time. Personally, I think he's fine in stagecoach, but I've heard opinions to the contrary view.
many of his later films are a bit weak. Mostly when he started having a say in the production and moved away from interesting stories chosen by someone to either hyperpatriotic stories (The Alamo) or broad, slightly raucous but basically inoffensive family action/comedy (McLintock is a good example, although a lot from that era would could).

Therefore, that leaves a "golden period" from the late '40s to the end of the '50s where his output was pretty much universally good. There's actually surprisingly few Westerns here (he only did 5 Westerns in the '50s). Adding to these some first-class outliers from elsewhere in his career (for example Stagecoach, El Dorado, The Shootist), and you get a list of excellent Westerns, but given his status as the definitive Western actor the list is actually surprisingly short. (That said, it's a good 10-15 films, which isn't bad going by anyone's standards!)