Top 5 Old Westerns Led by Women, Handpicked by Reddit

Western is a film genre typically associated with men. If you think of these movies, you’ll probably imagine cowboys riding horses and winning over their rivals to save the weak ones.

However, that doesn’t mean the whole genre should be about men, and these old Western top picks, chosen in a recent Reddit discussion, demonstrate it.

5. Cat Ballou (1965)

Following the transformation of a school teacher into a relentless gang leader on her way to revenge, this western comedy stands the test of time due to its brilliant acting and screenwriting.

The movie’s star, Jane Fonda, delivers a catchy performance in the role of a feisty woman confronting the criminal world and its male leaders, is memorable for the cartoonishness, but at the same time the strong will of her character.

4. The Furies (1950)

The accomplished Barbara Stanwyck here portrayed Vance, a determined and courageous daughter of a tyrannical rancher in her complicated struggle to gain power in his estate.

The movie becomes not only a truthful depiction of the Old West, but also a masterpiece exploring the topics of generational conflicts, territorial and racial tensions, combined with touching the issue of love stories and women in them.

3. Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)

Surprisingly, it's Clint Eastwood’s movie without him in the spotlight. The king of Westerns portrayed a mercenary, who gets mixed up with a nun, Sister Sara, saving her from bandits and then escorting her to the Mexican camp.

The main heroine, convincingly portrayed by Shirley MacLaine, turns out to be not as simple, as the synopsis implies, as her strength is quite compatible with that of Eastwood’s character.

2. True Grit (1969)

Although the male movie’s actors, John Wayne and Glen Campbell, are here billed above Kim Darby, it’d be fair to recognize her character, Mattie Ross, as the most significant one in the movie.

Here the story revolves around the daughter’s revenge against the man who killed her father and her hiring U.S. Marshal to perform justice on the guilty. Therefore, the heroine’s desire to seek vengeance is the main engine of True Grit.

1. Johnny Guitar (1954)

This example of the genre is definitely one of the most spectacular movies made during the golden age of Hollywood Westerns. It showcases Vienna (played by Joan Crawford), a strong-willed saloonkeeper, in her fierce confrontation with Mercedes McCambridge’s antagonist.

Thus, this golden-status Western is starred by even two women, accompanied by Sterling Hayden as the titular character, helping the main heroine.

Source: Reddit