13 Essential Female-Led Westerns

“Cat Ballou” (1965)
Though it’s essentially a spoof, and was sniffily reviewed at the time, Elliott Silverstein‘s delightful “Cat Ballou” has stood the test of time far better than most pastiches, and boasts a surprisingly affecting warm core beneath all the zaniness. And a lot of that is derived from the performances — Jane Fonda‘s bambi-eyed schoolteacher-turned-ruthless-gangleader is just the right mix of sweet and feisty and Lee Marvin‘s celebrated Oscar-winning double turn as alcoholic gunslinger Kid Sheleen and the dastardly metal-nosed Tim Strawn is one for the ages (as is that of his horse, who plays drunk so well that Marvin mentioned him in his acceptance speech). And that’s not even getting to the insanely catchy musical interludes interspersed throughout in which Greek chorus-style troubadours Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye bring us up to speed on where the story’s at. It’s not the deepest film on this list, and sometimes the cast and shooting style tip a little too far over into cartoonishness, but by and large “Cat Ballou” is an airhead charmer with a heart of gold. And a nose of silver.

“The Missing” (2003)
If the curse of Ron Howard‘s directorial career seems to be the word “solid” “The Missing” is not a film that will redress that problem. It’s decidedly solid, but the stubborn assurance of the performances and the grand sweep of the photography are worth checking out. And it has its revisionist credentials intact, boasting a strong female lead and a slightly more nuanced portrayal of Native Americans (as in, there are good ones and bad ones!). Cate Blanchett in fine steely form, takes center stage here as the mother whose teenage daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) is kidnapped to be sold south of the border, and when no one else will help her, she enlists her estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones), who has been living with the tribes and learning their ways, to help her. Make no mistake, this is Hollywood-style revisionism, so even though some of the Indian characters are treated with respect, ultimately it’s the clever white man and his resourceful white daughter who are the heroes. But Howard’s brand of irresistible broad-strokes populism is as much in evidence here as anywhere, and he hits all the beats evenly, and hard.

“Calamity Jane” (1953)
In an iteration so many light years away from Robin Weigert‘s portrayal in “Deadwood” it’s difficult to believe it could even remotely be based on the same person, the bright bouncy “Calamity Jane” musical starring Doris Day, came just 3 years after “Annie Get Your Gun” to round out the Western Musical Romance mini-genre. Featuring similarly great songs, similarly hammy acting and indeed the same romantic lead in Howard Keel, here playing a distinctly un-wild Wild Bill Hickok, what really elevates this David Butler-directed movie, is that as well as sappy romances left and right, this story puts a female friendship at its heart. Yes, Jane learns to be ladylike and pretty and to tend house in order to be worthy the man she loves, which is balls, but the sweetest tentative relationship in the whole film is actually that between Jane and aspiring showgirl Katie (Gale Robbins). In fact, if we think of it in modern romantic comedy terms, the climactic ride-to-the-airport here is actually Jane desperately riding after Katie’s stagecoach to make amends and try to coax her back. Other than that, it’s fizzy, tuneful, charming and totally insubstantial.

“The Ballad of Little Jo” (1993)
Maggie Greenwald‘s fascinating, richly shot “Ballad of Little Jo” is as much a revisionist western as it’s possible to be, tackling issues of gender identity, misogyny, racism and classism against an Old West backdrop. Jo, played by Suzy Amis, heads west having been exiled from society for having a child out of wedlock. But after several unhappy incidents, to avoid being viewed as either a liability or a sexual object she disfigures her face, and dresses, and starts to live, as a man. It’s a big secret to keep, especially considering the latent but virulent misogyny that this world seems to foment: from Ian McKellen‘s exiled Englishman, who is a friend to Jo-the-man but cuts the faces of prostitutes who displease him, to Anthony Hopkins‘ Badger, an ally of many years whose bitterness at being “duped by a woman” trumps everything that came before, when the truth finally comes out. But ‘Ballad’ is also a low-key love story, between Jo and Chinese laborer Tinman (David Chang) who both have discovered the only way to survive out here is to hide their true natures.