Link Jones (Gary Cooper) plays a former outlaw living a righteous life who gets thrown back into disarray when his old gang decides to take him and some innocent people captive.
Pushed into violence, Cooper is forced to face the sadistic gang leader Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb.)
The Quick and the Dead (1996, Sam Raimi)
Gene Hackman must have a knack for playing sadistic characters as he once again plays a cruel-hearted sheriff in The Quick and the Dead. The super-stylized Western brings out the big guns by showcasing all the best gunslingers in the West for a quickdraw duel.
The winner is up for a huge prize, and of course, gets to keep his life. Things heat up when Russel Crowe, who plays a priest, enters the tournament and guns for Hackman over a past incident. There's a young Leo, too!
For a Few Dollars More (Sergio Leone, 1965)
The second installment of Sergio Leone’s “Man With No Name” Trilogy follows Clint Eastwood, this time joined by Lee Van Cleef.
The film follows the bounty hunters in their pursuit of a deranged bandit named El Indio, played by the great Gian Maria Volanté.
The Big Gundown (Sergio Sollima, 1966)
Jonathan Colorado Corbett, the Bounty hunter (Lee Van Cleef), makes his way through Texas and Mexico to catch a supposed murderous bandit named Manuel Chuchillo Sanchez (Tomas Milian.)
Spaghetti Western legend Sergio Sollima's film is considered to be an allegorical tale of North America's interference in Latin America. Watch this if you can take all the harsh social commentary.
Bend of the River (Anthony Mann, 1951)
Glyn and Emerson play two buddies who lead a wagon train along the Columbia River Valley in search of a new settlement. The two end up going head to head when Emmerson (Arthur Kennedy) decides to rob and sell the passengers' belongings for cash. Glyn (James Stewart), however, remains commuted to the traveling settlers.
Director Anthony Mann's film is an allegory for the divide between the culture of production and the culture of consumption that defined the 1950s.