Movies starring Ben Johnson

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

103 mins     Western      

There is no denying that "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" is beautifully shot or that it features John Wayne delivering one of his finest performances but there is something about it which just doesn't work for me, does really gain...

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

94 mins     Adventure , Drama, Fantasy      

It's quite interesting when you read reviews of "Mighty Joe Young" as those who are not impressed with it often say it is inferior to "King Kong". The thing is that whilst "Mighty Joe Young" is made by the same team and has s...

Rio Grande (1950)

105 mins     Romance, Western      

Some of my favourite John Wayne movies came early on in his career, after he had turned from a B-movie star into a genuine mainstream movie star but before you could accuse him of doing the same thing, basically playing to hi...

Wagon Master (1950)

86 mins     Western      

"Wagon Master" was one of John Ford's favourite movies from those he made and in many ways you could say it is one of the purest John Ford movies. Whilst many of the Ford stock appear there is no major star of the calibre of ...

Fort Defiance (1951)

82 mins     Western      

I am a movie fan first, movie reviewer second and as a movie fan I always want to watch something good if not great but as a reviewer some times I need to watch some thing just about okay to give myself some variation. And th...

Shane (1953)

118 mins     Drama, Western      

"Shane" is nothing more than a western about a mysterious stranger who stays with a rancher for a few days and ends up helping the rancher, his family and some other ranchers out with their feud with a local land owner who wa...

War Drums (1957)

75 mins     Western      

War Drums (1957) Joan Taylor stars as Riva a Mexican who finds herself with both an apache chief and western trader falling in love with her...

The Rare Breed (1966)

97 mins     Action , Drama, Romance, War      

If it wasn't for the fact that John Wayne's "True Grit" came 3 years after I would say that "The Rare Breed" is a movie which tries to imitate many of its characteristics. It has James Stewart playing this tough talking legen...

Will Penny (1967)

108 mins     Western      

Will Penny (1967) Charlton Heston stars as old wrangler Will Penny who having taken a job as a line rider finds himself caring for a woman and her son who he finds squatting in his shack...

Hang 'Em High (1968)

114 mins     Western      

Having headed across to Spain and Italy to do the immensely impressive Sergio Leone trilogy of westerns, Clint Eastwood was back in Hollywood and back in a western again with "Hang 'Em High". Well "Hang 'Em High" is no "The G...

The Undefeated (1969)

119 mins     Action , Adventure , Drama, Western      

Half an hour into "The Undefeated" and the set up is done, the pieces are all in place and like with many movies you expect it to then kick into gear. But half an hour later and it's still not got out of neutral and it's only...

The Wild Bunch (1969)

139 mins     Western      

The western genre often comes under a lot of stick for being cheesy and mass produced especially westerns from the 50s and 60s and to be honest there was a lot of b-movie westerns. But in amongst the masses of westerns there ...

Chisum (1970)

111 mins     Western      

Take the legendary figures of William H. Bonney (aka Billy the Kid) and Pat Garrett and then throw in the character of John Chisum played by western icon John Wayne and what do you get? Well to be honest you get "Chisum" a ve...

The Last Picture Show (1971)

118 mins     Drama      

Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd were all young actors back in 1971 when "The Last Picture Show" was released yet their performances were those of seasoned professionals who knew how to be people on the scree...

The Train Robbers (1973)

92 mins     Western      

"The Train Robbers" is a little bit of a strange western as it has a touch of the traditional about it, the good guys versus the bad and the old fashioned moral conduct but then it has a touch of the new with a styling which ...

The Sugarland Express (1974)

110 mins     Adventure , Comedy, Crime      

There is a variety of trivia which I could speak of when it comes to "The Sugarland Express" from this being Steven Spielberg's big screen directional debut to the innovative use of cameras to the fact that it is based on a t...

Breakheart Pass (1975)

95 mins     Mystery, Western      

When is a western not a western, when it is "Murder on the Orient Express" in disguise or at least that is how "Breakheart Pass" comes across. It is an interesting idea to have a western mystery movie and to be frank a welcom...

Bite the Bullet (1975)

132 mins     Action , Adventure , Western      

Maybe it was my fault, maybe I saw the cast of "Bite the Bullet" and thought maybe this would be an impressive western, a 70s hoorah for the western which would help dispatch some of the memories of other less than impressive...

The Greatest (1977)

101 mins     Biography, Drama, Sport      

I would take a guess that if there are any teenagers out there who have heard of Muhammad Ali but only heard that he was a boxing great now ravaged by Parkinson's Disease "The Greatest" might be interesting. But for those who...

The Swarm (1978)

155 mins     Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller      

To my knowledge there are two versions of "The Swarm", one 116 minute version and an 155 minute version, I have only seen the 155 minute version and it wasn't good. Now "The Swarm" has the notorious accolade of being one of t...