5 Worst Sam Elliott Western Movies, Ranked

Sam Elliot's extensive career often leads him back to Westerns — or at least projects rooted in Western aesthetics. Whether it's Taylor Sheridan TV shows, 2007's "Ghost Rider," or "Tombstone," Elliot can never escape the gravitational pull of the Old West. Given how his consistently strong acting chops aren't diluted one iota when inhabiting the world of tumbleweeds and spurs, it's a delight to see him frequently dabble in Western films and TV shows. However, even Elliot's artistry can't hold off the occasional misfire.

As would be expected from somebody who has been in the acting business for roughly 60 years, Elliot's appeared in some clunkers. This includes entries into the Western film space that can't even remotely measure up to the greatest of the genre. The five worst Sam Elliot Western movies of all time (ranked here from "least worst" to worst based on their average Letterboxd scores) are a peculiar bunch of motion pictures that all went astray in different ways. There's never one way to deliver an underwhelming feature, even when said titles all share a great man in a mustache.

What unites most of these productions, though, is that they each ended up wasting the enormous potential of combining Sam Elliot with Western storytelling. Other features proved that's a winning combo. Alas, the five worst Sam Elliot Western movies demonstrated that it's not a bulletproof tactic.

Just a few years after his brief (and sometimes uncredited) roles in late '60s titles like "The Way West" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Sam Elliot was second-billed in a theatrical release with the 1972 feature "Molly and Lawless John." In a year that gave the world some of the best '70s movies of all time, Elliot played Johnny Lawler against Vera Miles as Molly Parker. The duo played a forbidden couple, with Parker being a sheriff's wife who takes off for the Mexico border with Elliot's Lawler, who was just saved from the hangman's noose. Like so many of the best Western movies of all time, love heavily informs the plot of "Molly and Lawless John."

In the 50+ years since its release, "Molly and Lawless John" has fallen into obscurity. As of this writing, only 159 people have logged the title on Letterboxd and it hasn't had enough activity to generate an average star rating. The most common of those ratings by far, though, are three and 2.5 star ratings, suggesting a mixed reception for this project. Most of the reviews lament how forgettable the production was, save for Vera Miles delivering universally praised work as one of the two leads. The lack of tension or a distinctive personality in "Molly and Lawless John" also made it a slog for many Letterboxd users to navigate. It's clear why this is one of Elliot's most forgotten films.

After 1979's "The Sacketts" proved popular enough to become considered one of Sam Elliot's five best Westerns, that films three leads (Elliot, Tom Selleck, and Jeff Osterhage) reunited for a new TV Western movie. This time around, Selleck was firmly riding a wave of massive popularity after anchoring the first two seasons of "Magnum P.I." This meant Selleck played the film's lead character, Mac Traven, who fought on the opposing side of the Civil War as his Confederate brother Dal (Elliot). When their relatives are kidnapped, the estranged brothers must pull a Liam Neeson and get back their "taken" loved ones. 

Selleck and Elliot sharing their palpable chemistry once again was enough to score "The Shadow Riders" some notable lauds on Letterboxd, as seen by its 3.2 average rating. Still, despite often acclaimed filmmaker Andrew V. McLaglen sitting behind the camera, most Letterboxd users found "Shadow Riders" more disposable than anything else. The biggest complaint amongst negative reviews for this feature was how awkwardly written "Shadow Riders" was. Its lethargic pacing undercut what was supposed to be a propulsive rescue mission.

The obvious budgetary constraints of making this motion picture as a CBS movie, not to mention cringe-inducing racial stereotypes, also proved distracting for many on the site. Some decent lead performances (as one would expect from Elliot) and memorable mustaches weren't enough to give "The Shadow Riders" a rip-roaring Letterboxd reputation.

Let it never be said British filmmaker Stephen Frears doesn't have range. In the '80s, he made a name for himself with richly detailed queer movies like "My Beautiful Laundrette" and "Prick Up Your Ears" before hitting the big time with his steamy 1988 feature "Dangerous Liaisons." In the 21st century, he's been content to crank out British biopics like "The Queen," "Philomena," and "Florence Foster Jenkins," all tame enough that you can take your Grandma to them. In between those two filmmaking eras, Frears helmed a 1998 Western firmly set in Hi-Lo, Mexico, helpfully titled "The Hi-Lo Country."

The feature followed the exploits of long-time best buddies Big Boy Matson (Woody Harrelson) and Pete Calder (Billy Crudup) as they face endless struggles reacclimatizing back to general society after World War II. Even when they begin winning over the love of folks like Mona (Patricia Arquette) and Josepha (Penélope Cruz), turmoil keeps following the duo. In a supporting role was Sam Elliot as the wise Jim Ed Love. "The Hi-Lo Country" clearly didn't lack talent behind or in front of the camera. Unfortunately, none of those names could ensure it scored a higher average Letterboxd rating than 3.1.

Most Letterboxd users found "Country" to be too inert to care much about, with neither the plot nor the visuals taking audiences in unexpected directions. Veteran artists like Elliot and Frears couldn't breathe much life into this woe-begotten enterprise. 

The best Robert Mitchum Westerns make it a no-brainer why he was such a staple of the genre. Westerns thrive on wear-and-tear aesthetics as well as tangible grit. Mitchum could easily drum this up like most other actors could breathe. Unfortunately, not even the star of a masterpiece like "The Night of the Hunter" could avoid a creative misfire like 1967's "The Way West." This film followed Senator William J. Tadlock (Kirk Douglas), who recruits Dick Summers (Mitchum) to help make sure he and his possee travel safely from Missouri to Oregon. The trail is long and tumultuous, though, even with a veteran like Summers on the team. Tadlock's loosening grip on reality isn't helping things either.

On Letterboxd, "The Way West" only has a 3.1 average rating, with the majority of the sites users lamenting how lifeless the production felt compared to both its potential and other Westerns covering similar territory. It didn't help that everyone involved in this project had not only anchored other Western films, but significantly better forays in the genre. Douglas, Mitchum, director Andrew V. McLaglen, they were all props in a barely used space this time out. "The Way West" is ultimately a reminder of how much better these artists fared with other Old West yarns.

The only really notable element "The Way West" has these days is a particular extra — uncredited, to boot. Keep your eyes peeled in one scene and you'll catch Sam Elliot in his first on-screen acting role. It doesn't save the flick.

Sam Raimi's "The Quick and the Dead" is one of the best Gene Hackman Westerns out there, but it isn't the only Old West feature to have that title. Eight years before, Sam Elliot headlined an HBO movie also titled "The Quick and the Dead" as Con Vallian. Like so many Western movie leads, Vallian isn't rich with backstory or chatter. However, in 1876 Wyoming, he does begin helping and salvaging the lives of Duncan (Tom Conti) and Susanna McKaskel (Kate Capshaw). The treacherous existence the duo have carved out gets a lot safer once Vallian is around.

Given the quality standards of the 25 best HBO original movies and Elliot being an old hand at the TV movie by 1987, one would imagine "The Quick and the Dead" would have to be an unsung classic. Instead, the few Letterboxd users who have even seen it gave it a disappointing average rating of 3.0.

Those Letterboxd reviewers expressed confusion rather than enchantment, specifically over "The Quick and the Dead" focusing so much on Vallian trying to coerce Susanna to cheat on her husband. The film treating this as quirky rather than creepy proved to be the only memorable (albeit baffling) element of a title most Letterboxd users found otherwise forgettable. Western fans would be better off checking the other flick called "The Quick and the Dead," even if that one is devoid of Sam Elliot's mustache.