As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing and delighting in An American in Paris.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. I hope to hear from you.

To complete the two-part series on Westerns, this month I will talk about villains and sidekicks. These actors seldom win any prizes but put in just as good performances as the heroes. They provide comic relief. Sometimes they act as moral compasses to the heroes. Without sidekicks and villains, there are no Westerns. So, let’s hear it for those nasty varmints and those trusty sidekicks.

Those Nasty Varmints

Jack Elam. Who can forget that face? Leering and ogling, scruffy, clothes full of trail dirt, you knew the first moment you saw him that he was up to no good. He lost the fight in several classic Westerns, such as:
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). Only Henry Fonda was a worse bad guy.
Rio Lobo (1970). With John Wayne, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan, and Ricky Nelson, how could he win against this crew?
The Far Country (1955). James Stewart must become devious to regain his herd of cattle. Elam and his cronies don’t make it easy.
The Way West (1967) Poor Elam has to face Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Richard Widmark in this wagon train story.
Check him out in The Comancheros, The Battle at Apache Pass, The High Lonesome, and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.


Bruce Dern. He will forever live in ignominy for shooting John Wayne in The Cowboys, one of a very few films in which Wayne died. He was almost the dirtiest, scruffiest, nastiest villain you could ever meet.
The Cowboys (1972). Wayne is forced to use young boys to drive his cattle. Dern tries to stop him, but in killing Wayne he has to take on these hardened youths. Shame on you, Bruce.
Posse (1975). Marshall Kirk Douglas captures bandit Dern, but Dern doesn’t stay caught.
Will Penny (1968). Aging cowboy Charleton Heston (in one of his best roles) must fight nasty Dern and his cohorts. At the end of a cattle drive he must find work. And there is a woman involved, of course.

Eli Wallach. He didn’t make a lot of Westerns, but he was certainly nasty in the ones he did make. For some reason, he was cast as a Mexican bandit. He was ruthless and provocative in both films.
Magnificent Seven (1960). This is one of my all-time favorites. Fabulous cast. Stirring music. Good villain. Wallach is head of a gang of bandits who prey on a small Mexican village. That is, until Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen round up a small group of fierce fighters to protect it.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). This is a classic with the best shootout ever filmed. Clint Eastwood plays the good; Lee van Cleef plays the bad; and Eli Wallach plays the ugly (although he is rather bad also).

Jack Palance. His most memorable role as a Western villain was in Shane. He had a villainous face, which made it easy for him to play a varmint. He was not only a varmint, he was a really scary one.
Chato’s Land (1971). Charles Bronson plays an Indian; Jack Palance leads a posse determined to get him. Don’t make a mistake, Palance is the villain here.
Shane (1953). Alan Ladd is a retired gunfighter who’s given a home by Jean Arthur. Jack Palance is the evil gunfighter sent to kill him. Who can forget the sad but appropriate ending?

Lee van Cleef. This swarthy, hawk-faced actor was born to make Westerns and to be the bad guy. He had an intimidating presence that made you glad it was only a movie. He was in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly with Clint Eastwood. Another spaghetti Western was Death Rides a Horse (1968).
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). In this classic Western, van Cleef rides with Lee Marvin, who as Liberty Valance poses a threat to peaceable James Stewart. The man who shot Liberty Valance may not be who you think.

Those Trusty Sidekicks

Gabby Hayes. The grandfather of sidekicks, George “Gabby” Hayes must have made more than a hundred movies. He sidekicked for Wild Bill Elliott, Roy Rogers and John Wayne, among others. With his loveable personality, he often stole the show.
Tall in the Saddle (1944). John Wayne and Gabby take on tough Ella Raines to solve a murder.
Return of the Bad Men (1948). Gabby as a bank president and Randolph Scott as a former Texas ranger have to clean up the bad guys in Oklahoma Territory. Robert Ryan plays the Sundance Kid (very differently from Robert Redford). Look for Jason Robards in a minor role.
Roll on Texas Moon (1946). Gabby teams with buddy Roy Rogers to help sort out a battle between cattlemen and sheepmen.

Walter Brennan. He plays his sidekicks as crusty old guys. He is still loveable.
Rio Bravo (1959). Brennan plays “Stumpy,” a crippled aide to John Wayne. Together with Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson the crew must fight off the bad guys who are trying to free one of them from the jailhouse.
The Westerner (1940). Brennan won an Oscar for his portrayal of Judge Roy Bean. Gary Cooper plays a mysterious drifter who rides into trouble in Texas.

Andy Devine. The big guy with the high-pitched voice. He could whine with the best of them, but he sure provided the comic relief.
Stagecoach (1939). This classic also starred John Wayne (Ringo Kid), Claire Trevor, and John Carradine. A bunch of mismatched travelers must put aside their differences and fight the Apaches.
When the Daltons Rode (1940). The Daltons enlist the help of Randolph Scott to fight off developers. Devine plays the town comic. The girls like him and he has a penchant for pies.
Grand Canyon Trail (1948). Andy and Roy Rogers must find a way to salvage a failing silver mine or Roy will go broke.
The Gallant Legion (1948). Andy teams with Wild Bill Elliott (a Texas Ranger) to help Texas become a state.

Other sidekicks of note include Arthur Hunnicut (El Dorado, 1966), Pat Buttram (Apache Country, 1952) and Ben Johnson (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, 1949).