Movies like Raiders of Old California (1957)
The best movies like Raiders of Old California (1957) are Heaven's Gate (1980), News of the World (2020) and Forty Guns (1957). If Raiders of Old California hooked you with its drama and western, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)7.7/10 from 5,083 votes
- NewestCry Macho (2021)Released 2021
Heaven's Gate (1980)
Harvard graduate James Averill serves as the sheriff of prosperous Jackson County, Wyoming, standing at the center of a conflict between impoverished immigrants and affluent cattle farmers. Politically connected ranchers enlist mercenary Nathan Champion—who is also vying for the affections of local madam Ella Watson—to combat the immigrant uprising. As tensions escalate, both Averill and Champion start to question their decisions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNews of the World (2020)
A Texan traveling across the wild West bringing the news of the world to local townspeople, agrees to help rescue a young girl who was kidnapped.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForty Guns (1957)
An authoritarian rancher rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns. When a new Marshal arrives to set things straight, the cattle queen finds herself falling for the avowedly non-violent lawman. Both have itchy-fingered brothers, a female gunman enters the picture, and things go desperately wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Proud Rebel (1958)
Searching for a doctor who can help him get his son to speak again--the boy hadn't uttered a word since he saw his mother die in the fire that burned down the family home--a Confederate veteran finds himself facing a 30-day jail sentence when he's unfairly accused of starting a brawl in a small town. A local woman pays his fine, providing that he works it off on her ranch. He soon finds himself involved in the woman's struggle to keep her ranch from a local landowner who wants it--and whose sons were responsible for the man being framed for the fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way West (1967)
In the mid-19th century, Senator William J. Tadlock leads a group of settlers overland in a quest to start a new settlement in the Western US. Tadlock is a highly principled and demanding taskmaster who is as hard on himself as he is on those who have joined his wagon train. He clashes with one of the new settlers, Lije Evans, who doesn't quite appreciate Tadlock's ways. Along the way, the families must face death and heartbreak and a sampling of frontier justice when one of them accidentally kills a young Indian boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRancho Notorious (1952)
A man in search of revenge infiltrates a ranch, hidden in an inhospitable region, where its owner, Altar Keane, gives shelter to outlaws fleeing from the law in exchange for a price.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrontera (2014)
After crossing the border illegally for work, Miguel, a hard-working father and devoted husband, finds himself wrongfully accused of murdering a former sheriff’s wife. After learning of his imprisonment, Miguel’s pregnant wife tries to come to his aid and lands in the hands of corrupt coyotes who hold her for ransom. Dissatisfied with the police department’s investigation, the former sheriff tries to uncover the truth about his wife’s death and discovers disturbing evidence that will destroy one family’s future, or tear another’s apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn of the Bad Men (1948)
US Marshall Vance is assigned to rid the Oklahoma Territory of outlaws.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRob Roy (1995)
In the highlands of Scotland in the 1700s, Rob Roy tries to lead his small town to a better future, by borrowing money from the local nobility to buy cattle to herd to market. When the money is stolen, Rob is forced into a Robin Hood lifestyle to defend his family and honour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGeronimo: An American Legend (1993)
The Apache Indians have reluctantly agreed to settle on a US Government approved reservation. Not all the Apaches are able to adapt to the life of corn farmers. One in particular, Geronimo, is restless. Pushed over the edge by broken promises and necessary actions by the government, Geronimo and thirty or so other warriors form an attack team which humiliates the government by evading capture, while reclaiming what is rightfully theirs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like this3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Dan Evans, a small time farmer, is hired to escort Ben Wade, a dangerous outlaw, to Yuma. As Evans and Wade wait for the 3:10 train to Yuma, Wade's gang is racing to free him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHombre (1967)
John Russell, disdained by his "respectable" fellow stagecoach passengers because he was raised by Indians, becomes their only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWar Horse (2011)
On the brink of the First World War, Albert's beloved horse Joey is sold to the Cavalry by his father. Against the backdrop of the Great War, Joey begins an odyssey full of danger, joy, and sorrow, and he transforms everyone he meets along the way. Meanwhile, Albert, unable to forget his equine friend, searches the battlefields of France to find Joey and bring him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRide in the Whirlwind (1966)
Three cowboys, mistaken for members of an outlaw gang, are relentlessly pursued by a posse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
Against impossible odds, Spirit, a young mustang, sets out across the majestic wilderness to regain his freedom and save his homeland. Along the way, he forms a friendship with a young Lakota brave, outwits a squadron of soldiers, and ultimately, finds love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last of the Mohicans (1920)
As Alice and Cora Munro attempt to find their father, a British officer in the French and Indian War, they are set upon by French soldiers and their cohorts, Huron tribesmen led by the evil Magua. Fighting to rescue the women are Chingachgook and his son Uncas, the last of the Mohican tribe, and their white ally, the frontiersman Natty Bumppo, known as Hawkeye.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCry Macho (2021)
A one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder takes a job from an ex-boss to bring the man's young son home from Mexico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
SnoozefestMovies like thisComes a Horseman (1978)
Ella Connors is a single woman who gets pressured to sell her failing cattle farm to her corrupt ex-suitor, Jacob Ewing. She asks for help from her neighbor, Frank Athearn. As Ella and Frank fight back through stampedes, jealousy, betrayal, and sabotage... they eventually find love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne-Eyed Jacks (1961)
Running from the law after a bank robbery in Mexico, Dad Longworth finds an opportunity to take the stolen gold and leave his partner Rio to be captured. Years later, Rio escapes from the prison where he has been since, and hunts down Dad for revenge. Dad is now a respectable sheriff in California, and has been living in fear of Rio's return.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cowboys (1972)
When his cattlemen abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his cowboys in order to get his herd to market in time to avoid financial disaster. The boys learn to do a man's job under Andersen's tutelage, however, neither he nor the boys know that a gang of cattle thieves is stalking them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRavenous (1999)
After arriving at his new, remote Army outpost, Capt. John Boyd and his regiment aid a wounded frontiersman who recounts a horrifying tale of a wagon train murdered by its supposed guide – a vicious U.S. Army colonel gone rogue. Fearing the worst, the regiment heads out into the wilderness to verify the gruesome claims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man from Colorado (1948)
Two friends return home after their discharge from the army after the Civil War. However, one of them has had deep-rooted psychological damage due to his experiences during the war, and as his behavior becomes more erratic--and violent--his friend desperately tries to find a way to help him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Black Hussar (1932)
In 1812, during the French period, large parts of Germany are occupied by the troops of Napoleon. Several paramilitary Freikorps units battle the French forces, among them the Black Brunswickers led by the 'Black Duke' Frederick William of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. After the War of the Fifth Coalition, the Black Hussars are pursued by Napoleon throughout the country, but frequently take refuge with the noble-minded German people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Guns Along The Trail (1935)
A government agent goes undercover in a traveling medicine show to infiltrate a gang of counterfeiters. A John Wayne classic in Vibrant Color! *Colorized and re-titled version of "Paradise Canyon" by Legend Films in 2007.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western & drama
Take a Hard Ride (1975)
After his cattle rancher boss dies, right-hand man Pike is given the job of returning $86,000 to some families who live across the border in Sonora, Mexico. Honest Pike is joined on the trip through the wilderness by a dishonest gambler named Tyree.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Train Robbers (1973)
A gunhand named Lane is hired by a widow, Mrs. Lowe, to find gold stolen by her deceased husband so that she may return it and clear the family name.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Tenderfoot Goes West (1936)
Wellington Pike, author of 'Wild and Bloody Tales of the West', has never been away from the sedate and civilized East, so he takes a vacation to see the land he knows nothing about. Rancher Ann Keith and her cowhands, who have read and laughed at Pike's "wild" west, decide to give him a shock impression that is even wilder than depicted in his imaginative literary flights. Gang leader "Killer" Madden and his bandits decide to make the staged robberies real ones and Pike is arrested for the crimes Madden has pulled.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
The Killer of Fossil Gulch (1970)
In the shadow of Dinosaur Cliff lies Fossil Gulch and Ghost Ranch. Will someone on the ranch be an innocent victim?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Gunfighters of Casa Grande (1964)
In this western, a gambler wins a big Mexican ranch and decides to herd all of the cattle upon it into Texas. The crook enlists the aide of a few Mexicans, but they don't realize he plans to cheat them. En route, the cattle drivers are ambushed by banditos. They survive, but during the course of the struggle, the cattle hands learn the truth and ensure that justice gets served.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
The Mexican American War (2006)
One of the most controversial conflicts in U.S. history, the Mexican-American War erupted as President James K. Polk sought to extend the borders of the nation to the Pacific, taking by force whatever territory stood in the way. This special, produced by The History Channel and hosted by Oscar de la Hoya, looks at the war from the perspective of both countries, and chronicles the fighting from its inception to its conclusion with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Raiders of Old California?
The closest matches to Raiders of Old California are Heaven's Gate (1980), News of the World (2020) and Forty Guns (1957). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Raiders of Old California?
Start with Heaven's Gate (1980), the closest match to Raiders of Old California.
What is the highest-rated movie like Raiders of Old California?
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), rated 7.7/10 by 5,083 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Raiders of Old California?
Cry Macho (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Raiders of Old California?
Yes: Heaven's Gate (1980), News of the World (2020) and Forty Guns (1957).
How are movies similar to Raiders of Old California chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Raiders of Old California, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.