Movies like The Painted Trail (1938)
The best movies like The Painted Trail (1938) are The Rainmaker (1956), 3 Bad Men (1926) and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949). If The Painted Trail hooked you with its romance and western, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Warrior's Way (2010)6.6/10 from 704 votes
- NewestOscar Shaw (2026)Released 2026
The Rainmaker (1956)
Lizzie Curry is on the verge of becoming a hopeless old maid. Her wit and intelligence and skills as a homemaker can't make up for the fact that she's just plain plain! Even the town sheriff, File, for whom she harbors a secrect yen, won't take a chance --- until the town suffers a drought and into the lives of Lizzie and her brothers and father comes one Bill Starbuck ... profession: Rainmaker!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like this3 Bad Men (1926)
Three outlaws come to the aid of a young girl after her father is killed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fighting Kentuckian (1949)
John Breen (John Wayne), a Kentucky militiaman falls in love with French exile Fleurette De Marchand (Vera Ralston). He discovers a plot to steal the land that Fleurette's exiles plan to settle on and aims to foil it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrossfire Trail (2001)
Rafe Covington is as good as his word, and he's determined to keep his promise to a dying man that he'll look after the man's widow and Wyoming ranch. But the widow doubts the integrity of drifter Covington. And an unscrupulous land grabber and his gunmen are sizing up the ranch the way a spider eyes a fly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDay of Reckoning (2025)
Put-upon lawman John Dorsey is on the verge of losing his wife and his job as sheriff, so he posses up with bullish U.S. Marshall Butch Hayden to hold outlaw Emily Rusk hostage. A battle of wills ensues as Emily turns the posse on themselves, but as her marauding husband and his gang approach, Emily and John realize they will need each other to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Man Called Sledge (1970)
James Garner is Luther Sledge, the leader of a pack of rebels who are planning to steal a stash of gold. But after the thieves actually manage to get away with the bounty, they soon discover that the enemy lies within their midst. As they begin to bicker over who should get the biggest cut, the stage is set for a deadly showdown. Claude Akins and John Marley co-star in this Italian Western directed by Vic Morrow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisApache Junction (2021)
Apache Junction is an outpost of lawlessness, a haven for thieves and cold-blooded killers. After big-city reporter Annabelle Angel arrives to write an article on the town, she becomes a target when notorious gunslinger Jericho Ford comes to her aid. Now Annabelle must entrust her future to a man with a deadly past, as Jericho heads toward a tense showdown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Warrior's Way (2010)
A warrior-assassin is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoss Nigger (1975)
Two black bounty hunters ride into a small town out West in pursuit of an outlaw. They discover that the town has no sheriff, and soon take over that position, much against the will of the mostly white townsfolk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbarosa (1982)
Karl Westover, an inexperienced farm boy, runs away after unintentionally killing a neighbor, whose family pursues him for vengeance. He meets Barbarosa, a gunman of near-mythical proportions, who is himself in danger from his father-in-law Don Braulio, a wealthy Mexican rancher. Don Braulio wants Barbarosa dead for marrying his daughter against the father's will. Barbarosa reluctantly takes the clumsy Karl on as a partner, as both of them look to survive the forces lining up against them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
SnoozefestMovies like thisNo Name on the Bullet (1959)
When hired killer John Gant rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGunfight at Rio Bravo (2023)
When mysterious Russian gunslinger Ivan Turchin rides into a small Texas town, he runs afoul of a bloodthirsty outlaw gang known as The Hellhounds. Outmanned and outgunned, the town must put their trust in Turchin to protect them from annihilation at the hands of the bandits. The gunslinger finds allies in the form of Marshal Austin Carter and Sheriff Vernon Kelly, and together the three must make a desperate stand against impossible and violent odds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThieves Highway (2025)
After discovering a plot to haul stolen cattle in the middle of nowhere, a desperate and isolated lawman becomes the only thing standing between a group of dangerous rustlers and a clear run to the border.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Revengers (1972)
The life of peaceful rancher John Benedict is torn apart when his family is massacred by a gang of marauding outlaws and his farm is destroyed. He assembles a team of mean, lawless convicts to act as his posse as he pursues the gang responsible for the deaths of his loved ones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
SnoozefestMovies like thisRamrod (1947)
A cattle-vs.-sheepman feud loses Connie Dickason her fiance, but gains her his ranch, which she determines to run alone in opposition to Frank Ivey, "boss" of the valley, whom her father Ben wanted her to marry. She hires recovering alcoholic Dave Nash as foreman and a crew of Ivey's enemies. Ivey fights back with violence and destruction, but Dave is determined to counter him legally... a feeling not shared by his associates. Connie's boast that, as a woman, she doesn't need guns proves justified, but plenty of gunplay results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGunslingers (2025)
When the most wanted man in America surfaces in a small Kentucky town, his violent history -- and a blood-thirsty mob seeking vengeance and a king’s ransom -- soon follow. As brothers face off against one another and bullets tear the town to shreds, this lightning-fast gunslinger makes his enemies pay the ultimate price for their greed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPurgatory (1999)
An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Unholy Trinity (2025)
Set against the turbulent backdrop of 1870s Montana, in the moments before the execution of Isaac Broadway, he gives his estranged son, Henry, an impossible task: murder the man who framed him for a crime he didn’t commit. Intent on fulfilling his promise, Henry travels to the remote town of Trinity, where an unexpected turn of events traps him in town and leaves him caught between Gabriel Dove, the town’s upstanding new sheriff, and a mysterious figure named St. Christopher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOscar Shaw (2026)
After retiring from the police force, a relentless detective haunted by the tragic loss of his closest friend sets out on a perilous quest for vengeance, seeking redemption and fighting to restore justice to the streets he once swore to protect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoc West (2009)
After bandits steal his poker winnings this American legend makes his way to the next town in search of them. Seeking out his revenge during a poker game gone bad Doc West finds himself in the local town jail. When his past is exposed and a battle amongst the town breaks out in gunfire he will have to choose sides, between the outlaws or the law-abiding citizens.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Painted Trail?
The closest matches to The Painted Trail are The Rainmaker (1956), 3 Bad Men (1926) and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Painted Trail?
Start with The Rainmaker (1956), the closest match to The Painted Trail.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Painted Trail?
The Warrior's Way (2010), rated 6.6/10 by 704 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Painted Trail?
Oscar Shaw (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Painted Trail?
Yes: The Rainmaker (1956), 3 Bad Men (1926) and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949).
How are movies similar to The Painted Trail chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Painted Trail, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.