Movies like The Return of Wild Bill (1940)
The best movies like The Return of Wild Bill (1940) are Ride in the Whirlwind (1966), The Missouri Breaks (1976) and Joe Kidd (1972). If The Return of Wild Bill hooked you with its western, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)7.8/10 from 1,362 votes
- NewestGunslingers (2025)Released 2025
Ride 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Missouri Breaks (1976)
When vigilante land baron David Braxton hangs one of the best friends of cattle rustler Tom Logan, Logan's gang decides to get even by purchasing a small farm next to Braxton's ranch. From there the rustlers begin stealing horses, using the farm as a front for their operation. Determined to stop the thefts at any cost, Braxton retains the services of eccentric sharpshooter Robert E. Lee Clayton, who begins ruthlessly taking down Logan's gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJoe Kidd (1972)
A band of Mexicans find their U. S. land claims denied and all the records destroyed in a courthouse fire. Their leader, Louis Chama, encourages them to use force to regain their land. A wealthy landowner wanting the same decides to hire a gang of killers with Joe Kidd to track Chama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBig Jake (1971)
An aging Texas cattle man who has outlived his time swings into action when outlaws kidnap his grandson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilverado (1985)
Four unwitting heroes cross paths on their journey to the sleepy town of Silverado. Little do they know the town where their family and friends reside has been taken over by a corrupt sheriff and a murderous posse. It's up to the sharp-shooting foursome to save the day, but first they have to break each other out of jail, and learn who their real friends are.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Questions arise when Senator Stoddard attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon in a small Western town. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon saved Stoddard, then a lawyer, when he was roughed up by a crew of outlaws terrorizing the town, led by Liberty Valance. As the territory's safety hung in the balance, Doniphon and Stoddard, two of the only people standing up to him, proved to be very important, but different, foes to Valance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOpen Range (2003)
A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
A posse discovers a trio of men they suspect of murder and cow theft and are split between handing them over to the law or lynching them on the spot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Left Handed Gun (1958)
When a crooked sheriff murders his employer, William "Billy the Kid" Bonney decides to avenge the death by killing the man responsible, throwing the lives of everyone around him into turmoil, and endangering the General Amnesty set up by Governor Wallace to bring peace to the New Mexico Territory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChisum (1970)
Cattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County Land War in the New Mexico Territory of 1878.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRawhide (1951)
At a desolate relay station in the west, a stagecoach attendant and a stranded woman traveller are held captive by a band of escaped convicts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rare Breed (1966)
When her husband dies en route to America, Martha Price and her daughter Hilary are left to carry out his dream: the introduction of Hereford cattle into the American West. They enlist Sam "Bulldog" Burnett in their efforts to transport their lone bull, a Hereford named Vindicator, to a breeder in Texas, but the trail is fraught with danger and even Burnett doubts the survival potential of this "rare breed" of cattle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrom Noon Till Three (1976)
Bank robber Graham Dorsey spends a few hours with beautiful widow Amanda Starbuck, in which time his gang takes part in a disastrous holdup. Learning of his comrades' demise, Dorsey goes on the lam. Believing her short-term lover was killed by the law, Amanda decides to make the most of having had a liaison with the supposedly deceased desperado by writing a book about him. Much to his confusion, the still-living Dorsey watches as his name becomes legendary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
As a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his new-found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreakheart Pass (1975)
At the height of the frontier era, a train races through the Rocky Mountains on a classified mission to a remote army post. But one by one the passengers are being murdered, and their only hope is the mysterious John Deakin, who's being transported to face trial for murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSurrounded (2023)
After her stagecoach is ambushed, a woman is tasked with holding a dangerous outlaw captive and must survive the day when the bandit’s gang tries to free him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Westerner (1940)
Drifter Cole Harden is accused of stealing a horse and faces hanging by self-appointed Judge Roy Bean, but Harden manages to talk his way out of it by claiming to be a friend of stage star Lillie Langtry, with whom the judge is obsessed, even though he has never met her. Tensions rise when Harden comes to the defense of a group of struggling homesteaders who Judge Bean is trying to drive away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisBroken Lance (1954)
Tensions erupt within an Arizona cattle baron's household when his three sons vie for control of the ranch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHang 'em High (1968)
Marshall Jed Cooper survives a hanging, vowing revenge on the lynch mob that left him dangling. To carry out his oath for vengeance, he returns to his former job as a lawman. Before long, he's caught up with the nine men on his hit list and starts dispensing his own brand of Wild West justice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder the Tonto Rim (1928)
Gold miner Edd Denmeade loves Lucy Watson, the sister of the official mining claim recorder. Denmeade suspects Watson of killing his father, who after a poker game was shot by a gambler "who shuffles with one hand." The real murderer, Sam Spralls, has convinced Watson that he killed Denmeade and threatens to expose him unless Watson assigns him all the gold claims. Spralls assembles a band of killers to jump the claims when Watson complies. Eventually, Denmeade learns the identity of the killer when he sees Spralls shuffle a deck of cards. He forms a vigilante party and rids the community of Spralls and his gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Code of the Saddle (1947)
Smokin' guns, swingin' fists, and a lovable side-kick can be found in this western.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Angel and the Badman (1947)
A wounded outlaw finds unexpected mercy in the care of a rancher's daughter. The hope of love pulls him toward a different life until the law, and his violent past, close in on his new home. Now he must choose the kind of man he'll become.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last of the Mohicans (1936)
The story is set in the British province of New York during the French and Indian War, and concerns—in part—a Huron massacre (with passive French acquiescence) of between 500 to 1,500 Anglo-American troops, who had honorably surrendered at Fort William Henry, plus some women and servants; the kidnapping of two sisters, daughters of the British commander; and their rescue by the last Mohicans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall The Mesquiteers (1938)
The Three Mesquiteers are forced to track down a train robbery ring after some of the gang hijack their truck for a getaway and the police conclude they are part of the gang, an identification which is just fine with the gang's nameless chief.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
The Big Stampede (1932)
Deputy Sheriff John Steele recruits bandit Sonora Joe to help him find out who's been bumping off all the local lawmen and rustling the cattle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Dude Ranch (1931)
Chester Carr, owner of a dude ranch in the Rockies, caters to guests seeking the thrill of the Wild West. Among his guests are the wealthy Spruce Meadows and his daughter Susan. But the West isn't wild anymore and most of Carr's guests are bored and about to leave. He is in despair when a caravan carrying a broke-down-and-out troupe of actors---Jennifer, Judd, Mrs. Merridew and her daughter, Alice---crashes down the hill and wrecks the hotel sign.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Robbers' Roost (1932)
Running from the law, Jim Hall joins Hays’ gang. Hays is foreman on the Herrick ranch and plans to rustle Herrick’s cattle. Attracted to Herrick’s sister Helen, Jim decides to tell the Sheriff about the raid. But when his plan is overheard he is made a prisoner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Phantom Rancher (1940)
Cowboy puts on a black mask and a black outfit to fight a gang of land-grabbing crooks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Return of Wild Bill?
The closest matches to The Return of Wild Bill are Ride in the Whirlwind (1966), The Missouri Breaks (1976) and Joe Kidd (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Return of Wild Bill?
Start with Ride in the Whirlwind (1966), the closest match to The Return of Wild Bill.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Return of Wild Bill?
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), rated 7.8/10 by 1,362 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Return of Wild Bill?
Gunslingers (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Return of Wild Bill?
Yes: Ride in the Whirlwind (1966), The Missouri Breaks (1976) and Joe Kidd (1972).
How are movies similar to The Return of Wild Bill chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Return of Wild Bill, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.