Movies like The Dawn Trail (1930)
The best movies like The Dawn Trail (1930) are Ramrod (1947), The Cowboys (1972) and El Dorado (1966). If The Dawn Trail hooked you with its western, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGiant (1956)7.6/10 from 789 votes
- NewestTerror on the Prairie (2022)Released 2022
Ramrod (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 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 thisEl Dorado (1966)
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Harrah. Together with a fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Sheepman (1958)
A stranger in a Western cattle-town behaves with remarkable self-assurance, establishing himself as a man to be reckoned with. The reason appears with his stock: a herd of sheep, which he intends to graze on the range. The horrified inhabitants decide to run him out at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerror on the Prairie (2022)
A pioneering family fights back against a gang of vicious outlaws that is terrorizing them on their newly-built farm on the plains of Montana.
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 thisThe Tall Men (1955)
Two brothers discharged from the Confederate Army join a businessman for a cattle drive from Texas to Montana where they run into raiding Jayhawkers, angry Sioux, rough terrain and bad weather.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Comancheros (1961)
Texas Ranger Jake Cutter arrests gambler Paul Regret, but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner in an undercover effort to defeat a band of renegade arms merchants and thieves known as Comancheros.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuchanan Rides Alone (1958)
Passing through a border town, a man is caught up in a Mexican's murder of a member of the town's most powerful family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisBlood on the Moon (1948)
Down-and-out cowhand Jim Garry is asked by his old friend Tate Riling to help mediate a cattle dispute. When Garry arrives, however, it soon becomes clear that Riling has not been entirely forthright. Garry uncovers Riling's plot to dupe local rancher John Lufton out of a fortune. When Lufton's firecracker of a daughter, Amy, gets involved, Garry must choose between his old loyalties and what he knows to be right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAppaloosa (2008)
Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan Without a Star (1955)
A wandering cowboy gets caught up in a range war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972)
Working as an assistant on a long cattle drive, the young Ben Mockridge contends between his dream of being a cowboy and the harsh truth of the Old West.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Violent Men (1955)
A former Union Army officer plans to sell out to Anchor Ranch and move east with his fiancée, but the low price offered by Anchor's crippled owner and the outfit's bullying tactics make him reconsider. When one of his hands is murdered he decides to stay and fight, utilizing his war experience. Not all is well at Anchor with the owner's wife carrying on with his brother who also has a Mexican woman in town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kentuckian (1955)
A frontiersman and his son fight to build a new home in Texas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlvarez Kelly (1966)
In 1864, during the American Civil War, Mexican cattleman Alvarez Kelly supplies the Union with cattle until unexpected circumstances force him to change his customers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOld Yeller (1957)
Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860s. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonte Walsh (2003)
Monte Walsh and Chet Rollins are long-time cowhands, working whatever ranch work comes their way, but "nothing they can't do from a horse." Their lives are divided between months on the range and the occasional trip into town. Monte has a long-term relationship with prostitute Martine Bernard, while Chet has fallen under the spell of the widow who owns the hardware store. Camaraderie and competition with the other cowboys fill their days, until one of the hands, Shorty Austin, loses his job and gets involved in rustling and killing. Then Monte and Chet find that their lives on the range are inexorably redirected.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiant (1956)
Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
After avenging his family's brutal murder, Wales is pursued by a pack of soldiers. He prefers to travel alone, but ragtag outcasts are drawn to him - and Wales can't bring himself to leave them unprotected.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Eagle (1948)
Black Eagle is based on The Passing of Black Eagle, a short story by O. Henry. William Bishop stars as Jason Bond, who stays out of trouble by the simple expedient of avoiding other people. Unfortunately, the plot dictates that Bond must come into contact with several characters, all of whom end up fleecing our hero in one way or another. Even so, Jason manages to enjoy a brief romance with pretty Ginny Long (Virginia Patton) before returning to his life of carefree vagabondage. A very minor film, The Black Eagle makes the most of its excellent supporting cast, including Gordon Jones, Trevor Bardette, Will Wright and stuntman extraordinaire Richard Talmadge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
The Wild Bunch (1969)
An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed River (1988)
Remake of the 1948 John Wayne feature about a man who rebels against his tyrannical guardian during a crucial cattle drive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Whitetail (2021)
Donnie Mann, his father and uncle embark on a weekend hunting trip in West Texas, where they find a mysterious man shot in the stomach and clutching a backpack full of money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Rustlers of Devil's Canyon (1947)
Red Ryder returns to Sioux City, Wyoming, at the close of the Spanish-American War, settling down at the ranch of his aunt, The Duchess, with his pals Little Beaver and "Blizzard". But Red soon discovers that the country is over-run by rustlers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Extreme Prejudice (1987)
Lean, mean Texas Ranger Jack Benteen locks horns with a former friend, Cash Bailey, now a ruthless drug kingpin. Though they're on opposite sides of the law, they share a love interest in the sensual Sarita. When a crew of rogue soldiers descends upon the border town for an off-the-books mission, all roads lead to a bloody, to-the-death showdown, as loyalties shift and the lines between good and evil are blurred.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHud (1963)
Hud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth, out for kicks with no regard for the consequences. There is bitter conflict between the callous Hud and his stern and highly principled father, Homer. Hud's nephew Lon admires Hud's cheating ways, though he soon becomes too aware of Hud's reckless amorality to bear him anymore. In the world of the takers and the taken, Hud is a winner. He's a cheat, but, he explains, "I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTexas Rangers (2001)
Ten years after the Civil War has ended, the Governor of Texas asks Leander McNelly to form a company of Rangers to help uphold the law along the Mexican border. With a few veterans of the war, most of the recruits are young men who have little or no experience with guns or policing crime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Dawn Trail?
The closest matches to The Dawn Trail are Ramrod (1947), The Cowboys (1972) and El Dorado (1966). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Dawn Trail?
Start with Ramrod (1947), the closest match to The Dawn Trail.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Dawn Trail?
Giant (1956), rated 7.6/10 by 789 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Dawn Trail?
Terror on the Prairie (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Dawn Trail?
Yes: Ramrod (1947), The Cowboys (1972) and El Dorado (1966).
How are movies similar to The Dawn Trail chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Dawn Trail, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.