Movies like Headin' East (1937)
The best movies like Headin' East (1937) are Man Without a Star (1955), Terror on the Prairie (2022) and The Westerner (1940). If Headin' East 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 Cowboys (1972)7.1/10 from 278 votes
- NewestDead for a Dollar (2022)Released 2022
Man 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 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 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 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 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 thisReturn of the Gunfighter (1967)
A gunfighter and a cowboy help a Mexican girl avenge the land-related murder of her parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarquero (1970)
Jake Remy leads a gang of outlaw cutthroats making their escape toward Mexico from a successful robbery. Barring their way is a river--crossable only by means of a ferry barge. The barge operator, Travis, refuses to be bullied into providing transport for the gang and escapes across river with most of the local populace--leaving Remy and his gang behind, desperately seeking a way across. A river-wide stand-off begins between the gang and the townspeople, both groups of which have left people on the wrong side of the river.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLawman (1971)
While passing through the town of Bannock, a bunch of drunken cattlemen go overboard with their celebrating and accidentally kill an old man with a stray shot. They return home to Sabbath unaware of his death. Bannock lawman Jered Maddox later arrives there to arrest everyone involved on a charge of murder. Sabbath is run by land baron Vince Bronson, a benevolent despot, who, upon hearing of the death, offers restitution for the incident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGo West (1925)
With little luck at keeping a job in the city a New Yorker tries work in the country and eventually finds his way leading a herd of cattle to the West Coast.
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 Hired Hand (1971)
Harry Collings returns home to his farm after drifting with his friend, Arch. His wife, who had given up on him, reluctantly allows him to stay, and soon believes that all will be well again. But then Harry has to make a difficult decision regarding his loyalties and priorities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead for a Dollar (2022)
In 1897, veteran bounty hunter Max Borlund is deep into Mexico where he encounters professional gambler and outlaw Joe Cribbens — a sworn enemy he sent to prison years before. Max is on a mission to find and return Rachel Kidd, the wife of a wealthy businessman, who as the story is told to Max, has been abducted by Buffalo Soldier Elijah Jones. Max is ultimately faced with a showdown to save honor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 thisJesse James (1939)
After railroad agents forcibly evict the James family from their family farm, Jesse and Frank turn to banditry for revenge.
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 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 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
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Bravados (1958)
Jim Douglass arrives in the small town of Rio Arriba in order to witness the hanging of the four men he believes murdered his wife. When the convicts escape, Jim tracks them into Mexico, determined to see that justice is done. But the farther Jim goes in his quest for vengeance, the more merciless he becomes, losing himself in an unrelenting spiral of hatred and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Work and the Glory II: American Zion (2005)
Divided by their diverse reactions to a nascent ideology, the Steeds struggle to hold together as the strength of their convictions and their filial bonds are tested. The stirring narrative of the faith that led a persecuted people to Missouri and beyond is one of the most poignant untold tales of American history. It is the account of a valiant struggle to exercise the rights promised by a fledgling nation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Legacy (1993)
A portrayal of the early Latter-day Saints' joys, sacrifices, hopes, and trials; their epic journey to the Salt Lake Valley; and their legacy of faith in Jesus Christ.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Last of the Redmen (1947)
A family-oriented adaption of James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans." As the French-Indian War rages across the untamed territory of the Great Northwest, the embattled wilderness gives birth to a legend -- the proud legend of "The Last of the Red Men." August, 1757, General Montcalm and his Iroquois alalies are on the war path -- and General Munro fears for the lives of his children as they travel to join him at Fort William Henry. Although Munro dispatches a letter urging them to take refuge at Fort Edward until the road is safe, an Iroquois scout intercepts the warning. So Major Duncan Hayward is unaware of the danger as he escorts Alice Munro, her sister Cora, and her young brother Davy from the sanctuary of the fort. When their guide Magua, a vengeful Iroquois played by Buster Crabbe, betrays them, only one man can save the travelers from his savage trap.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
The Lost Spirits (2009)
The last surviving Native Americans on Long Island are the focus of The Lost Spirits. The film chronicles their struggles as an indigenous people to maintain their identity amidst relentless modernization and a heartless bureaucracy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Frozen River (2008)
A financially strapped mother joins a Mohawk woman to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFire Island (2022)
A group of queer best friends gather in the Fire Island Pines for their annual week of love and laughter. However, desires, dramas, drink and drugs push their bonds to the limits.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoming In (2017)
After a long day at work, Cal drives home to his suburban neighborhood and realizes that he accidentally went inside the wrong house. Inspired by true events of Levittown, NY; American's first suburb.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Snow Day (2000)
When an entire town in upstate New York is closed down by an unexpected snowfall, a "snow day" begins when a group of elementary school kids, led by Natalie Brandston, try to ensure that the schools stay closed by stopping a mechanical snowplow driver by trying to hijack his plow truck. Meanwhile, Natalie's big brother Hal is using this day to try to win the affections of Claire Bonner, the most popular girl in his high school, while Hal and Natalie's father Tom, a TV meteorologist, faces off against a rival meteorologist for weather coverage of the day's events.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisFirst Reformed (2018)
A pastor of a small church in upstate New York starts to spiral out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYou Can Count on Me (2000)
A single mother's life is thrown into turmoil after her struggling, rarely-seen younger brother returns to town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Headin' East?
The closest matches to Headin' East are Man Without a Star (1955), Terror on the Prairie (2022) and The Westerner (1940). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Headin' East?
Start with Man Without a Star (1955), the closest match to Headin' East.
What is the highest-rated movie like Headin' East?
The Cowboys (1972), rated 7.1/10 by 278 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Headin' East?
Dead for a Dollar (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Headin' East?
Yes: Man Without a Star (1955), Terror on the Prairie (2022) and The Westerner (1940).
How are movies similar to Headin' East chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Headin' East, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.