Movies like I Shot Jesse James (1949)
The best movies like I Shot Jesse James (1949) are In Old Arizona (1928), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and Yellow Sky (1948). If I Shot Jesse James hooked you with its western and drama, 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 1,361 votes
- NewestDon't Come Knocking (2005)Released 2005
In Old Arizona (1928)
Army Sergeant Mickey Dunn sets out in pursuit of the Cisco Kid, a notorious if kind-hearted and charismatic bandit of the Old West. The Kid spends much of his loot on Tonia, the woman he loves, not realizing that she is being unfaithful to him in his absence. Soon, with her oblivious paramour off plying his trade, Tonia falls in with Dunn, drawn by the allure of a substantial reward for the Kid's capture -- dead or alive. Together, they concoct a plan to ambush and do away with the Cisco Kid once and for all.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
The 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: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYellow Sky (1948)
In 1867, a gang robs a bank and flees into the desert. Out of water, the outlaws encounter a ghost town called Yellow Sky and its only residents, a hostile young woman and her grandfather.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Return of Frank James (1940)
Farmer Frank and his ward hunt brother Jesse's killers, the back-shooting Fords.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret of Convict Lake (1951)
After a group of convicts escapes from prison, they take refuge in the wilderness. While most of the crew are ruthless sociopaths, Jim Canfield is an innocent man who was jailed under false pretenses. When Canfield and his fellow fugitives reach an isolated farming settlement where the men are all away, it creates tension with the local women. Things get direr when rumors of hidden money arise, and Canfield discovers that the man who framed him is part of the community.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Belle Starr (1941)
After her family's mansion is burned down by Yankee soldiers for hiding the rebel leader Captain Sam Starr Belle Shirley vows to take revenge. Breaking Starr out of prison, she joins his small guerrilla group for a series of raids on banks and railroads, carpetbaggers and enemy troops. Belle's bravado during the attacks earns her a reputation among the locals as well as the love of Starr himself. The pair get married, but their relationship starts to break down when Sam Starr lets a couple of psychotic rebels into the gang, leaving Belle to wonder if he really cares about the Southern cause.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
The Gunfighter (1950)
The fastest gun in the West tries to escape his reputation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Naked Spur (1953)
A bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-trustworthy strangers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHondo (1953)
Army despatch rider Hondo Lane discovers a woman and her son living in the midst of warring Apaches, and he becomes their protector.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohnny Guitar (1954)
On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar, a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man's death, Emma Small, Vienna's rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna's saloon – even without proof of her wrongdoing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Darling Clementine (1946)
Three brothers stop off for a night in the town of Tombstone. The next morning they find one of their brothers dead and their cattle stolen. They decide to take revenge on the culprits.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow the West Was Won (1962)
The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCarson City (1952)
Mine owner William Sharon keeps having his gold shipments held up by a gang of bandits. Sharon hires banker Charles Crocker, who happens to have connections in the Central Pacific Railroad, to build a spur line from Virginia City to Carson City, so that the gold can be shipped by railroad. Silent Jeff Kincaid is the railroad engineer. However there is opposition to the railroad, chiefly from another mine owner, Big Jack Davis.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Red River (1948)
Following the Civil War, headstrong rancher Thomas Dunson decides to lead a perilous cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. During the exhausting journey, his persistence becomes tyrannical in the eyes of Matthew Garth, his adopted son and protégé.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Far Country (1954)
During the Klondike Gold Rush, a misanthropic cattle driver and his talkative elderly partner run afoul of the law in Alaska and are forced to work for a saloon owner to take her supplies into a newly booming but lawless Canadian town.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStagecoach (1939)
A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo, and learn something about each other in the process.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHigh Noon (1952)
Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRio Grande (1950)
Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke is posted on the Texas frontier to defend settlers against depredations of marauding Apaches. Col. Yorke is under considerable stress by a serious shortage of troops of his command. Tension is added when Yorke's son (whom he hasn't seen in fifteen years), Trooper Jeff Yorke, is one of 18 recruits sent to the regiment.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Oklahoma Kid (1939)
McCord's gang robs the stage carrying money to pay Indians for their land, and the notorious outlaw "The Oklahoma Kid" Jim Kincaid takes the money from McCord. McCord stakes a "sooner" claim on land which is to be used for a new town; in exchange for giving it up, he gets control of gambling and saloons. When Kincaid's father runs for mayor, McCord incites a mob to lynch the old man whom McCord has already framed for murder.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western
The Baron of Arizona (1950)
The U.S. government recognizes land grants made when the West was under Spanish rule. This inspires James Reavis to forge a chain of historical evidence that makes a foundling girl the Baroness of Arizona. Reavis marries the girl and presses his claim to the entire Arizona territory.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Day at Black Rock (1955)
One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRio Bravo (1959)
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisSergeant Rutledge (1960)
Respected black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDon't Come Knocking (2005)
Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and young women. If he were to die now, nobody would shed a tear over him, that's the sad truth. Until one day Howard learns that he might have a child somewhere out there...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Shot Jesse James?
The closest matches to I Shot Jesse James are In Old Arizona (1928), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and Yellow Sky (1948). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Shot Jesse James?
People who watched I Shot Jesse James most often go on to In Old Arizona (1928), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and Yellow Sky (1948).
What is the highest-rated movie like I Shot Jesse James?
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), rated 7.8/10 by 1,361 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I Shot Jesse James?
Don't Come Knocking (2005) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like I Shot Jesse James?
Yes: In Old Arizona (1928), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and Yellow Sky (1948).
How are movies similar to I Shot Jesse James chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Shot Jesse James, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.