Movies like The Light of Western Stars (1940)
The best movies like The Light of Western Stars (1940) are Will Penny (1967), Blood on the Moon (1948) and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949). If The Light of Western Stars hooked you with its western and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Big Country (1958)7.6/10 from 436 votes
- NewestRocky Mountain Christmas (2017)Released 2017
Will Penny (1967)
Will Penny, an aging cowpoke, takes a job on a ranch which requires him to ride the line of the property looking for trespassers or, worse, squatters. He finds that his cabin in the high mountains has been appropriated by a woman whose guide to Oregon has deserted her and her son. Too ashamed to kick mother and child out just as the bitter winter of the mountains sets in, he agrees to share the cabin until the spring thaw. But it isn't just the snow that slowly thaws; the lonely man and woman soon forget their mutual hostility and start developing a deep love for one another.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & romance
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 & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 & romance
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 thisAngel 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & romance
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 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 thisDecision at Sundown (1957)
A man and his partner arrive at a small Western town to kill its most powerful man because the former blames him for his wife's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDodge City (1939)
In this epic Western, Wade Hatton, a wagon master turned sheriff, tames a cow town at the end of a railroad line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Magnificent Seven (1960)
An oppressed Mexican peasant village hires seven gunfighters to help defend their homes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTall in the Saddle (1944)
When Rocklin arrives in a western town he finds that the rancher who hired him as a foreman has been murdered. He is out to solve the murder and thwart the scheming to take the ranch from its rightful owner.
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 thisThe War Wagon (1967)
An ex-con seeks revenge on the man who put him in prison by planning a robbery of the latter's stagecoach, which is transporting gold. He enlists the help of a partner, who could be working for his nemesis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCanyon Passage (1946)
In 1850s Oregon, a businessman is torn between his love of two very different women and his loyalty to a compulsive gambler friend who goes over the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNevada Smith (1966)
Nevada Smith is the alias of Max Sand, the son of an Indian mother and American father. When they are killed by three men over gold, Nevada sets out to avenge them. The young man is taken in by a gun merchant who shows him how to shoot, on time and correctly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Wagon (1956)
When a handful of settlers survive an Apache attack on their wagon train they must put their lives into the hands of Comanche Todd, a white man who has lived with the Comanches most of his life and is wanted for the murder of three men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Law and Jake Wade (1958)
Jake Wade breaks Clint Hollister out of jail to pay off an old debt, though it's clear there is some pretty deep hostility between them. They part, and Jake returns to his small-town marshal's job and his fiancée only to find he has been tracked there by Hollister. It seems they were once in a gang together and Jake knows where the proceeds of a bank hold-up are hidden. Hollister and his sidekicks make off into the hills, taking along the trussed-up marshal and his kidnapped bride-to-be to force the lawman to show them where the loot is.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man From Snowy River II (1988)
After a few years trying to earn money to marry Jessica Harrison, Jim Craig returns to Snowy River. But he finds that a lot of things have changed.
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 thisThe Big Country (1958)
Retired wealthy sea captain Jim McKay arrives in the Old West, where he becomes embroiled in a feud between his future father-in-law, Major Terrill, and the rough and lawless Hannasseys over a valuable patch of land.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fargo Kid (1940)
The Fargo Kid is mistaken for a killer and is hired to kill another man...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Six Black Horses (1962)
A beautiful woman with an ulterior motive hires two gunslingers to escort her through Indian territory so she can be reunited with her awaiting husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Badman's Territory (1946)
After some gun play with a posse, the James Gang head for Quinto in a section of land which is not a part of America. Anyone there is beyond the law so the town is populated with outlaws. Next to arrive is Sheriff Rowley, following his brother whom the Gang have brought in injured. Rowley has no authority and gets on well enough with the James boys but is soon involved in other local goings-on, including a move to vote for annexation with Oklahoma which would allow the law well and truly in.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Rocky Mountain Christmas (2017)
Sarah Davis heads to her uncle’s struggling ranch to escape New York and the spotlight from a recent breakup. Returning home for the first time since her aunt passed, complications arise when Graham, an entitled Hollywood star, arrives at the ranch to prepare for his next film. As Sarah and Graham start to bond, Sarah may get more for Christmas than she bargained for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Outlaws (2001)
When a Midwest town learns that a corrupt railroad baron has captured the deeds to their homesteads without their knowledge, a group of young ranchers join forces to take back what is rightfully theirs. They will become the object of the biggest manhunt in the history of the Old West and, as their fame grows, so will the legend of their leader, a young outlaw by the name of Jesse James.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
SnoozefestMovies like thisMcLintock! (1963)
Aging rancher and self-made man, George Washington McLintock is forced to deal with numerous personal and professional problems. Seemingly everyone wants a piece of his enormous farmstead, including high-ranking government men and nearby Native Americans. As McLintock tries to juggle his various adversaries, his wife—who left him two years previously—suddenly returns. But she isn't interested in George; she wants custody of their daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · 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: Similar story and style · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTexas Terror (1935)
Sheriff John Higgins quits and goes into prospecting after he thinks he has killed his best friend in shooting it out with robbers. He encounters his dead buddy's sister and helps her run her ranch. Then she finds out about his past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
China 9, Liberty 37 (1978)
Gunslinger Clayton Drumm is about to be hanged when he is given a chance to live if he agrees to murder Matthew, a miner who has steadfastly refused to sell his land to the railroad company. Matthew’s refusal is a major obstacle to the railroad’s plans for expansion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Light of Western Stars?
The closest matches to The Light of Western Stars are Will Penny (1967), Blood on the Moon (1948) and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Light of Western Stars?
Start with Will Penny (1967), the closest match to The Light of Western Stars.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Light of Western Stars?
The Big Country (1958), rated 7.6/10 by 436 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Light of Western Stars?
Rocky Mountain Christmas (2017) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Light of Western Stars?
Yes: Will Penny (1967), Blood on the Moon (1948) and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949).
How are movies similar to The Light of Western Stars chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Light of Western Stars, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.