TCM in May: The American Character in Westerns

Turner Classic Movies has a nine-part series on The American Character in Westerns starting Thursday, May 1, 2025.

The series features classics from the greatest Western stars like John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper Clint Eastwood, and Henry Fonda. Some of the greatest Western directors, including John Ford, Howard Hawks, Raoul Walsh, and Anthony Mann, are prominently featured.

Each of the nine nights has a different theme, starting with “The Great Train Robbery” (1903) and other of the earliest westerns, continuing through “John Wayne and the idea of America” on May 6, then exploring other themes. Here is the schedule for the TCM series, The American Character in Westerns.

May 1 The American Character in Westerns Night 1 – The Foundation

8:00pm The Great Train Robbery (1903) 15 mins|silent|TV-G. In this silent short, bandits rob the passengers on a train in this pioneering western. Director Edwin S. Porter, Cast Broncho Billy Anderson, Marie Murray, George Barnes.
8:15pm Invaders, The (1912) 45 mins. A war ensues after a group of surveyors trespass on Native American land and violate a peace treaty. Director Thomas H. Ince, Francis Ford, Cast Ethel Grandin, Ann Little, William Eagle Shirt.
9:00pm The Squaw Man (1914) 1 hr 30 mins|silent. In this silent film, a wrongly accused man escapes to the West and takes an Indian bride. Director Oscar C. Apfel, Cecil B. Demille, Cast Dustin Farnum, Monroe Salisbury, Winifred Kingston.
10:30 PM The Iron Horse (1924) 2 hrs 45 mins silent. A pony express rider honors his father’s memory by helping build the transcontinental railway. Director John Ford, Cast George O’brien, Made Bellamy.
1:15am Tumbleweeds (1925) 1 hr 30 mins|western. The government will grant a fringe of terrain for the settlers who want to live and work there. The starting sign will be a gunshot which will initiate the run for the best fields and claims. Director King Baggot, Cast William S. Hart, Barbara Bedford, Lucien Littlefield.
2:45am EDT The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) 1 hr 45 mins|silent. A plan to irrigate the Western desert is complicated by a romantic triangle. Director Henry King, Cast Ronald Colman, Vilma Banky, Charles Lane.
4:30am EDT Sky High (1922) 1 hr|drama. A government agent investigates a ring that is smuggling Chinese aliens across the border from Mexico. His investigation takes him to the Grand Canyon. Director Lynn Reynolds, Cast Tom Mix, J. Farrell Macdonald, Eva Novak.

May 6: The American Character in Westerns Night 2 – the Quintessential Cowboy: John Wayne and the Idea of America

8:00pm The Big Trail (1930) 2 hrs 15 mins|western. A young mountaineer leads hundreds of settlers on a difficult journey from the Mississippi River to California. Director Raoul Walsh, Cast John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel.
10:15pm Stagecoach (1939). 1 hr 45 mins|western. A group of disparate passengers battle personal demons and each other while racing through Indian country. Director John Ford, Cast Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine.
12:00 AM Red River (1948) 2 hrs 30 mins|western|TV-PG. A young cowhand rebels against his rancher stepfather during a perilous cattle drive. Director Howard Hawks, Cast John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru.
2:30 AM How the West Was Won (1962) 3 hrs|epic. Three generations of pioneers take part in the forging of the American West. Cast James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Spencer Tracy, Carroll Baker, Lee Cobb, John Wayne.

May 8: The American Character in Westerns Night 3 – Rugged Individualism

8:00 PM The Man from Laramie (1955) 2 hrs|western. A wandering cowboy gets caught in the rivalry between an aging rancher’s sons. Director Anthony Mann, Cast James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp.
10:00pm Ride Lonesome (1959) 1 hr 30 mins. A bounty hunter tries to bring a murderer to justice through perilous territory. Director Budd Boetticher Cast Randolph Scott, Karen Steele, Pernell Roberts.
11:30pm Forty Guns (1957) 1 hr 30 mins. An authoritarian rancher, who rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns, finds herself falling for the new marshal who comes to set things straight. Director Samuel Fuller, Cast Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger.
1:00 AM High Plains Drifter (1973) 2 hrs|western|TV-14. A mysterious gunman signs on to protect a small town from bandits. Director Clint Eastwood Cast Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Russ Mccubbin.
3:00am Hang ‘Em High (1968) 2 hrs|western. A mysterious drifter survives a lynching then goes back for revenge. Director Ted Post Cast Clint Eastwood, Inger Stevens, Ed Begley.
5:00am EDT The Oklahoma Kid (1939) 1 hr 30 mins|western. A cowboy sets out to avenge his father’s lynching. Director Lloyd Bacon Cast James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Rosemary Lane.
May 13: The American Character in Westerns Night 4 – Social Commentary in Disguise
8:00 PM The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
9:30 PM Hombre (1967)
11:30 PM The Great Silence (1968)
1:30 AM Wichita (1955)
3:00 AM Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
May 15: The American Character in Westerns Night 5 – Heroism and Sacrifice
8:00 PM The Magnificent Seven (1960)
10:30 PM High Noon (1952)
12:00 AM High Noon on the Waterfront (2022)
12:15 AM My Darling Clementine (1946)
2:15 AM A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
May 20: The American Character in Westerns Night 6 – a Changing America: Disillusionment and the Rise of the Antihero
8:00 PM Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
10:00 PM The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
1:15 AM The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
3:45 AM McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
May 22: The American Character in Westerns Night 7 – Cultural Breakthroughs
8:00 PM Broken Arrow (1950)
9:45 PM Westward the Women (1951)
12:00 AM Brokeback Mountain (2005)
2:30 AM Buck and the Preacher (1972)
4:15 AM Devil’s Doorway (1950)
May 27: The American Character in Westerns Night 8 – American Psyche
8:00 PM The Searchers (1956)
10:15 PM Duel in the Sun (1946)
1:00 AM Winchester ‘73 (1950)
2:30 AM I Shot Jesse James (1949)
4:30 AM Blood on the Moon (1948)
May 29: The American Character in Westerns Night 9 – The End of an Era
8:00 PM Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
11:00 PM The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
1:15 AM The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)
3:30 AM The Wild Bunch (1969)

Below is a trailer for “The Searchers (1956),” showing on May 27.

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Below are clips of Fiddler on the Roof (1971), showing on Wednesday, April 9, and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), showing on TCM Wednesday, April 16.

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