10 Great Westerns From The 1960s Quiz

Answer: The Magnificent Seven

The unforgettable main theme and score were composed by Elmer Bernstein. There have been three sequels to the movie, "Return of the Seven" (1966), "Guns of the Magnificent Seven" (1969) and "The Magnificent Seven Ride" (1972). Steve McQueen had been in a car crash and was officially "out sick" from his TV series "Wanted: Dead or Alive" when he filmed "The Magnificent Seven".

Answer: Two Rode Together

Director John Ford, who liked to create tension on the set, told both leading actors that the other one was trying to steal scenes. Jimmy Stewart had worn the same hat in all of his westerns since "Winchester '73", (the only exception was "Broken Arrow") and Ford hated it, saying it was the "worst looking cowboy hat he had ever seen". Although Ford relented and let him wear the hat, he got back at Stewart in the next western they did together, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", where he didn't let him wear a hat.

Answer: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

John Wayne, Andy Devine and John Carradine had worked together in "Stagecoach" (1939) which was also a John Ford film. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" was the last movie that Ford filmed in black and white. Ford said that the reason it was filmed in black and white was because he felt it gave more of a sense of tension. Most insiders thought that it was only because Paramount was cutting costs and, if not for that, it would have been filmed in Monument Valley in Technicolor.

Answer: Ride the High Country

The film was originally going to pair John Wayne and Gary Cooper but Cooper passed away before filming started. "Ride the High Country" was the last movie for Randolph Scott. Scott said that he would never be able to provide a better performance than the one in this movie and he was going to quit while he was ahead.

Answer: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Charles Bronson was offered the roles of Tuco and Angel eyes but he was already committed to "The Dirty Dozen" so he had to decline the roles. Over 1,500 soldiers from the Spanish army were used as extras. Sergio Leone offered Rory Calhoun the role of Blondie, but he wanted too much money so Eastwood then got the role.

Answer: Nevada Smith

"Nevada Smith" was based on a character from Harold Robbins novel "The Carpetbaggers". This was the only movie that McQueen worked with Landau on; out of over 2,000 actors who auditioned for The Actors Studio they were the only two accepted in 1955. Location filming was done in Owens Valley and the Inyo National Forest.

Answer: The Professionals

The stunt double for Claudia Cardinale was badly hurt while filming one of the scenes. Cardinale wound up performing the stunt herself in the end and made it through unhurt. California locations included the Valley of Fire and Death Valley. The Eagle Mountain Railroad in Riverside County served as the location for the railway scenes.

Answer: True Grit

Most of the location shooting was done in Ouray County, Colorado and in the Sierra Nevadas near the town of Mammoth Lakes, California. After over 40 years in the movie business John Wayne finally won an Oscar. When he received the award he said "Wow! If I'd known that, I'd have put that patch on 35 years earlier."

Answer: The Wild Bunch

Directed by Sam Peckinpah, "The Wild Bunch" is still considered one of the most violent movies ever made. Lee Marvin was set to play the role of Pike but he pulled out when offered more money to star alongside Clint Eastwood in "Paint Your Wagon". 90,000 rounds of blank ammunition were used during filming.

It was ranked as the 79th Greatest Movie of All Time in 2007 by the American Film Institute.

Answer: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Initially Redford was to play the role of Cassidy and Newman was going to play the Kid. Redford suggested to the director George Roy Hill that they switch and the rest, as they say, is history. Newman's stuntman was unable to ride the bike so Newman did most of the bicycle stunts.

This was the first movie role for Sam Elliott who played "card player number 2". "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was the top box office movie of 1969 with over 96 million dollars gross.