Mismatched Actors in Westerns

Mismatched and miscast actors in westerns. Some actors just fit into the western genre like the proverbial hand that fits into a glove - Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott, Clint Eastwood and of course John Wayne. But how about actors who, against all logic, appeared in westerns that just don’t make sense and stick out like a sore thumb? Let’s talk about some of these today. Based on online discussions on the theme.
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[@joelkweskin8545]

Jack Lemmon's character was a greenhorn, a tenderfoot, a city dwelling writer who was SUPPOSED to be out of his element in "Cowboy."

[@RobbGF]

2:39 Jack Lemmon Cowboy (1958) - Preview kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJXXhXSDfr91oNE

[@cdeford2]

I really didn't mind Glen Campbell in True Grit, or Sean Connery in Shalako, and I thought Jeffrey Hunter was actually the soul of The Searchers, with Wayne being more a force of nature. It's Hunter who makes the film work as well as it does.

[@michaelpower4372]

No one would watch it if John Wayne wasn't in it stop your rubbish talk.

[@colinglen4505]

Pretty much what i was about to post. It still annoys me that Marty didn't shoot Edwards dead at the end and save Debbie.

[@RichardFay]

@@michaelpower4372 True enough - it wouldn't be the same film without John Wayne. But it also wouldn't the same film without Marty to provide a contrast to Ethan's ruthlessness. So my take is that both actors were necessary.

[@johnmorris7262]

Totally agree pilgrim. 🤠

[@thehmspinaforeclub4960]

"Cowboy" with Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon was one of my most favorite westerns. Jack Lemmon is a fish out of water on a trail drive and he is supposed to be one. That is why he was cast in that part.

[@RobbGF]

2:39 Jack Lemmon Cowboy (1958) - Preview kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJXXhXSDfr91oNE

[@neildelaney5199]

In all fairness Jeff Hunter in the Searchers was up against "western Royalty " with all the other actors, and i think he was very good"

[@barbaralovenvirth8726]

I didn't find most of these terribly bad... Jeffrey Hunter was just fine in the "Searchers". Elvis wasn't in much of a "Western", but was ok in Charo. A lot of these performances were actually pretty good... I loved Dean Martin in "Rio Bravo"..

[@davidbrown386]

Hunter was excellent in The Proud Ones with Robert Ryan and Virginia Mayo

[@user-hp4fn9uq3j]

Jeffrey Hunter was excellent in the searchers and in Sargent Rutledge as Woody Strodes commanding officer and defense attorney, he was just a great actor who died way to young, thought flaming star with Elvis was decent to... how about Burl Ives in "the big country" won an Oscar and played one of the nastiest bad guys ever...

[@raymeedc]

You’re wrong about Jack Emmon, unless you just didn’t get what the film was about. He wasn’t a Cowboy, he was a wannabe cowboy hotel clerk, and as such his discomfort/performance was right on‼️

[@RobbGF]

2:39 Jack Lemmon Cowboy (1958) - Preview kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJXXhXSDfr91oNE

[@HartmutJagerArt]

And you did not get Jack's name right ! Ha ha ha ! But then no one is perfect !

[@raymeedc]

Bad late forming habit of mine, not looking over what I’ve written, or the computer’s spell check has inadvertently misspelled once again, before hitting the send button. At my age, 73, some of that comes with the aging territory 😢

[@HartmutJagerArt]

@@raymeedc --- Ha ha ha , it's no big deal! Although you are still a Youngster to my 83 years of age ! Cheerio ! 😊

[@emava]

Broderick Crawford was a very believable Western bad guy. You left out "The Fastest Gun Alive".

[@HartmutJagerArt]

I saw the 'Fastest Gun Alive' and a Fat Broderick Crawford was not a believable fast gun man! -

[@stuhuggens9297]

No one could take over Robert Conrad’s role as Jim West.

[@davidfallstead2681]

It Is exactly Lemmon's uncomfortablness in Cowboy that made the character and thus the film believable.

[@RobbGF]

2:39 Jack Lemmon Cowboy (1958) - Preview kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJXXhXSDfr91oNE

[@frankgrainger3610]

To be fair, Steve Reeves was born and raised on a Wyoming ranch and retired to a ranch where he bred and raised Morgan horses. (He was a superb horseman.)

[@famouspeople63]

Yes several western actors like Audie Murphy, Joel McCrea also did this. Gregory Peck bough a ranch after playing in westerns.

[@auletjohnast03638]

🔵I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HECK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT BRODERICK CRAWFORD WAS GREAT IN WESTERNS, I LIKE HIS MOVIES.🔴

[@Ronin4614]

I agree with Robert Wagner in not meshing with the genre. I do think the same as others about Jeffery Hunter, especially in “The Searchers”, Hunter was the perfect match for John Wayne.

[@bossfan49]

"Jack Lemmon hates horses and hates Westerns in general" - Source??

[@dondeyne9563]

I never ever gave this sort of thought to it. Not everybody in the old west fits the mold of a movie star. Without character actors there'd be no movie. Jack Lemmon WAS the greenhorn the character was supposed to be . Maybe your discretion of him is exactly how the character was meant to look. The west was populated by all sorts of things. Probably even an ignorant proper brutish , er uh I mean British chap or 2. (the brutish was a spell check that just seemed to fit and made me smile 🤠)

[@brianjones7907]

I cant agree with your choice of Robert Wagner or Jeffrey Hunter , Wagner gives us a great performance in "White Feather" & Hunter is great in "The Searchers" , "The Proud Ones" & "Sgt Rutledge" , as for Ray Milland he may have been a little stiff in his ealry westerns but his performance in both "A Man Alone" & "Bugles in the Afternoon" are spot on , as for Sean Connery I just Love "Shalako" , as for Oliver Hardy He And the Duke make a great screen pairing , now one you could add to your list is Bob Dylan as Alias in "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" ,

[@davidbrown386]

Watch Wagner in the Silver Whip and you will agree he is miscast

[@earlleeruhf3130]

You didn't buy Arnold as a cowboy in the Villain? I suppose you didn't buy Paul Liynn as the Indian Chief. Seriously that movie could hardly be considered a real western, same with The Wild Wild West.

[@mikecassie3523]

I could never picture Ricky Nelson as a guy nicknamed Colorado in Rio Bravo. He just didn't seem to fit in with Walter Brennen, John Russell , Dean Martin, and The Duke

[@jamesw.5855]

I always thought Jeffrey Hunter was just fine, so disagree there. And Glen Cambell was ok for that particular role in True Grit, although I`m sure someone a little more suited would have been better. Guys that should never have been in Westerns, aside from many of those you mentioned would be Robert Vaughn, Audie Murphy, who is totally unbelievable in every one he`s been in, and Fred MacMurray. Oh, and you can add James Caan to that list as well.

[@HartmutJagerArt]

Yes, although in real life Audie Murphy was a truly tough man and the most decorated war hero from WW-2, his too pretty and too young looking face did not make him suitable for Western movies !

[@bravehome4276]

I think Schwarzenegger was perfectly cast in the RL cartoon The Villain. It was his very awkwardness trying to act that made him perfect for the role. If you want to consider those miscast, you could take practically any female star in any Western -- they rarely ever looked that attractive in the real West. The most accurate portrayal of females in Western movies were the 'morality committee' in Stagecoach, who kicked Dallas out of town.

[@adamwarne1807]

Jeffrey Hunter was magnificent in 'The Searchers'.... He more than held his own against Wayne in what I felt was the Duke's best performance.

[@JohnMinehan-lx9ts]

Sean Connery would not have been out of place in the West, a lot of Scots and Irish newcomers in the Old West.

[@richardrosenthal9552]

Elvis was a talented man. As an actor he was always under appreciated and underrated. I agree that Charo wasn’t a great movie. Love Me Tender and Flaming Star were good movies and I always thought he did well in them. Flaming Star was, for me, the best of the three. Trying to play a young man caught between two worlds is never easy for any actor. However Elvis portrayed such a character quite well in Flaming Star.

[@davidbrown386]

Here is my pick: Robert Wagner in White Feather and especially the Silver Whip. Actors like Paul Newman who no one can say is a tough guy type, looks and acts like Lee Marvin and Randolph Scott compared to Wagner.

[@richardmcmahon7466]

I have seen most of the films you have mentioned and I think I would need a"book" to "voice" my opinions.I always enjoy what you have to say .Keep up the good work.

[@martinrichelsoph5191]

I'll start by indicating that I was a manager at the Arizona State Library and Archives for 24 years and for the past 17 years I've been the Archivist (volunteer) for the Arizona Jewish Historical Society. I'll start by saying that you clearly accept the myths of the old west. In fact many western settlers were immigrants, primarily from Europe or Great Britton so the use of European or British actors is not out of step. Like the modern population, some people were very good looking and some were downright ugly and everything in-between. There was no particular "look". Also bad acting in any kind of movie is just bad acting regardless of the genre. Finally I'll just say that movie westerns, and I am a fan, are so far removed from the truth of the "old west" that it's not a surprise that the spaghetti-westerns (made in Europe) are among some of the most remembered.

[@famouspeople63]

Great to hear from you, thanks.

[@kirkrjb]

Yes Arnold is not great but Kirk Douglas is sensational. He made the movie go.

[@joepratte727]

i thought jeffrey hunter was quite believeable in his westerns. i agree with most of your assessments.

[@Idahoguy10157]

As long as an actor was under studio contract they had to expect being cast in at least one Western film. At least a quarter of all the films made from 1930 too 1960 were Westerns.

[@famouspeople63]

Yes, I mentioned this in response to another comment, thanks.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@famouspeople63 …. Consider it a sincere form of flattery

[@justmike2944]

Imho . Marlin Brando . William Shatner . Jack Nicholson .

[@HartmutJagerArt]

Yes, there is a ghastly one around with Shatner as an Indian !

[@junosaxon4370]

I would have added Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt in the new version of The Magnificent Seven, they spoilt the movie for me. Ethan Hawk on the other hand was great. Glenn Campbell didn't disturb me in True Grit, neither did Jeffrey Hunter in The Searchers. It's true, some actors just don't seem to fit into Western movies, others just have that natural look, like the great Lee Van Cleef. Dan Duryea was an actor I could watch in Westerns or any other kind of movie. An actor I would like to have seen more of in Westerns was Tony Young. He starred in the old TV series, Gunslinger, one of my favorite TV series, a pity it's not on DVD, he also acted with Dan Duryea in a Western called Taggart.

[@HartmutJagerArt]

The original 'The Magnificent Seven' was / is a classic movie - and one should never repeat or copy a classic! -

[@ballybunion9]

Don't I remember reading in one of the Elvis biographies that the studio wanted Elvis to play LaBeouf opposite John Wayne in True Grit?

[@Steviemacdonald6594]

Yes, but l think it was a case of who got top billing

[@MyRanger12]

You left out Matt Damon in the remake of True Grit. Costuming was ridiculous for a Texas Ranger. He did better in All the Pretty Horses.

[@GhostRider-sc9vu]

Not bad. I only disagree with Glen Campbell. Campbell was a Singer not an actor, so he was not mismatched he never should have been cast. One of the reasons the remake is the better for me although Wayne was just as good if not slightly better than Bridges in the lead. The only other film I can think of that the "remake" was better was the Daniel Day Lewis version of Last of the Mohicans, for every reason under the sun. Location, actors, I could go on but you get the idea.

[@NKBobcat]

Ramond Burr did many radio westerns in the 50s. He was the star of Ft. Laramie as a calvary Lieutenant.

[@famouspeople63]

He certainly had the voice for it.

[@timothywilliams2252]

Jack Lemmon was also miscast in Branaugh's film version of Hamlet in the 90's. Along with westerns, it seems he's also out of place in Shakespeare as well...

[@mikelundquist4596]

A guy with a limey accent reading a script... do I take his word regarding cowboy actors? Naw.

[@antnyi]

Broderick Crawford was poorly miscasted as the heavy in "The Fastest Gun Alive" (1956)

[@46reno]

I think Glenn Campbell did an excellent job in that roll.

[@themoviemaniac8416]

I have to disagree about Broderick Crawford in full. His westerns are all good and he's great in them. Glen Campbell was just fine in True Grit, and Jeff Hunter was great in The Searchers. Jack Lemmon maybe didn't like doing Cowboy, but he gave a good performance and made the film a good one along with Glenn Ford's help.

[@larry1824]

Almost everybody in Silverado rxcept Glenn and Glover

[@mikematusek4233]

Personally I think that Charro was Elvis' best movie, and pulled it off.

[@davidbrown386]

What about Jailhouse Rock?

[@philipmiller9241]

You forgot David Niven with his British accent didn't fit the western genre

[@user-hp4fn9uq3j]

I found Matt Damon laughable in True Grit, Glenn Campbell did a better portrayal of labeaf, young people also don't remember the Oscar nominated sound track and song, the sound track was by Elmer Bernstein if " the magnificent seven" fame , it was an Oscar winner, agree about Daniel day Lewis in " last of the mohicans", another amazing sound track too...as far as True Grit, the Wayne movie will always be my favorite, Wayne was better in t"he searchers", and in "Rio bravo", and a few others not westerns. ... great list..

[@holydiver73]

John Cleese in Silverado takes a lot of beating for the most miscast actor in a western movie.

[@famouspeople63]

Good point! Although the British were well represented in the old west.

[@kennyw218]

James Cagney was unbelievable in 2 westerns I think

[@hesavedawretchlikeme6902]

Glen Campbell was okay in True Grit, but his hair was too much. He should have had a shorter or messier look. And like a lot of westerns from a certain era, men needed rougher look, facial hair, beards, clothes were too neat most of the time. But I agree with you, many did not fit a cowboy or western role.

[@WilliamRBishop]

All sorts of people went west

[@wiseguymaybe]

I met Glen Cambell at one of his shows and you nailed it. Glen was not real pleased with his performance. Interestingly I was raised in the area True Grit was shot, and my own personal feeling is most the lead cast was miscast, even John Wayne, who I thought had did a better job of acting in The Searchers and The Cowboys. I felt the 2010 film was a lot better acted, just my opinion though. You forgot to mention Broderick Crawford in Alias Smith And Jones episode The Man Who Broke The Bank. Although playing a banker might have suited him better than being a gunslinger. Just thought I'd bring that up. Love this though, agree with your choices, however I think if given the right role, Sean Connery might have done a better job in a western especially in his later years. I could see him as a rugged scottish mountain man.

[@silverjohn6037]

We'll have to agree to disagree about John Wayne being a bad choice for Rooster Cogburn;). He definitely gave a better dramatic performance in The Searchers but a role and a movie doesn't have to be "dramatic" to be great. His more humorous take in the earlier scenes in True Grit (particularly when he's talking about robbing a bank in his early days) is the balance that makes the meadow gunfight as iconic as it is. Playing it gruff and tough from the beginning and it would have been expected from the character rather than the "Holy crap, he's really doing this!" moment that it was.

[@aldenfloyd5432]

If they had made a movie about the explorer Alexander Mackenzie, better known in Canada, Sean Connery would have been perfect to play Mackenzie as they were both Scotsmen who had very intense personalities.

[@spockboy]

Great video! Cagney and Bogart ABSOLUTELY did not suit being in a Western, I don't agree about Jeffrey Hunter however. I take your point about a modern look but in The Searchers Hunter had a raw handsomeness and intense energy that, for me at least, made him believable as a Western hero.

[@famouspeople63]

Fair enough! I may not have made it clear, but these comments are based on online discussion boards.

[@spockboy]

With respect, I don't care if 10 million people think so, I don't. Anyway like I said, I enjoyed your video. : ) @@famouspeople63

[@silverjohn6037]

Some of the actors you mentioned would have been great in westerns though not necessarily in the roles they were cast. Sean Connery didn't really work as a savvy old scout but, as an immigrant rail road road crew boss or even as a gunfighter turned preacher he would have been great. As for most of the other actors you mentioned it was probably that they were too young at the time they were cast. Western heroes are usually expected to be more mature with 30 years old for a lead role being the low end. It's a bit like casting Justin Bieber for a lead in a Fast and Furious film. Even if he gave a great performance it just wouldn't have been believable.

[@MrBrett1963]

Yeah, some of those are pretty painful to watch. I did like the voice the Villain. It is a great movie to watch with kids.

[@larry1824]

Campbell worked hard and looked good on horseback. Damon was closer to the book

[@BeachsideHank]

Man, you nailed it all, except Ray Burr looked good being trampled by elephants in some obscure "Bomba" or "Tarzan" flick.

[@davethom73]

Another Broderick Crawford movie was The Fastest Gun Alive, playing the baddie gunfighter to Glen Ford’s hero. Never looked the part. One you didn’t mention was Vic Mature, not a good actor at the best of times, he was out of his depth in the few westerns he made.

[@HartmutJagerArt]

I Agree ! Besides Glenn For was very fast in real life !

[@HartmutJagerArt]

Overall I agree with your choices. Many of those you named are just too young, pretty and 'modern' looking; like Robert Wagner!

[@famouspeople63]

Studios often placed actors on contract in various genres to test where they belonged.

[@aldonapolitano5979]

Sterling Hayden and Joan Crawford in Johnny Guitar.

[@jbmbryant]

for me, Dean Martin wrecked any pretense of it being a western. As far as British westerners, there were more than a few; including John Tunstall, who's murder exacerbated the Lincoln County war, which gave Billy the kid such notoriety.

[@HartmutJagerArt]

I disagree, Dean Martin was great in that movie! -

[@jamiesharp152]

Like all "great" western heroes it is the writer who/whom determines the outcome.i think the political stance of lead character affects our judgement.

[@elnick1000]

two actors I think you forgot to meniton, at least my oppinion. SILVERATDO, Kevin Kline, also was in WILD WILD WEST> Jeff Goldbloom was also in the movie, and perhaps his worst acitong, totally unbelievable. Compare them in the movie to BRIAN DENHEHEY, SCOTT GLEN, and DANNY GLOVER.

[@arthurbrumagem3844]

Goldblum was just horrible in Silverado imo, or just miscast in the role. I cringe when I watch him in that movie

[@alanmcewen6111]

Glen Campbells role in True Grit was plausible, Arnie S.......ger well that was a comedy and hilarious, and the wild wild west movie was absolutely an abomination.

[@user-xt3cz6cp8v]

In Cowboys Jack Lemmon is a lightfoot so he's perfect for the movie

[@davidbrown386]

Mickey Rooney and Robert Stack both miscast in My Outlaw Brother. Stack as an Irish American who became a Mexican bandido was the worst of the two.

[@tomtransport]

The worst decision Will Smith ever made in his life was to smack Chris Rock on live TV. I always thought The Searcher's was John Wayne's best western movie. Although I can see others in the Jeffrey Hunter role I thought he pulled it off OK. Rio Bravo, is one of my favorite westerns, but Ricky Nelson as Colorado??? was just so wrong, always liked his singing though. 🙄🙄🙄

[@arthurbrumagem3844]

James Caan as Mississippi in the other Wayne western was just horrible imo

[@Thrashmetalhead80]

Worst decision Will Smith ever made was marrying Jada Pinkett. I remember reading the Colorado role was supposed to go to Elvis, but his manager wanted top billing or more money or both and it went to Ricky Nelson. I agree he seems miscast, but I think he did a good job. It didn't ruin the movie.

[@tomtransport]

@@Thrashmetalhead80 No, it's a very good movie, Angie Dickinson is delicious.

[@fge00]

It's not like Rick affected the plot all that much. I think he did fine.

[@tomtransport]

@@fge00 The question is "who was mismatched for a part in a western, not whether he/she affected a plot. I would agree he did not affect the plot but that's not the question. I agree with the author of this video that Fabian was not a good fit in North To Alaska, Frankie Avalon was not a good fit in The Alamo. Ricky Nelson was not a good fit in Rio Bravo. The acting ability of all three was atrocious. Two were really good singers (Nelson/Avalon) with Fabian not really good at that either.😀😀😀

[@imanutnur7]

You sound as if you are from Great Britain so why do you feel you are qualified to judge a Western?

[@HartmutJagerArt]

Nationality has nothing to do with judging movies!

[@michaelparks5669]

Arnold played the satire perfect. He should not be on the list.

[@marilynpomponio8335]

Many of these were poorly written. You do one on English stockmen in the. Old west. Some of the most successful were British.

[@jeffreyrobinson3555]

Lemon was playing a guy as taken with the myth of the west meeting the reality Hardy was the comic side kick Bogart was over the top in any roll even cheapie b westerns, maland was English and the west was full of remittance men. Smith played a parody. Campbell could sing but couldn’t act to save his soul…. But Wayne couldn’t act, and that didn’t stop him from being a great

[@southworthfamily4937]

I think you ailed it. I've seen a lot of these western and wondered why in the world these actors were in them.

[@The1saturn]

the paint never dried

[@Idahoguy10157]

In The Wild, Wild, West kevin Kline upstaged Will Smith. Was a poor movie. Kline’s performance was the only saving grace to it

[@famouspeople63]

But not enough to save it.

[@redspoonredspoon1298]

Connery was not the first Bond on film - that was American actor Barry Nelson in a 1954 episode of the TV-series "Climax!", an adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel "Casino Royale". Just sayin ...

[@bravehome4276]

Um, that was a TV episode, which is considered screen appearance, but not a film appearance....

[@michaelpond6386]

William Shatner in White Comanche ugh

[@BrokenneckYgor]

Katherine Hepburn and Maggie Smith are lousy in Western

[@ronkemperful]

Westerns as a genera were often not at all historically accurate. Saloons were often lit bright as day at night, pre-Civil War westerns had historically inaccurate revolvers, locations mentioned did not exist until later, some actors even had wrist watches, women were made up and had impeccable hairstyles, and even actors like John Wayne were dressed to the nines and were clean shaven. So, I see out of place actors such as Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, and Jeffery Hunter, as not being so out of place, just good actors in often humorous roles. But Bogart, Cagney, and one actor you forgot to mention, Tasmanian Errol Flynn in Dodge City, were horribly miscast indeed.

[@davidbrown386]

Flynn was excellent in westerns

[@ronkemperful]

@@davidbrown386 Accent a bit strange, but as a fine actor he was great.

[@arthurbrumagem3844]

Even though I agree with you, portraying westerns as they truly would have been would have been boring and not worth watching imo . Hollywood adds way to much artistic stuff but it happens

[@ronkemperful]

Very good point. I guess that I was being a bit sarcastic and contrary. An example of a non-authentic western is the 1958 RIO BRAVO where many glaring issues with authenticity and historical accuracy can be found. But the plot, the acting, and humor are carefully done and that to me makes it one of the best westerns out there.@@arthurbrumagem3844

[@HartmutJagerArt]

Newsflash: Westerns are movies to Entertain - NOT Documentaries !

[@JohnKilgore-dw6zq]

Dont like audie Murphy or Randolph scott in any western.

[@mike5d1]

These are your opinions, and you should have kept them to yourself.

[@HartmutJagerArt]

Why ? Are only you allowed to voice an opinion ? ? ?

[@mike5d1]

I did not offer an opinion on the video subject. I merely suggested he should keep his to himself.@@HartmutJagerArt

[@jamesziegler2763]

😮

[@JohnMinehan-lx9ts]

I'd add Dana Delaney from Tombstone; excellent actress, but she presents as too modern for period roles . . . .

[@Idahoguy10157]

I think the chemistry between her character and Wyatt Earp worked very well. Her character was an actress. Lured there by promises by Sheriff Behan.

[@arctos49]

Schwarzenegger - looks like he saved the worst (or wurst) for last! Just saying words in front of a camera without making a mistake is not acting.