Everyone is a Critic: My All-Time Favorites – Westerns

Posted: June 15, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Everyone is a Critic, Movie Review, Movies, Review, Western | Tags: A Fistful of Dollars, Everyone is a Critic, For a Few Dollars More, Movie Review, Review, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Quick and the Dead, The Unforgiven, Tombstone, Westerns, Writing to be Read, Young Guns |Leave a comment

There are some movies that I can watch over and over and never get tired of them because they are so fun to watch. I’m sure certain movies are the same for everyone, in this respect. For “Everyone is a Critic” in 2026, I’d like to talk about my all-time favorites, because if you haven’t seen them, they are worth watching, and if you have, maybe this will remind you how fun they are, and you’ll give one or two another go. I’ve categorized them by the values I find in them, or the reason that I watch them. Many of them, I have watched so many times, I can quote them word for word through many parts. (And, yes, I am old, but they really don’t make them like they used to.)

Now, here, I will share them with you in the hopes that you will get the same enjoyment I have from watching them. For those who have seen the movie, the quotes will bring certain scenes alive in their minds. And if you haven’t seen the movie and you watch it, when you see the scene, you’ll understand why I chose the quotes that I did.

Westerns – Always a Favorite of Mine (Yep. I like Clint Eastwood)

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), with Clint Eastwood and Chief Dan George

Set during and after the American civil war, Eastwood plays Josey Wales, who looses his family to the Union red-legs, and joins up with Bloody Bill Cantrill with a vow to kill as many as he can in his vengeance. He becomes an outlaw after the war, when he refuses to surrender and runs from the Union troops, gathering a rag-tag following of colorful characters in the process.

This movie is quite long and there are too many great quotes to list them all here, but I’ve given you several.

I have this one in my personal movie collection.

Favorite Quotes: “I reckon in that war we all died a little.” – Fletcher (John Vernon)

“Get ready, little lady. Hell’s coming to breakfast.” – Lone Watie (Chief Dan George)

“I’m pert as a rutting buck.” -Kid (Sam Bottoms)

“Cures just about anything. How is it on spots?” -Josey Wales (Eastwood)

“You gonna pull them pistols or whistle Dixie?” – Josey Wales (Eastwood)

“Dying ain’t much of a living.” – Josey Wales (Eastwood)

“Reckon I’m right popular.” – Josey Wales (Eastwood)

“All I have is this piece of hard rock candy. But it’s not for eating, it’s just for looking at.” – Lone Watie (Chief Dan George)

“I’m glad you stopped me. I might have killed her.” – Lone Watie (Chief Dan George)

Favorite Scenes: Josey Wales meets and talks with Ten Bears, chief of the Commanche, to bargain for his friends’ lives. (I can quote the entire exchange, but it’s too long to feature here.)

The Missouri Boat Ride

Josey Wales and Lone Watie on horseback: “Any time I get to liking someone, they ain’t around for long.” – Josey Wales (Eastwood) “I notice when you get to disliking someone, they ain’t around for long neither.” -Lone Watie (Chief Dan George).

A Fistful of Dollars (1964) & For a Few Dollars More (1965), with Clint Eastwood

In A Fistful of Dollars, Eastwood plays a man with no name, a drifter who blows into town, looking for an opportunity to profit. He learns that the town has two bosses, the Rojos and the Baxters, vying for control and he positions himself between them and plays them against one another.

In For a Few Dollars More, Eastwood plays a bounty hunter named Manco, and Van Cleef plays an old war hero named Colonel Mortimer, who are both seeking the notorious outlaw, Indio, and his gang.

I watch both of these on Pluto T.V. for free.

Favorite Scenes (Fistful): The offended mule scene.

The final shootout, when Ramon thinks he’s losing his touch and the man with no name won’t die.

Favorite Quotes (Fistful): “When a man with a forty-five meets a man with a rifle, you said, ‘the man with the pistol is a dead man.’ Let’s just see if that’s true.” – Man with no name (Eastwood)

“You mean the American government on one side and the Mexicans on the other, and me in the middle? Uh, huh. Too dangerous.” – Man with no name (Eastwood)

Favorite Scene (Few Dollars): The final gun battle between Colonel Mortimer and Indio.

Favorite Quote (Few Dollars): “Two hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. We’re going to have to earn it.” – Manco (Eastwood)

“No, old man. Thought I was having a problem with my adding. But it’s okay now.” – Manco (Eastwood)

“I generally smoke just after I eat. Why don’t you come back in about ten minutes.” – Colonel Mortimer (Van Cleef)

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966), with Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach

A civil war tale of survival and greed. This is a lengthy movie, but well worth it. There are so many great quotes, it is difficult to pick favorites. I have this one in my personal movie collection.

Favorite Quotes: “When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.” – Tuco Rameriz (Wallach)

“You know when I take a job, I always see it through.” Angel Eyes (Van Cleef)

“Take a swig of this, Captain. Keep your ears open.” – Blondie (Eastwood)

“Such ungratefulness. After all the times I’ve saved your life.” – Blondie (Eastwood)

“It’s good to know you’ve always got a brother who won’t deny you a bowl of soup.” – Tuco Ramirez (Wallach)

Favorite scenes: Sad Hill Cemetery (Cool Fact: Sad Hill Cemetery was built specifically for this movie. The set was just abandoned when they finished, but it was restored after fifty-five years by a dedicated group of film fans in 2015.)

Bridge Explosion (Cool Fact: They used three cameras on the first take, and the explosion blew the cameras up, so they had to reconstruct and do a second take using nine different camera angles to ensure success. No computer animation back then.)

The Unforgiven (1992), with Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman

When a bounty is posted to avenge a prostitute who is scarred for life, widowed pig farmer William Muney returns to his old killing ways to save his farm and feed his children.

An original and thought-provoking story line, accompanied by excellent acting from all players. I have this one in my personal movie collection.

Favorite Quote: “I ain’t like that anymore.” – William Munny (Eastwood)

“It’s a hell of a thing, killin’ a man. Take away all he’s got, and all he’ll ever have.” – William Munny (Eastwood)

“All right, I’m coming out. Any man I see out there, I’m gonna shoot him. Any sumbitch takes a shot at me, I’m not only gonna kill him, but I’m gonna kill his wife, all his friends, and burn his damn house down.” – William Munny (Eastwood)

“He should have armed himself if he’s gonna decorate his saloon with my friend.” – William Munny (Eastwood)

Favorite Scene: Confrontation between Munny (Eastwood) and Little Bill (Hackman).

The Quick & The Dead (1995), with Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio

This has to be Sharon Stone’s absolute best role as the strong female protagonist. A gripping storyline for her character necessitates our rooting for her to triumph. Gene Hackman plays Herod, the cruel villain through and through.

I watch this one on Pluto T.V. for free.

Favorite Quotes: “Today I am.” – The Lady (Stone)

“You need a bath.” – The Lady (Stone)

“Some people deserve to die.” – The Lady (Stone)

“The law’s come back to town.” – The Lady (Stone)

“Sorry, John. Changed the rules. From now on, all the fights are fair.” – Cort (Crowe)

“I’m so damned fast I can wake up at the crack of dawn, rob two banks, a train and a stage coach, shoot the tail feathers off a duck’s ass at 300 feet, and still be back in bed before you wake up next to me.” – The Kid (DiCaprio)

Favorite Scenes: The Lady puts the dirty old man in his place

Young Guns (1988) & Young Guns 2 (1990), with Emilio Estevez, Kieffer Sutherland, and Lou Diamond Phillips

This telling of the story of Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War is brought to life by an all-star cast, in both the original movie and Young Guns 2. I have both in my personal movie collection.

There’s plenty of action and plenty of old west humor. Both are very quotable movies.

Favorite Quotes (First): “I’ll make you famous.” – Billy the Kid (Estevez)

“If we’re caught, we’re gonna hang… But there’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip.” – Billy the Kid (Estevez)

“Did you see the size of that chicken?” – Dirty Steve (Dermot Mulroney)

“Many nights while you were sleeping, I could have slit your throat. Glad I didn’t kill you, Steve.” Chavez y Chavez (Phillips)

Favorite Quotes (Second): “Stop napping on the job, Bob.” – Billy the Kid (Estevez)

“Best dollar eighty I ever spent.” – Billy the Kid (Estevez)

“It’s the real lynch mob! Skin out!” – Billy the Kid (Estevez)

“I shall finish the game.” – Billy the Kid (Estevez)

“I’d rather drink turpentine and piss on a brush fire.” – Sheriff Kimball (Jerry Gardner)

“White Oaks, you can kiss my ass.” – Jane Greathouse (Jenny Wright)

“Let me tell you what you really are! You rode a 15-year-old boy straight to his grave, and the rest of us straight to hell… straight to hell! William H. Bonney! You are not a god!” Josiah ‘Doc’ Scurlock (Sutherland)

“You’ll get down below all right. You’ll get down below. You’re Billy the Kid, too, you know. You’re all Billy the Kid. Little Billy bastards.” – John Chisholm (James Colburn)

“Incumbered by idjits, I pressed on.” – Pat Garrett (William Peterson)

Tombstone (1993), with Kurt Russel, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot, Bill Paxton and Powers Boothe

This is a telling of the events leading up the shootout at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, October 26, 1881. The all-star cast brings the story to life, with Kurt Russell playing Wyatt Earp, and Sam Elliot and Bill Paxton playing brothers Virgil and Morgan. The notorious Doc Holliday is played by Val Kilmer and Curly Bill Brocious (Powers Boothe) and his cowboy buddies play the villains. I have this one in my personal movie collection.

Not historically correct on many aspects but entertaining none-the-less.

Favorite Scenes: The afternoon horse race & The faceoff between Doc Holliday (Kilmer) and Johnny Ringo (Michael Beihn)

Favorite Quotes: “I’m an oak.” – Wyatt Earp (Russell)

“You tell them I’m coming, and hell’s coming with me.” – Wyatt Earp (Russell)

“I’m your huckleberry.” Doc Holliday (Kilmer)

“You’re a daisy if you do.” – Doc Holliday (Kilmer)

“I’ve still got one good arm to hold you with, Ally-girl.” – Virgil Earp (Elliot)

About Author Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.

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This segment of “Everyone is a Critic” with Robbie Cheadle is sponsored by The Women in the West Adventure Series andWordCrafter Press.