Movies Like The Cowboys (1972)

The Cowboys is a 1972 action, adventure, drama, western film from Mark Rydell with a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Open Range and Pocket Money.

Action Adventure Drama Western

Open Range

2003

A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.

7.2

MagicScore

Pocket Money

1972

Broke and in debt, an otherwise honest cowboy and his buddy get mixed up in some shady dealings with a crooked cattle dealer.

5.4

MagicScore

The Far Country

1954

During the Klondike Gold Rush, a misanthropic cattle driver and his talkative elderly partner run afoul of the law in Alaska and are forced to work for a saloon owner to take her supplies into a newly booming but lawless Candian town.

6.9

MagicScore

The 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.

7.6

MagicScore

Born to the West

1937

Dare Rudd takes a shine to his cattleman cousin Tom's girlfriend who asks Tom to hire Dare to head the big cattle drive. Dare loses the money for the drive to cardsharps, but Tom wins it back, but Dare must save Tom's life.

4.6

MagicScore

Chisum

1970

Cattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County Land War in the New Mexico Territory of 1878.

6.7

MagicScore

Cowboy

1958

Chicago hotel clerk Frank Harris dreams of life as a cowboy, and he gets his chance when, jilted by the father of the woman he loves, he joins Tom Reece and his cattle-driving outfit. Soon, though, the tenderfoot finds out life on the range is neither what he expected nor what he's been looking for...

6.3

MagicScore

Legends of the Fall

1994

In early 20th-century Montana, Col. William Ludlow lives on a ranch in the wilderness with his sons, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel. Eventually, the unconventional but close-knit family are bound by loyalty, tested by war, and torn apart by love, as told over the course of several decades in this epic saga.

7.4

MagicScore

The Power of the Dog

2021

A domineering but charismatic rancher wages a war of intimidation on his brother's new wife and her teen son, until long-hidden secrets come to light.

6.8

MagicScore

#10

Giant

1956

Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

7.6

MagicScore

#11

Alvarez Kelly

1966

In 1864, during the American Civil War, Mexican cattleman Alvarez Kelly supplies the Union with cattle until unexpected circumstances force him to change his customers.

6.1

MagicScore

#12

Red River

1948

Following the Civil War, headstrong rancher Thomas Dunson decides to lead a perilous cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. During the exhausting journey, his persistence becomes tyrannical in the eyes of Matthew Garth, his adopted son and protégé.

7.3

MagicScore

#13

Australia

2008

Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces firsthand.

6.6

MagicScore

#14

Old Yeller

1957

Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860s. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog.

6.9

MagicScore

#15

Broken Lance

1954

Tensions erupt within an Arizona cattle baron's household when his three sons vie for control of the ranch.

6.4

MagicScore

#16

The Horse Whisperer

1998

The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.

6.9

MagicScore

#17

Bucking Broadway

1917

On a ranch in Wyoming, one of the cowboys, Cheyenne Harry (Harry Carey), falls in love with his boss's daughter. But she decides to elope to the city with Captain Thornton, a wealthy visitor to the ranch. She quickly discovers that life in the city is not what she expected. Cheyenne, devastated by the loss of his fiancée, decides to go to the city to find her, and in the end rescues her from the grips of Captain Thornton and from the extravagant and decadent way of life in the city.

5.5

MagicScore

#18

A Summer Romance

2019

Samantha’s Montana ranch is her family’s legacy, so when a developer shows up to buy it, Sam isn’t interested. But as he tries to win her trust and her ranch, Sam finds he might also be winning her heart.

6.9

MagicScore

#19

Shane

1953

A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.

7.4

MagicScore

#20

Lord of the Flies

1963

Following a plane crash a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island. They appoint a leader and attempt to create an organized society for the sake of their survival. Democracy and order soon begin to crumble when a breakaway faction regresses to savagery with horrifying consequences.

6.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Cowboys?

The top films similar to The Cowboys by MovieMagicScore are Open Range (7.2), Pocket Money (5.4), The Far Country (6.9). Each shares action/adventure/drama/western themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Cowboys worth watching?

The Cowboys holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10 from 254 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Cowboys?

The Cowboys (1972) is a action, adventure, drama, western film directed by Mark Rydell, starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Cowboys?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more action recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Open Range Movies like Pocket Money Movies like The Far Country Movies like The Big Country Movies like Born to the West Movies like Chisum

About movies like The Cowboys

This ranked list pairs The Cowboys (1972), a action and adventure and drama and western film from Mark Rydell, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of John Wayne take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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