11 Westerns from the 70s So Bad, They're Actually Good

1. "Zachariah" (1971)
Desert landscapes, brilliant horizons, and… rock music?

Rather than galloping to the score of Ennio Morricone, "Zachariah" treats us to the psychedelic jams of the James Gang and Country Joe and the Fish. Is it a Western or a rock concert? Call it an avant-garde blend of both. Two friends embark on a quest, aiming to become the West's greatest gunfighters. Along their journey? Drum solos. Lots of them.

2. "The Hired Hand" (1971)
Sunsets, melancholy guitar notes, and Peter Fonda. Harry (played by Fonda) ditches his family to seek adventure with a friend. Years later, he returns, full of regret, wanting to mend fences. But his past tails him. "The Hired Hand" is a mosaic of flashbacks and art-house cinematography. Perhaps, it was never meant to be a traditional Western.

3. "God's Gun" (1976)
What's worse than a villainous Jack Palance? Two Jack Palances. In "God's Gun," Palance is twin brothers. One's a priest. The other, a violent gang leader. When the priest is killed, a retired gunslinger (played by the amazing Lee Van Cleef) seeks vengeance.

It's classic '70s schlock with twists that would make a pretzel jealous.

4. "The White Buffalo" (1977)
When Mythology meets the Wild West: Think Moby Dick, but it's a buffalo, and Ahab is Wild Bill Hickok.

Troubled by recurring dreams of a giant white buffalo, Hickok ventures out to hunt down this mythical beast. Sharing his quest? Crazy Horse, who seeks the buffalo for his own reasons. It's an atmospheric Western-horror mashup.

5. "Take a Hard Ride" (1975)
A cowboy, a gambler, and a mute samurai with a huge sum of money. What could go wrong? Pike (Jim Brown) promises his dying boss to ensure a huge amount of money reaches his wife.

As expected, every bandit in the territory wants a piece of the pie. Cue fight sequences and chase scenes, culminating in an explosive climax. With a Blaxploitation flavor, it's a smorgasbord of '70s cinema.

6. "My Name Is Nobody" (1973)
Question: What do you get when you pair an old gunslinger and a young trickster? A whirlwind of slapstick comedy and gunfights. Jack Beauregard, once the most feared gunslinger in the West, wants to retire peacefully. But Nobody, a fanboyish gunslinger, has other plans. Their dynamic is the backbone of this comedic Western.

7. "Doc" (1971)
The famed romance of Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate, under a magnifying glass.

It's not the OK Corral shootout as history tells it, but a deep dive into relationships and emotions. Stacy Keach and Faye Dunaway shine, but remember, it's a reimagining, not a documentary.

8. "Man of the East" (1972)
English gentleman goes West, and predictably, hilarity ensues.
When a refined Englishman inherits a ranch, he must adjust to the rugged ways of the West. It's a Western, a comedy, and a lesson in adaptability all rolled into one.

9. "The Legend of Frenchie King" (1971)
Two families, one feud, and a lot of property. The story pits the refined Miller family against the rough-and-ready Stantons over oil-rich land. Brigitte Bardot and Claudia Cardinale, two of Europe's greatest divas, lock horns in this over-the-top spectacle.

10. "Kid Blue" (1973)
An ex-outlaw seeking an honest life but tripping over his own feet.
After a botched train robbery, Kid Blue (Dennis Hopper) tries to live straight. However, the townsfolk aren't convinced. It's a Western sprinkled with doses of irony and satire.

11. "The Hunting Party" (1971)
A wealthy rancher, his young wife, and a notorious outlaw. Drama? Guaranteed.

When the wife gets kidnapped by the outlaw, the rancher embarks on a rescue mission. But, with a hunting rifle that can kill from 800 yards away, his definition of 'rescue' is rather... lethal. It's dark, it's gritty, and it's got one heck of a rifle.