10 Greatest Western Movie One-Liners Of All Time

Contains spoilers for all movies discussed.

A beloved and longstanding staple of popular culture, the Western genre has produced some of the finest movies of all time. From classic offerings like Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, all the way to more modern standouts in the vein of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, the best Western movies ever made have also played host to some of the most iconic one-liners in cinematic history, resulting in a collection of memorable soundbites capable of giving any genre a run for its money.

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From menacing threats turned in by the greatest Western villains to pithy quotes and retorts from the genre’s most memorable antiheroes, the greatest Western movie one-liners of all time have encompassed a wide range of scenarios and characters. However, these immortal pieces of dialogue all have one thing in common: an innate level of quotability and memorability that has landed them iconic status in popular culture, a state of affairs that has persisted for more than half a century in some cases.

10

“One Hell Of A Time To Tell Me!”

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)

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Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

PG

Western

Adventure

9.7/10

Release Date

September 24, 1969

Runtime

111 Minutes

Director

George Roy Hill

Writers

William Goldman

Cast

See All

• 

  Paul Newman

  Butch Cassidy

• 

  Robert Redford

  Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid follows the exploits of two notorious outlaws as they navigate the challenges of a changing American West. Starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, the film combines elements of adventure and buddy comedy, capturing their attempts to evade capture while maintaining camaraderie. Directed by George Roy Hill, it explores themes of friendship and survival against the backdrop of early 20th-century societal shifts.

Main Genre

Western

Studio(s)

20th Century

Distributor(s)

20th Century

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Widely regarded as a Western that has helped define the modern genre, 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid provides a more lighthearted take on proceedings than many of the genre’s most seminal offerings. While the movie ultimately sees Robert Redford and Paul Newman’s titular duo bite the dust after being cornered by the authorities, director George Roy Hill still manages to imbue the final stages of the legendary gunslingers’ lives with the buddy Western’s trademark air of levity.

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Outnumbered by a large gang of outlaws in Bolivia, Sundance surreptitiously inquires if his partner can cover the men on the right, only for Cassidy to pick the worst time physically imaginable to inform the Kid that he’s never actually shot anybody before. The look of frozen disbelief on Robert Redford’s face is absolute gold, long before he rounds things off by grimly deadpanning: “One hell of a time to tell me.”

9

“You Brought Two Too Many.”

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)

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Once Upon a Time in the West

pg-13

Western

Drama

10/10

Release Date

December 20, 1968

Runtime

166 Minutes

Director

Sergio Leone

Writers

Sergio Leone, Sergio Donati, Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci

Cast

See All

• 

  Henry Fonda

• 

  Charles Bronson

Once Upon a Time in the West is a critically acclaimed Italian Western released in 1968. Directed by Sergio Leone, the film stars Henry Fonda as Frank and Charles Bronson as Harmonica, two men who work together to protect widow Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) from an assassin. Sergio Donati and Leone wrote the screenplay for the film based on a story by Dario Argento.

Main Genre

Western

Studio(s)

Rafran Cinematografica, San Marco, Paramount Pictures

Distributor(s)

Paramount Pictures

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One of the best opening movie scenes in cinematic history, 1968’s Once Upon a Time in the West introduces Charles Bronson’s Harmonica in unforgettable fashion, a scene that also happens to feature one of the genre’s finest one-liners. The iconic sequence sees the gunslinger confronted by a trio of bandits at a railway station, with Harmonica revealed to the eerie strains of his signature instrument as the train pulls away from the platform.

Cooly playing his harmonica as his ambushers approach, Bronson’s protagonist never takes his eyes off the bandits for a second. The men laugh derisively when he asks whether they have brought a mount for him too, sarcastically opining that it “looks like they’re shy one horse.” The smile rapidly fading from behind his eyes, Harmonica menacingly shakes his head before gunning the three bandits down in a thrilling instant: “You brought two too many.”

8

“What’s The Most You Ever Lost On A Coin Toss?”

No Country For Old Men (2007)

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No Country for Old Men

R

Thriller

Drama

Crime

9/10

14

8.2/10

Release Date

November 21, 2007

Runtime

122 minutes

Director

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Writers

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Cast

See All

• 

  Kelly Macdonald

• 

  Woody Harrelson

No Country for Old Men is a western crime-thriller based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy and directed by the Cohen Brothers. Following three protagonists, the film centers around a large $2,000,000+ cache of dirty money lost near the Rio Grande. With a veteran who finds it, a hitman who will stop at nothing to get it, and a sheriff trying to investigate the crimes connected to it, all roads lead to death and mayhem as they find themselves in each other’s crosshairs. 

Studio(s)

MiraMax

Distributor(s)

Universal Pictures, MiraMax

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One of the greatest Western supporting roles in cinematic history, Javier Bardem’s bow as Anton Chigurh in 2007’s No Country for Old Men was met with rave reviews, earning him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his take on Cormac McCarthy’s psychotic cartel hitman. One of cinema’s most memorable characters, Chigurh is arguably just as synonymous with a recurring piece of dialogue throughout the movie as he is with his signature cattle gun.

On more than one occasion, Bardem’s charge can be seen to leave the fate of his victims down to a coin toss. The movie’s most memorable example of this chilling status quo forms the basis of one of its finest scenes. Confronted with a gas station employee and potential witness in the film’s early goings, Chigurh produces arguably the genre’s most menacing piece of dialogue before proceeding to play a literal game of 50-50 chance with a human life: “What’s the most you ever lost on a coin toss?”

7

“I Call That Bold Talk For A One-Eyed Fat Man!”

True Grit (2010)

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True Grit

PG-13

Western

Drama

9/10

9.8/10

Release Date

December 22, 2010

Runtime

110 minutes

Director

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Writers

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Cast

See All

• 

  Jeff Bridges

• 

  Barry Pepper

An adaptation of Charles Portis’ 1968 novel of the same name, True Grit tells the story of 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), who enlists the help of morally-questionable lawman Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) in order to avenge the death of her father by apprehending the criminal Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). They are joined by a cocksure Texas Ranger named Labeouf (Matt Damon), who insists upon collecting the bounty on Chaney’s head. The three travel across the Arkansas plains in pursuit of Chaney, risking life and limb against outlaws and wild animals in pursuit of justice.

Main Genre

Western

Studio(s)

Paramount Pictures

Distributor(s)

Paramount Pictures

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An iconic scene that plays out in virtually identical fashion between the 1969 original and the 2010 remake, the Coen brothers’ take on True Grit’s most epic confrontation is just another area where their genre-revitalizing adaptation comes out on top. The scene in question sees Jeff Bridges’ Rooster Cogburn confront Ned Pepper’s gang in a four-to-one standoff. As he informs the men of his plans to dispatch them, Cogburn’s boldness prompts Barry Pepper’s charge to mockingly produce one of the best Western one-liners of all time: “I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!”

Of course, the memorability of Pepper’s instantly quotable soundbite isn’t hurt by the fact that the line is immediately followed by another iconic Western one-liner in response. Embarking on his epic one-man army act, Rooster’s equally legendary riposte of “Fill your hand, you son of a b****!” before he charges Pepper and his gang single-handedly is just another immortal quote to come out of this indispensable Western outing.

6

“When You Have To Shoot, Shoot. Don’t Talk.”

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Western

8.4/10

Release Date

December 29, 1967

Runtime

161 minutes

Director

Sergio Leone

Cast

• 

  Clint Eastwood

• 

  Eli Wallach

In the United States, a mysterious gunfighter tries to work together with a bandit and a bounty hunter to find a hidden treasure. The men are forced to forge a difficult alliance as each knows only part of the location. The big problem is that none of them has any intention of sharing the wealth once they’ve found it.

Main Genre

Western

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While Clint Eastwood’s Blondie is unsurprisingly the first name that comes to mind when one thinks of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, there’s a valid argument to be made that Eli Wallach’s Tuco was the best part of Sergio Leone’s Western classic. Case in point? Tuco is the man behind the most memorable piece of dialogue associated with the iconic 1966 outing, a scene that sees him get the drop on a vengeful assassin despite being ambushed in the act of taking a bath.

Despite his gloating foe purportedly finding him in “exactly the position” that suits him, Wallach’s charge guns his pursuer down through his bath bubbles with barely a moment’s hesitation. Coolly performing the coup de grâce on his stricken foe, Tuco wryly produces a Western movie life lesson for the ages with one of the genre’s finest lines: “If you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.”

5

“My Mistake. Four Coffins.”

A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)

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A Fistful of Dollars

pg-13

Western

Drama

10/10

8.3/10

Release Date

January 18, 1964

Runtime

99minutes

Director

Sergio Leone, Monte Hellman

Writers

Ryûzô Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, A. Bonzzoni, Víctor Andrés Catena, Sergio Leone, Jaime Comas Gil

Cast

See All

• 

  Clint Eastwood

• 

  Marianne Koch

A Fistful of Dollars is a spaghetti Western film from director Sergio Leone starring Clint Eastwood. A Fistful of Dollars is notable for being Clint Eastwood’s big break in Hollywood and also for being the beginning of the “Dollars Trilogy.” The film was followed by For a Few Dollars More in 1965 and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly in 1966.

Studio(s)

United Artists

Distributor(s)

United Artists

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While he may not be the genre’s most quotable character, Clint Eastwood’s leading man was still capable of producing more than a few iconic soundbites throughout the course of three appearances in Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy. He wasted no time in doing it either, with what is arguably the Man with No Name’s best quote coming in the early goings of his first movie appearance, 1964’s A Fistful of Dollars.

Coolly advising the town’s undertaker to “Get three coffins ready,” Eastwood’s charge proceeds to effortlessly dispatch four local bandits who had insulted him previously. While special mention must also be reserved for his iconic “Apologize to my mule” speech immediately prior, “Joe” places the cherry on this sequence’s cake by deadpanning his slight miscalculation to the bemused undertaker as he walks past: “My mistake, four coffins.”

4

“I Like The Way You Die, Boy.”

Django Unchained (2012)

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Django Unchained

R

Adventure

Drama

Western

Comedy

7/10

18

8.6/10

Release Date

December 25, 2012

Runtime

165 Minutes

Director

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Quentin Tarantino

Writers

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Quentin Tarantino

Cast

See All

• 

  Leonardo DiCaprio

• 

  Jonah Hill

Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained follows Jamie Foxx’s Django, a Black slave who is freed before becoming a bounty hunter. After meeting German dentist-turned-bounty-hunter Dr. King Schultz, Django sets off to free his wife from the cruel and charismatic plantation owner Calvin Candie. Christophe Waltz stars alongside Foxx, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kerry Washington rounding out the cast of Tarantino’s revisionist Spaghetti Western. 

Main Genre

Western

Studio(s)

Sony

Distributor(s)

Sony

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Doubling as one of the greatest Western quick draw moments as well as one of the genre’s foremost one-liners, Django Freeman’s vicious sign-off to John Brittle is virtually synonymous with Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 revisionist Western masterpiece, Django Unchained. Jamie Foxx’s charge partially avenges his wife’s earlier torment by gunning down the vile slaver before he can even comprehend what is happening, punctuating his vengeance with an immortal piece of dialogue.

Django Unchained has a rating of 8.5 on IMDb.

During his time on Django’s old plantation, John sadistically mocked Django’s pleas for the Brittle brothers to go easy during Broomhilda’s whipping, cruelly taunting “I like the way you beg, boy.” Shooting Brittle through the chest with a concealed pistol in the present, Django advances on his stunned and stricken foe before confirming the tables have well and truly turned, producing the movie’s most iconic quote of “I like the way you die, boy” as the dying slaver slumps face forwards.

3

“Deserve’s Got Nothing To Do With It.”

Unforgiven (1992)

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Unforgiven

R

Western

Drama

21

9.4/10

Release Date

August 7, 1992

Runtime

130 Mins

Director

Clint Eastwood

Writers

David Webb Peoples

Cast

See All

• 

  Clint Eastwood

  Bill Munny

• 

  Gene Hackman

  Little Bill Daggett

Unforgiven follows retired gunslinger Will Munny as he is drawn back into his former life for a final mission, seeking justice with his old partner and a young outlaw called The Schofield Kid.

Main Genre

Western

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One of the greatest Westerns of all time, 1992’s Unforgiven presented an unyielding look at the savage reality of the Old West. At its core, Unforgiven is a story about a bad man’s efforts to exact vengeance on another bad man, a state of affairs exemplified by William Munny’s parting riposte to “Little” Bill Daggett. Mortally wounded by Eastwood’s charge in retribution for Ned Logan’s death, Gene Hackman’s iconic villain laments his impending doom, arguing that he doesn’t deserve his fate.

Leveling his shotgun with a growl of implacable vengeance, Eastwood’s charge is unmoved: “Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.” At the end of the day, the ruthlessness of Munny’s quote exemplifies the unflinching realism and brutal simplicity that makes Unforgiven such a masterful Western. Manifest destiny and romanticized outlaw gangs be damned; Daggett killed Munny’s friend, so Munny is returning the favor. Hackman’s charge might be spot on, but notions of right and wrong matter little in the face of a vengeful friend.

2

“Dyin’ Ain’t Much Of A Livin’ Boy”

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

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The Outlaw Josey Wales

PG

Western

Drama

Action

10/10

Release Date

July 14, 1976

Runtime

135 minutes

Director

Clint Eastwood

Writers

Forrest Carter, Philip Kaufman, Sonia Chernus

Cast

See All

• 

  Clint Eastwood

• 

  Chief Dan George

The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 Western film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Set during and after the American Civil War, the film follows Josey Wales, a Missouri farmer seeking revenge for the murder of his family by Union soldiers. As he becomes an outlaw, Wales forms an unlikely band of outcasts and confronts various adversaries while struggling with his quest for vengeance and a chance at redemption.

Main Genre

Western

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Widely regarded as one of Clint Eastwood’s best movies, 1976’s The Outlaw Josey Wales plays host to one of his most quotable characters. The eponymous Civil War veteran and gunslinger has a penchant for producing some of the most ice-cool soundbites that the Western genre has ever witnessed, a state of affairs aided by Eastwood’s trademark gravelly cadence and style of delivery.

Eastwood fired the movie’s original director, Philip Kaufman, taking the reins himself for the remainder of production and prompting the later creation of the “Eastwood rule.”

While special mention must be reserved for his immortal “Well, are you gonna’ pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?” soundbite, Wales’ best quote sees him back down a would-be bounty hunter with no more than a sinister growl. After the young man almost sheepishly excuses his line of work by arguing that “a man’s got to do something for a living,” Wales menacingly advises him against trying his luck with him through a not-so-cryptic warning and a ferocious glare: “Dyin’ ain’t much of a livin’ boy.”

1

“I’m Your Huckleberry.”

Tombstone (1993)

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Tombstone

R

Western

Biography

Drama

8/10

273

9.4/10

Release Date

December 25, 1993

Runtime

130 minutes

Director

George P. Cosmatos, Kevin Jarre

Writers

Kevin Jarre

Cast

See All

• 

  Bill Paxton

• 

  Charlton Heston

Tombstone is a Western film loosely based on true events. When a group of outlaws known as the Cowboys ride into a town and slay several police officers for revenge for the death of two of their gang members, word of their misdeeds reaches the ears of a retired lawman. Gathering a group together, the new vigilantes will defend the town and aim to end the terror of the Cowboys.

Main Genre

Western

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The most quotable Western movie character of all time, it would stand to reason that Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday was the man behind its greatest one-liner. The Tombstone star is credited with many of the movie and the wider genre’s greatest soundbites, but none greater than his “I’m your Huckleberry” one-liner. Issued on multiple occasions throughout the film to Holliday’s nemesis, Micheal Biehn’s Johnny Ringo, the quote’s most memorable appearance comes during the climactic duel between the pair in the movie’s later goings.

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Emerging from the shadows to the sound of his trademark soundbite like a Stetson-wearing Grim Reaper, Holliday’s ice-cool quote wins him the duel long before he puts a bullet through Ringo’s head. Surveying his nervous foe with a contemptuous lack of respect, Kilmer underlines this state of affairs with another unforgettably cold line for the ages to seal this scene’s iconic status: “Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave.”

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Category: Entertainment