It’s hard to find a well-informed list of the best actors of all time that doesn’t include the great Henry Fonda, and if you find one that has Marilyn Monroe or Eddie Murphy on it and not Henry Fonda, you’ll know what well-informed doesn’t look like. Much of Fonda’s success came from his down-to-earth charisma and amazing diversity, winning critical acclaim for roles as a desperate migrant worker in the 1940 classic, The Grapes of Wrath; as a fair-minded juror in the 1957 classic, 12 Angry Men; and as a sour old man in On Golden Pond, for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor in 1981.
After honing his craft for five years on Broadway, Henry Fonda broke into film acting in 1934 with enough talent to land lead roles in his first three romantic dramas. He was already a star at the start of an incredible career that lasted more than four decades, and included major roles in more than 80 theatrical releases.
As with many of his peers (including actors like James Stewart, Gary Cooper, and Gregory Peck), Henry Fonda frequently took leading parts in westerns, and helped each film become much more than just another cowboy movie. Here are Henry Fonda’s eight greatest Western roles that shouldn’t be missed.
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8 A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)
Warner Bros.
In A Big Hand for the Little Lady, Henry Fonda plays an apparent farmer with a gambling addiction he can’t keep under control. While his wife — played by Joanne Woodward — is busy elsewhere, he sneaks into a poker game with the five richest men in the territory, losing the family fortune just before being discovered by his wife and collapsing. When she has to sit in for him, the rich are poised to get richer. A clever twist turns Fonda’s humble performance into a delightful revelation in A Big Hand for the Little Lady.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 The Tin Star (1957)
Paramount Pictures
In The Tin Star, the idealistic new Sheriff of an idealistic little town knows he’s in over his head when murders start to add up on his watch. The Sheriff (played by Anthony Perkins, three years before his iconic role in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho) discovers that a visiting and unwelcome bounty hunter (played by Henry Fonda) can teach him a thing or two about being a Sheriff. Henry Fonda’s portrayal of a weary but wise retired lawman was exactly what The Tin Star needed to give weight to its questions of justice and morality.
6 My Name Is Nobody (1973)
Titanus
In My Name is Nobody (a story from the mind of the spaghetti western master Sergio Leone and scored by the great Ennio Morricone), Henry Fonda plays a famous gunfighter who just wants to find a peaceful retirement — in Europe, that is; not six feet under.
But an admiring, younger gunfighter isn’t about to let his hero sneak off into the sunset without one last, legendary fight, and sets up an elaborate scheme that pits his hero against 150 outlaws. This intentionally comedic western pokes fun at the classic western themes that Leone, Morricone, and Fonda helped establish.
5 How the West Was Won (1962)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
A truly sprawling western whose story follows several generations of a family as they move into the west over the span of most of the 19th century, How the West Was Won featured multiple directors and dozens of stars, including the great Henry Fonda. As a buffalo hunter hired by an ever-expanding railroad to clear the land ahead, Fonda adds his star power to only one of the five chapters, but he shines as the moral compass, and it’s the intensity of his and many other captivating performances throughout the film that add up to one of the all-time epic westerns.
4 Fort Apache (1948)
RKO Radio Pictures
In Fort Apache, Henry Fonda plays the Custer-like commanding officer in charge of the fort, whose pride, ambition, and inexperience might just get everyone killed. His rigid authority is the perfect foil for John Wayne’s sensible and seasoned character. Fonda brings a necessary depth to the coldness of the commander, and reveals a surprising but genuine courage in the end.
Directed by the great John Ford, the film is a reminder that prejudice is built on ignorance and pride, and that respect is earned, even in the military outposts and vast plains of the wild west.
3 Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Henry Fonda has always shown a special strength at portraying the ordinary man dedicated to doing the right thing, and most of his greatest roles reflect that. In Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West, however, he shocked audiences by playing a ruthless, psychopathic villain. It wasn’t the first time he had played the villain, but in Leone’s masterpiece, it was a mesmerizing and unforgettable role that many believe was one of his finest in westerns. The film also features one of Ennio Morricone’s best scores.
2 The Ox-Bow Incident (1942)
20th Century Fox
Western movies usually entertain their audiences with stories of straightforward conflict between good guys and bad guys, but few transcend the genre to teach complicated lessons about human nature like The Ox-Bow Incident.
Henry Fonda stars as one of several concerned men who get tangled up with a mob that is unwilling to wait for the slow process of the law to provide the justice they demand. Three strangers are captured, and lives hang in the balance. Henry Fonda is brilliant as the voice of reason, but his voice might not be enough to prevent tragic events that can’t be undone.
1 My Darling Clementine (1946)
The legendary exploits of Wyatt Earp are one of the most popular and enduring stories told in Hollywood. Directed by John Ford, My Darling Clementine doesn’t make the gunfight at the O.K. Corral the centerpiece of the story, even though the iconic director had actually discussed the legendary gunfight with the real Wyatt Earp early in his career. Instead, Ford does something different here, in one of the best western movies of all time.
Ultimately, My Darling Clementine is a story of change, in the town of Tombstone, in the lives of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday, and in the Old West. Ford’s decision to use Henry Fonda for the role of a laid-back but supremely confident Wyatt Earp was perfect, making the film a story of human perseverance, not deadly skill, and Henry Fonda’s performance was a landmark in western filmmaking.
