Western comedies continue to dazzle and entertain audiences with their sidesplitting humor, thrilling action, and engrossing storylines. The unique genre of film has been successfully utilized in Hollywood for decades, going as far back as the 1930s with iconic comedic duo Laurel and Hardy bringing the uproarious hijinks in the smash hit Way Out West. Some of the most celebrated movie stars of yesterday’s past headlined these flicks, such as Jane Fonda, Steve Martin, James Garner, and Don Knotts.
While the genre was undoubtedly a fan favorite in twentieth century cinema, there have been a few knockout films in more recent years that captured the magic of the two storytelling styles. Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson were hilarious as a mismatched outlaw pair in the 2000 success Shanghai Noon, while Mel Gibson helped bring a popular television series to the big screen in the ‘90s farce Maverick. Let’s take a look at some of the funniest Western comedies out there.
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9 Way Out West
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Comedy dream team Laurel and Hardy were back at it again in the hilarious 1937 hit Way Out West, which follows the iconic performers as they set off to deliver an important deed for a goldmine in the rough-and-tumble town of Brushwood Gulch, with the hapless pair accidentally delivering the document to the wrong hands. The beloved classical Hollywood duo where right in their slapstick glory in the memorable western spoof, serving as a satire for the popular musical westerns sweeping the nation featuring artist Gene Autry. Both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy considered Way Out West one of their personal favorite projects, as they were given the opportunity to perform both their routines and fun, musical numbers.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Shanghai Noon
Touchstone Pictures
Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan are a delightful oddball duo in the 2000 martial arts action comedy Shanghai Noon, superbly blending the Western genre with elements of kung fu, humor and buddy cop camraderie in the thrilling big screen extravaganza. The lively pictures centers on Chinese Imperial Guard Chon Wang, as he reluctantly partners up with outlaw Roy O’Bannon to rescue the country’s princess who has been kidnapped and brought to the Nevada Wild West.
Shanghai Noon was both a critical and commercial hit, earning praise for its feel good humor, thrilling action and endearing chemistry between leads Wilson and Chan; the successful sequel Shanghai Knights was released in 2003, and a third film is reportedly in development with the pair set to return.
7 Cat Ballou
Columbia Pictures
Sensational leading lady Jane Fonda appeared alongside Lee Marvin in the 1965 western comedy Cat Ballou, telling the story of an aspiring schoolteacher who embraces the outlaw life after she sets out to seek vengeance against the man responsible for her father’s murder. On her quest for revenge, Cat seeks out the help from a has-been gunslinger and a charming cattle rustler to track down the hired gun, with entertaining hijinks naturally ensuing along the way. Marvin won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual performance as both the dangerous hitman and washed-up triggerman who helps Kat. Cat Ballou landed on the American Film Institute’s top 10 list of greatest westerns of all time, and was lauded for both its humor and darker elements.
6 Maverick
Warner Bros.
Richard Donner directed the sidesplitting 1994 Western comedy Maverick, an adaptation of the television show of the same name that features Mel Gibson as the sly con man and savvy poker player Bret Maverick, with the actor sharing the screen with Jodie Foster and James Garner (the star of the original series).
Maverick wants to join a high-stakes poker tournament with a lucrative payout, and in the process of coming up with the funds to enter he makes enemies in fellow swindler/hopeful Annabelle (Foster) and resilient Marshal Zane Cooper (Garner). Maverick was a knockout with moviegoers, earning an A- CinemaScore rating and raking in $183 million at the box office while also nabbing an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design.
5 Support Your Local Sheriff!
United Artists
Leaning in to the tried-and-true Western plot frequently used in the popular genre, the 1969 parody Support Your Local Sheriff! stars James Garner as the rugged and confident gunfighter Jason McCullough. The sharp-shooter arrives in the Colorado town of Calendar to rid it of the many criminals and rascals running rampant, joining forces with the local “village idiot” to clean house.
Despite initially failing to make a splash with audiences, the comedy has gone on to find new life in the years since its release, with Decent Films commenting, “Garner brings a variation on his ‘Maverick’ persona to this classic satirical Western [that] does for Westerns what The Princess Bride did for fairy-tale fantasy.” A sequel entitled Support Your Local Gunfighter was released in 1971, with most of the original cast returning.
4 The Apple Dumpling Gang
Buena Vista Distribution
Comedy heavy-hitters Don Knotts and Tim Conway kicked off their string of slapstick cinema hits with the 1975 farce The Apple Dumpling Gang, with the uproarious duo appearing opposite Bill Bixby in the beloved Disney flick. Telling the amusing tale of a gambler and notorious bachelor (Bixby) who becomes guardian of a trio of orphaned siblings, the film follows the kids as they discover they’ve inherited a massive amount of money from their deceased father and are pursued by a slew of greedy characters, including a pair of bumbling and lovable outlaws (Knotts & Conway). The feel-good comedy was carried by the performances of the leading funnymen, who would go on to reprise their roles in the 1979 follow-up The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.
3 Three Amigos!
Orion Pictures
John Landis directed the 1986 cult classic hit Three Amigos!, touting a sensational ensemble cast led by comedy greats Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short that centers on the cowboy-playing silent film trio who are inadvertently mistaken for real life gunfighters when they are paid by desperate villagers in Mexico to rid their home of a ruthless bad guy known as El Guapo.
The legendary comedians were each able to show off their unique comedic flair and charisma in the underrated flick, which gradually gained a passionate fan following and garnered appreciation from since its initial debut. The Los Angeles Times called Three Amigos! “a goofy delight. It’s like a cross between a big-budget Three Stooges movie and a Hope-Crosby road picture, with dozens of old cowpoke gags thrown in to spice up the brew.”
2 City Slickers
Chronicling the entertaining journey three longtime friends embark upon in order to escape the mundane aspects of their everyday lives, the 1991 comedy City Slickers depicts the trio as they set out on an exciting cattle drive from New Mexico to Colorado with the supervision of a seasoned cowboy. Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, and Bruno Kirby are superb as the thrill-seeking men, who find their seemingly care-free two week adventure complicated by fearsome foes, hilarious blunders, and heart-warming bonding. The Oscar-winning City Slickers has landed on countless critics’ lists of funniest films of all time and is a knockout for its absurdly amusing humor and uplifting overall message.
1 Blazing Saddles
Hands down the most iconic and exceptional Western comedy ever created is without-a-doubt Mel Brooks’ 1974 satirical masterpiece Blazing Saddles, which depicts the noble efforts of the newly appointed sheriff of Rock Ridge Bart (Cleavon Little), the frontier town’s first black lawman who is subjected to racial prejudice by its opinionated residents. When a group of dangerous thugs threaten the small community, Bart becomes the townspeople’s only hope, so he partners up with the local booze-loving gunslinger Jim (Gene Wilder) to get the job done.
Blazing Saddles earned three Academy Award nominations and is one of the most revered parodies to ever grace the silver screen, with Todaynoting retrospectively that the classic “skewer[ed] just about every aspect of racial prejudice while keeping the laughs coming.” The sensational picture was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2006 and remains a hallowed comedy staple.
