Welcome to my 2024 blog series — Western Movies Taglines —
which I will post on the first Wednesday of the month.
As I
compiled this list of movies, I discovered many western movies didn’t have taglines or
the taglines were terrible. I’ll get these out of the way first.
WHAT is a tagline?
A tagline is a short, clever line or couple of lines found
on a movie’s poster or on a book cover,.
I’ll share 20-ish movies each month February through November. January and December will look like this:
JANUARY: 1) Great taglines from
well-known non-western movies to
show how a tagline can enhance our interest in the movie. 2) Many western movies that have awful taglines or no taglines at all.
DECEMBER: 1) I’ll list the movie taglines I think are outstanding, as in I'm saving the best for last. 2) I’ll offer my tagline suggestions for western
movies I think deserved better taglines. 3) I will also have a spreadsheet with
all the movies and taglines from this series available for downloading.
Good taglines of non-western
movies to get us in the mindset:
Mr. Majestyk
He didn't want to be a hero...until the day they pushed him
too far.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
We are not alone.
The Sound of Music
The Happiest Sound in All the World.
Taxi Driver
On every street in every city in this country, there is a
nobody who dreams of being a somebody.
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
The nearer they get to the treasure the farther they get
from the law.
Ghostbusters
Who ya gonna call?
Dirty Harry
You don't assign him to murder cases. You just turn him
loose.
The 'Burbs
He's a man of peace in a savage land...Suburbia
Deliverance
This is the weekend they didn't play golf
Saturday Night Fever
Catch it
Monsters, Inc.
We scare, because we care
Forrest Gump
Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're
gonna get.
Hellboy
…from the other side to our side
Shindler's List
The list is life.
Highlander
There can be only one
O’ Brother Where Art Thou?
They have a plan, but not a clue…
Christmas Vacation
Yule crack up
12 Angry Men
Life is in their hands – Death is on their minds.
Platoon
The first casualty of war is innocence
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Have the adventure of your life keeping up with the Joness
Chicken Run
Escape or die frying
Star Wars
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away
Jaws
You’ll never go in the water again
JANUARY WESTERN MOVIE
TAGLINES that are missing or are terrible:
How the West was Won (1962)
24 Great Stars In The Mightiest Adventure Ever Filmed!
Rio Lobo (1970)
Give ‘em Hell, John (1970)
Westward the Women (1951) No tagline
Arrowhead (1953) No tagline
Bandolero! (1968)
There are “Westerns” and “Westerns”. Every now and then
comes a NEW kind of Western. This is “BANDOLERO!
The Big Sky (1952)
Theirs the great adventure… (sic)
Giants who carved America from wilderness! SURGING from the
pages of the best-seller that thrilled millions…the towering story of the men
who conquered the untamed Norwest!
Bite the Bullet (1975)
In the tradition of Shane and High Noon. A new Western
Classis is born!
Viva Zapata! (1952) No tagline
Broken Lance (1954 No tagline
Burning Hills (1956)
The shy guy from “Battle Cry’
The girl from ‘Rebel without a Cause’
Wild Times (1980) No tagline
The Man who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Together for the first time—James Stewart – John Wayne—in
the masterpiece of four-time Academy Award winner John Ford.
Fort Apache (1948) No tagline
Shalako (1968)
Sean Connery is SHALAKO!
SHALAKO MEANS Action! Action Means Bardot!
I Will Fight No More Forever (1975) No tagline
Lonesome Dove (1989)
The epic film as big as the West.
My Darling Clementine (1946) No tagline
Rio Grande (1950) John Ford’s greatest romantic triumph!
Quick and the Dead (1987) No tagline
River of No Return (1954)
Engulfs you in a flood of excitement! And she can sing, too!
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
John Ford’s New and Finest Picture of the Fighting Cavalry!
The Sacketts (1979) No tagline
Unforgiven (1960)
Stands Tall and Proud Among the Screen Giants!
Gone to Texas (1986) No tagline
The Lonely Man (1957) No tagline
The Virginian (1946) No tagline
The two on this list I’m most disappointed in are How the West was Won and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I will
remedy this most egregious Hollywood oversight in December.
See you in February with more western movies taglines,
Kaye Spencer
www.kayespencer.com