in the 1940s through the early 70s the
western movie experienced a surge of
popularity the so-called spaghetti
westerns popularized by films like
sergio leone's a fistful of dollars and
the good the bad and the ugly took the
western to unprecedented heights in
westerns you have the lone wolf
protagonist typically a rugged cowboy or
sheriff whose sole duty is to put bad
guys in the ground or behind bars and of
course every western needs their loyal
steed and trusty firearm lastly any wild
west hero has to have someone to save
and in westerns that person typically is
some kind of doll-eyed girl with a
tragic past either that or she's a
dazzling brothel worker with a heart of
gold and an excellent shot now we could
argue about whether or not the portrayal
of women in westerns has been
historically problematic but that's the
topic for an entirely different video
join facts first as we take a look back
at some of the most beautiful seductive
sexy and sultry women from classic
western films
barbara stanwick throughout her six
decade acting career stan mc appeared in
pictures covering just about every
conceivable film genre she shined in
comedies like the lady eve and ball of
fur and was the archetypal noir beauty
in flicks like 1944's double indemnity
in 1946's the strange love of martha
ivers but her best known roles which
proved to be the bread and butter of her
career were in westerns she appeared in
dozens of classics under the direction
of a wide array of esteemed directors
like fritz lang frank capra and cecil b
demille she made 85 films in the 38
years before she turned to television
she was not only drop dead gorgeous but
also tough as nails when she pointed a
gun at someone he knew she meant
business beyond that she could ride a
horse like nobody's business in 1935
barbara starred in the george stevens
directed western annie oakley a
romanticized biography about a legendary
sharpshooter four years later she
appeared in cecil b demille's acclaimed
western union pacific she won a pom door
award at the khan film festival for that
performance in 1941 she shared the
screen with joel mcrae and brian don
levy in the great man's lady a film
about an elderly pioneer woman who tells
her tale through a series of flashbacks
a few of her other most noteworthy
western credits include 1947's
california 1950s the furies and 1953's
the moonlighter
catherine ross born in 1940 this la
native joined the screen actors guild
after attending santa rosa junior
college for a year she got her start
acting appearing in theatrical stage
productions and made her film debut in
the 1965 civil war themed drama
shenandoah in 1969 ross played the
female lead at a place in one of the
most influential westerns of all time
butch cassidy and the sundance kid that
same year she starred in the western
tell them willie boy is here the film
was based on the true story of a
chemehuevi palute native american boy
willie boy who has a run-in with the law
in banning california in 1909. both of
these films earned ross a bafta award
for best actress ross went on to appear
in films like the stepford wives and
richard kelly's cult classic science
fiction film donnie darko most recently
she's made appearances in films like
2017's the hero and 2019's attachments
she's now 82 years old and has since
retired from acting before we tell you
more about western beauties be sure to
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amanda blake born february 20th 1929
blake discovered she was interested in
acting while she was attending pomona
college in claremont california after
throwing herself into her craft and
participating in community theater
productions she went on to do summer
stock theater in new england eventually
she made her way to hollywood where she
was discovered by mgm she made her film
debut in 1950s stars in my crown and
proceeded to appear in more than a dozen
films and tv shows in the early 50s her
big break came when she landed the role
of miss kitty russell the proprietor of
the long branch saloon in the 1955
western series gunsmoke she would hold
on to that role for the next 19 years
between 1955 and 74 blake made very few
films but she made numerous appearances
on tv shows like the red skelton show
tattletails alfred hitchcock presents
and the love boat in 1987 just two years
before her death she reprised her role
as kitty russell in the tv film gunsmoke
returned to dodge city blake died of
liver failure caused by viral hepatitis
on august 16 1989.
katie jurado born in 1924 jurado was
best known for playing helen ramirez in
the classic western high noon when she
was cast in this role she was already a
well-known actress in mexico who'd
appeared in numerous films in what was
known as the golden age of mexican
cinema high noon was gerardo's second
hollywood film at the time it was rare
for a hollywood movie to include a
latina actress especially one who would
play a fully developed character
integral to the film's plot ramirez was
not only a crucial member of the high
noon cast she was also a successful
independent businesswoman gerardo made
history when she became the first latin
american actress to be nominated for an
academy award for her performance in
1954's broken lance in addition to high
noon she was also known for her roles in
films like veracruz el bruto one eye
jacks and nosotros los pobres she passed
away in 2002 at age 78.
claudia cardinale this italian actress
born in 1938 starred in several
critically acclaimed european films in
the 60s and 70s she was born in la
goulette a neighborhood in tunis in 1957
she won the most beautiful girl in
tunisia competition she soon landed a
film contract with the help of her
mentor and eventual husband franco
cristaldi while she's famous for her
roles in films like fellini's eight and
a half and the leopard cardinale's
biggest western film was sergio leone's
1968 epic spaghetti western once upon a
time in the west carnale is now 84 but
she's yet to retire from acting
according to imdb she has 128 credits to
her name most recently she's appeared in
films like rogue city and nana's on the
run her film the island of forgiveness
is currently in post-production and
expected to hit theaters in 2022
jane russell born in 1921 russell was
known for being one of the most
prominent sex symbols in hollywood in
the 1940s and 50s she grew up in the
midwest but after she moved to
california she was given her first film
role in howard hughes's 1943 western the
outlaw during production hughes became
obsessed with russell's bust even going
as far as to design a custom-made
brazier to seamlessly accentuate her
curves some have even claimed hughes's
creation was an early prototype of the
push-up bra russell however wasn't
pleased with the eccentric director's
invention and apparently threw it across
her trailer and instead patted her
regular bra to create the same seamless
effect howard was going for after the
outlaw russell shifted her focus to
music she returned to film in the 1950s
most notably starring in gentlemen
prefer blondes but afterwards she once
again returned to music in the 60s she
made several more film appearances
before transitioning into television
russell spent the remainder of her days
living in the santa maria valley along
california's central coast before dying
of a respiratory illness february 28
2011.
raquel welch born in 1940 welch first
gained attention for her role in the
1966 science fiction film fantastic
voyage she then won a contract with 20th
century fox later that year she appeared
in the cult classic 1 million years bc
even though she only had a few lines of
dialogue in the movie images of her
donning a doe-skinned bikini ended up
becoming some of the best selling
posters of the period because of that
she was transformed into an
international sex symbol in 1968 she
appeared in the andrew v mclaughlin
western bendallero the following year
she starred alongside burt reynolds and
jim brown in the tom greece directed
western 100 rifles her last major
western was 1971's hannie calder in 1995
empire magazine named welch one of the
100 sexiest stars in film history
likewise men's health ranked her number
two in its list of the hottest women of
all time in 2011. at 81 welch is still
active in hollywood most recently she
appeared in the 2017 film how to be a
latin lover now it's time to hear from
you which one of these ladies is your
favorite let us know in the comments
section below and before you go make
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