19 best movies like Lightning Strikes West (1940)

This epic, action-packed Western tells the incredible true story of Bass Reeves, the first black marshal in the Wild West. Having escaped from slavery after the Civil War, he arrives in Arkansas seeking a job with the law. To prove himself, he must hunt down a deadly outlaw with the help of a grizzled journeyman. As he chases the criminal deeper into the Cherokee Nation, Reeves must not only dodge bullets, but severe discrimination in hopes of earning his star--and cement his place as a cowboy legend.

John Henry returns to his hometown in hopes of repairing his relationship with his estranged father, but a local gang is terrorizing the town. John Henry is the only one who can stop them, however he has abandoned both his gun and reputation as a fearless quick-draw killer.

A stranger stumbles into the desert town of Absolution with no memory of his past and a futuristic shackle around his wrist. With the help of mysterious beauty Ella and the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde, he finds himself leading an unlikely posse of cowboys, outlaws, and Apache warriors against a common enemy from beyond this world in an epic showdown for survival.

Dayton Hyde’s destiny leads him on a dramatic journey through the West, from rodeos, conservation battles, and wild horse rescues to award-winning books, personal heartbreak and new-found love.

Detective Matthias Breecher, hired to track down the worst of the Confederate war criminals, roams the Old West seeking justice. His resolve is tested when he meets a determined pioneer woman who is far more than she seems.

Spanning the years 1865 to 1890, The American West, will show how -- in the aftermath of the Civil War -- the United States transforms into the “land of opportunity.” Viewers will be transported into the violent world of cowboys, Indians, outlaws and law men. The 8-episode limited event series chronicles the personal, little-known stories of Western legends such as Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. The series features exclusive interviews with notable names from classic Western films, including Robert Redford, James Caan, Burt Reynolds, Tom Selleck, Kiefer Sutherland, Mark Harmon, Ed Harris and more.

Emmett Murphy (Shane Hagedorn) is a Civil War veteran who returns to his Michigan home looking for peace. After his wife dies, he fulfills his promise to a dying soldier and brings the Negro widow, Haddie (Lauren LaStrada) and her daughter to stay with him and his son. The townsfolk aren’t ready for this modern family and a nefarious plot to remove them is hatched. Facing bigotry and greatly outnumbered, Emmett struggles to find faith. But when the circus train comes to town, a mysterious turn of events provide Emmett and his family with the unexpected help they need to overcome.

Set in 1845, this drama follows a group of settlers as they embark on a punishing journey along the Oregon Trail. When their guide leads them astray, the expedition is forced to contend with the unforgiving conditions of the high plain desert.

Aging sidekick Lefty Brown has ridden with Eddie Johnson his entire life. But when a rustler kills Eddie, Lefty is forced from his partner’s shadow and must confront the ugly realities of frontier justice.

A Civil War veteran returns home to the quiet countryside, only to find himself embroiled in a conflict between his family and the brutish cattle rancher harassing them.

In the 1880s western "Traded", a father must leave his ranch for Dodge City to save his daughter from an old enemy, putting his reputation as the fastest draw in the west to the test.

A small-town marshal who hasn't carried a gun since he left the Texas Rangers after a tragic shooting must pick up his gun again to do battle with a gang of outlaw bikers that has invaded the town to pull off a brazen and violent heist.

Seven gun men in the old west gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves.

When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy. Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs, to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women head east, where a waiting minister and his wife have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat.

The story of notorious outlaw Taylon Flynn, a man hell-bent on exiting this life in a blaze of glory. His plans go awry upon the discovery of the sordid life his estranged daughter is forced to live. To save her, he must summon the inner demons he purged long ago, and finds that redemption is a hard road to travel.

When a young woman learns her parents' killer has been released from jail, she is forced to revisit old wounds while discovering the destructive power of hate and the true cost of family secrets fully revealing themselves.

An alcoholic drifter must battle withdrawal and psychotic rednecks after he becomes the target of a deranged sporting event.

A bounty hunter named Atticus Gage tracks down criminals in a post-apocalyptic Earth.

A tenderfoot from Philadelphia, two misfit gamblers on the run, and a deadly preacher have a date with destiny in a boom town gone bust called Big Kill.