The Best Sam Elliott Movies

Ranker Film
Updated August 26, 2022 6.9K votes 1.5K voters 100.6K views
Over 1.5K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Sam Elliott Movies
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Vote for your favorite movies, regardless of critic reviews or how big the role was.

With more than 1,500 movie fans having voted on this list, the best Sam Elliott movies have been ranked. The long-time actor has had a career that spans decades, from Westerns to dramas and comedies. He's best known for his deep voice and iconic mustache, but he can do it all - romance, comedy, drama, you name it.

Elliott is often cast as the stoic cowboy or wise elder statesman type who dispenses sage advice and provides emotional support when needed. His most famous roles include the Stranger in The Big Lebowski, Virgil Earp in Tombstone, and Bobby Maione in A Star Is Born.

Fans of Sam Elliot will find something to love on this list of his greatest movies - so why not check out these top picks from movie lovers around the world. Vote up your favorites today. 

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  • Tombstone
    1

    Tombstone

    Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Michael Biehn
    319 votes
    • Released: 1993
    • Directed by: George P. Cosmatos
    Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and his brothers, Morgan (Bill Paxton) and Virgil (Sam Elliott), have left their gunslinger ways behind them to settle down and start a business in the town of Tombstone, ...more

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  • Road House
    2

    Road House

    Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott
    274 votes
    • Released: 1989
    • Directed by: Rowdy Herrington
    The Double Deuce is the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton (Patrick Swayze) has been hired to clean it up. He might not look like much, but the Ph.D.-educated ...more

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  • The Sacketts
    3

    The Sacketts

    Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Glenn Ford
    198 votes
    • Released: 1979
    • Directed by: Robert Totten
    The made-for-television western The Sacketts combines the plotlines from two seperate Louis L'Amour novels, The Daybreakers and The Sacketts. In this film, the three Tennessee-raised Sackett brothers ...more
  • Conagher
    4

    Conagher

    Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, Barry Corbin
    217 votes
    • Released: 1991
    • Directed by: Reynaldo Villalobos
    Pioneer woman Evie Teale (Katharine Ross) is headed west with her family to start a new life, only to have her husband, Jacob (Billy Green Bush), tragically die during the journey. Left to fend for ...more

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  • The Quick and the Dead
    5

    The Quick and the Dead

    Sam Elliott, Kate Capshaw, Tom Conti
    210 votes
    • Released: 1987
    • Directed by: Robert Day
    The Quick and the Dead is a 1987 television movie, based on the 1973 novel by Louis L'Amour, directed by Robert Day and starring Sam Elliott, Tom Conti, Kate Capshaw, Kenny Morrison and Matt Clark.

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  • The Shadow Riders
    6

    The Shadow Riders

    Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross
    188 votes
    • Released: 1982
    • Directed by: Andrew V. McLaglen
    Mac Traven (Tom Selleck) is a Civil War veteran who fought for the North, while his brother, Dal (Sam Elliott), was allied with the South. In spite of this considerable point of contention, the ...more