The 25 Most Iconic Quotes From Classic Western Movies

"That'll be the day."

Warner Bros

—John Wayne as Ethan Edwards in The Searchers (1956)

An often-overlooked rock music legend states that Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, and Sonny Curtis loved this line so much that they used it as a title of a future Crickets hit. The song "That'll Be The Day" had an immeasurable impact on popular music. It later became the Beatles' first recording under the previous band name, the Quarrymen. In short, this quote puts just one degree of separation between the Duke and the Beatles!

"Pilgrim"

Paramount Pictures

-- John Wayne as Tom Doniphon in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Pretty much every Wayne impersonation stresses his supposed tendency to nickname others "Pilgrim." On the contrary, he only spoke the line in two films. He first used it as a nickname for Jimmy Stewart's character in the classic western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. It makes sense that John Wayne's legacy as a quotable cowboy is tied to this film, as it's an all-time great. He uttered the line the final time a year later in McClintock.

"I know enough about men to steer clear of them."

Universal Pictures

—Katharine Hepburn as Eula Goodnight in Rooster Cogburn (1975)

The cantankerous pairing of Eula Goodnight (Hepburn) and Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) made for a funny and heartwarming tale chock full of memorable quips in this sequel to Wayne's Oscar winner True Grit. Ms. Goodnight exemplifies the women who, due to the unpredictable nature of the frontier, knew how to hold their own with words or a weapon.

Read More: 'True Grit': The Western That Earned John Wayne His Only Oscar

"You see, in this world, there's two kinds of people, my friend; those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."

Produzioni Europee Associate

—Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

This classic spaghetti western pairs up Clint Eastwood against Eli Wallach in an epic showdown.

"Dying ain't much of a living, boy."

Warner Bros

—Clint Eastwood as Josey Wales in The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

It's hard to pick just one quote from this film's string of memorable one-liners. However, this quote best captures the resolve all of Eastwood's Western characters needed in the face of endless and gratuitous violence.

"We'll give you a fair trial, followed by a first-class hanging!"

Columbia Pictures

—Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Cobb in Silverado (1985)

Dennehy established himself as the right man to wear a sheriff's badge, especially if there are unwanted drifters in town, in the original Rambo film First Blood. He was just as effective as the crooked lawman in this star-studded 1985 film.

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's living. I doubt it matters where you die, but it matters where you live."

CBS

—Robert Duvall as Gus McCrae in the Lonesome Dove TV miniseries (1989)

The fearlessness and wisdom of Captain McCrae were on full display when he uttered this line.

"I'm your Huckleberry."

Buena Vista Pictures Distributio

—Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993)

Over 20 years since its release, Tombstone remains the most quotable Western not starring John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. The seminal line is an old saying that means "I'm the right person for the job." Undoubtedly as colorful a character as the real-life Doc Holliday, Val Kilmer harnessed a cocky swagger and strong self-dependence. The film, featuring Kurt Russell co-starring as Wyatt Earp and Michael Biehn as Johnny Ringo, remains one of the most memorable modern western flicks.

"Well, right now I don't feel too agreeable"

Universal Pictures

-- Clint Eastwood as The Stranger in High Plains Drifter (1973)

Uttered during Eastwood's second film as both star and director, this line may not be the one that leapt out most from the script, but it perfectly establishes Clint's nameless character as a wayward vagabond with an itchy trigger finger and secretive motives.

"We're gonna give 'em war"

Warner Bros.

-- William Holden as Pike Bishop in The Wild Bunch (1969)

One of the best-delivered lines in a film that's bursting with primo tough-guy talk. When Bishop rallies his men for the coming gunfight, you want to grab a rifle, step through the screen, and join them.

"When you're gonna shoot, shoot, don't talk"

United Artists

 -- Eli Wallach as Tuco (The Ugly) in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)

When an adversary catches Tuco with his pants down (literally - The Ugly is stewing in a nice and sudsy bath when he's rudely held up at gunpoint), the adversary goes into a long-winded account of how he tracked Tuco. The Ugly uses the opportunity to draw his gun from underwater and cut the tale short. He then delivers the line, which made the cast and crew break out into raucous laughter.

"You're short on ears and long on mouth."

National General Pictures

-- John Wayne as Jacob McCandles in Big Jake (1971)

The Duke was approaching the end of his career when Big Jake hit theaters, but lines like this proved he still had it. He says the line to his two sons with all the grouchy wisdom of a father who, quite frankly, has had enough.

"We're in the West, the West is where you make your luck."

The Weinstein Compan

-- Samuel L Jackson as Major Marquis Warren in The Hateful Eight (2015)

A genre so often about loners in a desolate landscape is perfectly summarized by Jackson in this line from Tarantino's bloody take on Westerns. In this violent land, the only one you can truly count on is yourself.

"You gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?"

Warner Bros

-- Clint Eastwood as Josey Wales in The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

Eastwood delivers this line before a standoff in an old western town, and it's got to be one of the hardest challenges ever made in film.

"....and I'm here to kill you."

Warner Bros

-- Clint Eastwood as William Munny in Unforgiven (1992)

Some consider this film the last great true Western, and Eastwood took home two Oscars for it - one for Best Director and one for Best Picture. Munny delivers this line as he reveals his intention for arriving at the saloon: to avenge the death of his good friend Ned.

"Fill your hands you son of a b**ch."

Paramount Pictures

-- John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (1969)

This must be one of the coolest ways to say "pick up your gun" ever spoken aloud. A one-eyed John Wayne shouts the one-liner at a posse before riding his horse full speed right at them, reins in his teeth so he can wield a rifle in one hand and a pistol in the other.

"You don't have to worry about me, Wyatt. I'm not that drunk."

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

—  Billy Bob Thornton as Johnny Tyler in Tombstone (1993).

In one of his first-ever roles, Thornton has a small but memorable part as a drunken card player. This line - and all of his lines - were apparently ad-libbed on the spot.

"You gonna do somethin'? Or are you just gonna stand there and bleed?"

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

— Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp in Tombstone (1993)

Tombstone is full of tough guys delivering tough guy lines. Almost every sentence in the film could have made this list, but we managed to narrow it down to a handful of our favorites. Wyatt Earp growls this one in Johnny Tyler's face after slapping him silly for sitting in his favorite spot. Afterward, Tyler does just stand there and bleed, scared frozen, before Earp cops his gun and throws him through the double doors.

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

Paramount Pictures

 -- Carleton Young as Maxwell Scott in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

 The pivotal quote is uttered by a newspaper editor upon learning the truth about the mysterious title character's identity. This revelation starkly contradicts the widely accepted account. In the narrative, John Wayne's character, Tom Doniphon, is the actual individual responsible for dispatching the notorious outlaw, Liberty Valance. However, it is James Stewart's character, "Ranse" Stoddard, who receives the credit, adulation, and career advancement for this act.

The enduring falsehood of this version has cemented itself as "fact" over the years, having been perpetuated through various retellings. Consequently, this distorted narrative is what will be recorded in the annals of history, officially documented in printed records, despite the genuine sequence of events that transpired.

"It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got, and all he's ever gonna have."

Warner Bros

-- Clint Eastwood as Will Munny in Unforgiven (1992)

One of the ways the revisionist Western rewrote the cowboy narrative was by subverting attitudes toward death. Gunned-down adversaries were given little mind in the classic Western. But with this quote, Munny asserts the gravity of taking another human life.

"I like the way you die, boy"

The Weinstein Company

-- Jamie Fox as Django in Django Unchained (2012)

When an enslaved Django pleaded for cruel plantation owner Big John Brittle to stop whipping his wife, Brittle said, "I like the way you beg, boy." Years later, when Django gets his revenge by shooting Brittle in the chest, he rattles of this one-liner - the last words Brittle hears

"When you side with a man, you stay with him! And if you can't do that, you're like some animal, you're finished!"

Warner Bros./Seven Arts

-- William Holden as Pike Bishop in The Wild Bunch (1969)

 A major theme of this film was how the one man army cowboy that defined the post-Civil War American West had become obsolete by the early 1900s. A man needed a crew to survive - and this quote embodies that code of brotherhood.

"What you need in these parts is a marshal that's better at smelling than spelling."

Republic Pictures

-- John Wayne as Bob Seton in Dark Command (1940)

The classic street smarts versus book smarts debate was being waged even back then. And this line argues that in the Wild West, street smarts reign supreme - despite the lack of paved roads.

"Yoo-hoo, I'll Make You Famous"

20th Century Fox

-- Emilio Estevez as Billy the Kid in Young Guns II (1990)

The Kid says this biting line as he pumps an adversary full of lead. The quip is a less-than-humble reference to The Kid's notoriety, which is so vast that even those he kills will gain celebrity.

"You're a Daisy if you do."

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

—Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993)

This line, said as McLaury gets the jump on Doc and is seemingly about to shoot him, may have a double meaning. The surface level read is that Doc is saying McLaury will prove a mighty impressive gunslinger if he manages to shoot him. But some viewers go deeper, arguing that Doc is warning McLaury that if he attempts to shoot, he will wind up in the ground, where he will eventually grow into a daisy flower.