87 Years Later, James Stewart's First Ever Western Movie Is Still A Must-Watch Classic

Published Aug 26, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics." There have been many Western movie stars in Hollywood history, but few of them left as big of a mark in the genre as James Stewart, and his first Western movie continues to be the perfect option for fans of the genre or those looking to get started 87 years later. Western movies once dominated Hollywood, and for a very good reason. At a time when superheroes were not flying around all the time and VFX were not the cutting-edge tool that they are today to make sci-fi and fantasy worlds so immersive and easy to get lost in, westerns came as the perfect form of escapism. The genre transported viewers to a different time, with clear conflicts between the good and the bad guys. Westerns were cheap to make and featured plenty of action to entice moviegoers. From horse chases to shootouts in the middle of a town and many more, the genre knew how to make itself exciting. That led to the creation of many Western icons, such as John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and others. Among them is Stewart, as he helped change the genre. Stewart largely changed the genre for playing characters who had flaws and were not as action-seeking as those played by Wayne, for instance. Stewart's first western movie was Destry Rides Again, which was released in theaters on December 29, 1939. Now, 87 years after that generational release came out, Stewart's first western remains a must-watch. James Stewart's Destry Rides Again Is Still Worth Watching Today Those looking to do a western deep dive must absolutely include Destry Rides Again on their watchlists. On Rotten Tomatoes, Stewart's first western comes with a near-perfect 96% critics' score based on 23 reviews. The film also holds a strong audience score, which currently stands at 82%. As such, based on those RT scores, it is safe to say that Destry Rides Again is a universally beloved movie. The Library of Congress has noted its importance to the history of film, as it inducted Destry Rides Again into the United States National Film Registry in 1996, a massive feat. Destry Rides Again comes with quite the cast. Besides Stewart, the Western included names like Marlene Dietrich (Stage Fright), Mischa Auer (My Man Godfrey), Brian Donlevy (Beau Geste), and more. Destry Rides Again helped usher in a new era for the genre, as Stewart's character, Tom Destry, Jr., the new deputy in town, was a more comedic character than the usual stoic action stars of the Western genre. Likewise, he did not favor using guns, a major departure for the genre. Destry Rides Again proved that high-stakes, gritty western action could be nicely mixed with relatable characters and everyday humor. James Stewart Didn't Follow Up Destry Rides Again For Years Stewart's career included an 11-year gap between Destry Rides Again and his next western movie, Winchester '73, which was released in theaters on July 12, 1950. That film would mark his first collaboration with director Anthony Mann, whom Stewart would work with on eight movies, including multiple westerns, like Bend of the River and The Naked Spur, which helped consolidate the actor as one of the genre's icons. Winchester '73, his western return, is deemed a masterpiece. It saw Stewart go from a light-hearted touch to a gritty, tortured performance. In the 11 years between Destry Rides Again and Winchester '73, Stewart was in part barred from starring in another western due to how he had cast acting aside to fight in World War II as a B-24 bomber pilot. Upon returning, like many who took part in the war effort, the actor had to deal with PTSD. As a result of his experiences, Stewart's acting style shifted to a more serious, intense demeanor, leading to him becoming a Western icon as the kind of rugged character genre fans loved. Still, Destry Rides Again remains a unique Western release for the time it came out. Release Date December 29, 1939 Director George Marshall