Top 10 Western Saloon Fights

There are a few rules in the Old West apparently, and number one is never pull a gun on an unarmed man. If you’ve never heard that rule… well, that’s because it’s fake. Made up rule number 2: don’t get involved. In this Western drama, John Wayne proves that chivalry is still alive and well, as he proceeds to beat a rich gold commissioner half to death with his bare hands, while everyone else watches the commotion in nervousness and excitement.

In this scene from the American western, saloon dancers are singing a jaunty tune and everybody’s chanting along. Yes, for once in the Old West there’s a moment of peace. What better time to start a barroom brawl? Everyone and their mothers jump in to get a piece of the action here. It’s hard to believe that people know who they’re fighting so we can assume that people are knocking each other’s teeth out for the sheer hell of it.

Jonas and Coates are the two rough and tumble gunslingers from this ‘60s western flick who fight their way into a saloon and onto this list. What follows is a three-minute scene in which nothing is safe. Tables are used as giant fly swatters to great comic effect, women are turned into human shields and deer antlers become deadly weapons. Eventually, after everything in the saloon is shattered to bits, both fighters realize they have guns - but Jonas makes short work of his opponent.

There aren’t a whole lot of things this movie got right about cowboys or aliens, but this scene proves that Jon Favreau’s reputation as an action director is still well deserved. Daniel Craig doesn’t want no trouble in this saloon, but the sheriff and his posse don’t take too kindly to strangers that are also possibly from another planet. The result is Craig going Bond on everyone and showing us once again that Brits can be badasses too.

This old gem is worth dusting off if you’re in the mood for some classic western goodness. In it, the whiskey-voiced charmer we know as David Carradine takes on Raiden from the “Mortal Kombat” sequel in a knife-wielding, scarf-chewin’ one-on-one battle. It takes place in a saloon so it counts. They’re fighting over a woman neither particularly wants, but that’s just the Old West for you: life or death brawls for no good reason.

There’s just something about Jackie Chan that makes you want to gather a posse and take him on – just to see if you can. He can’t go anywhere without sparking crazy stunt-driven action sequences and that includes the Old West. Nice try Mister Chan, but we’re not gonna believe that you’re just gonna sit here peacefully and have a nice drink until you’ve taken on everyone in this bar at the same time and proven your martial arts mastery once again. Lo and behold, that’s exactly what he does!

When The Man With no Name is out to get you, there isn’t much to do but sit back, relax and hope it looks super cool when he blows your head off. In this scene from the second installment of the “Dollars Trilogy,” Clint Eastwood brutally beats a guy named Red all over the saloon using only his left hand to do it. When Red’s buddies show up, led by a half-shaven man, Eastwood has to resort to some fancy pistol work to take everyone out.

It’s a regular ol’ fashioned bar brawl when Shane comes into town. No-good gunfighter Chris Calloway doesn’t like the cut of Shane’s jib and he tells him so. What follows is a staple of classic westerns when Shane comes back to give Calloway and the rest of his men the old one two. He’s a bit outnumbered though, so Shane’s buddy jumps into the fray and a no-holds barred face punching, chair-smashing scene ensues.

Clint Eastwood has made a rich and lengthy career out of playing deadly Old West bounty hunters, but in “Unforgiven,” he shows us the wrongs of today’s gun-obsessed entertainment industry - that is, until the very end when he gets tired of not having shot anyone for a while and masterfully guns down an entire saloon full of bad guys. Which just goes to show you that we can’t have anything nice when Eastwood doesn’t get his way.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- “Back to the Future Part III” (1990)
- “The Lego Movie” (2014)
- “One-Eyed Horse” (2008)
- “My Name is Nobody” (1973)
- “A Million Ways to Die in the West” (2014)

A man walks into a bar... The joke stops there because Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi proceeds to murder the entire clientele with about as much restraint as we'd expect from a Robert Rodriguez film. Not even Quentin Tarantino is spared when guns start blazing. While El Mariachi doesn’t have infinite amounts of ammo at his disposal, he does have a guitar case filled to the brim with all kinds of gun-nut goodness. He doesn’t only have style, but he comes prepared. Gotta love it!

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite Western Saloon Fight? For more bottle smashing Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.