Can You Score 20/20? Identify These Iconic Western Movies From Their Soundtracks Trivia Quiz!

Answers Below – No Peeking!

Strap on your spurs and test your ear for the silver screen with this rootin’-tootin’ trivia quiz on legendary Western soundtracks! From Ennio Morricone’s haunting Spaghetti Western masterpieces to timeless Hollywood orchestral sweeps, these 20 questions ramp up from easy riders to tough trails. Can you name the movie from the score?

20 Trivia Questions on Western Movie Soundtracks

Question 1: Which Western features Ennio Morricone’s score with the triumphant choral piece “The Ecstasy of Gold”?

A. A Fistful of Dollars
B. For a Few Dollars More
C. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
D. Once Upon a Time in the West

Question 2: Ennio Morricone’s haunting harmonica melody opens which Sergio Leone masterpiece?

A. Once Upon a Time in the West
B. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
C. Duck, You Sucker!
D. Two Mules for Sister Sara

Question 3: Elmer Bernstein’s rousing brass march theme defines which 1960 Steve McQueen Western remake?

A. Guns of Navarone
B. The Great Escape
C. Rio Lobo
D. The Magnificent Seven

Question 4: Which 1952 Gary Cooper film has Dimitri Tiomkin’s Oscar-winning ballad “Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'” sung by Tex Ritter?

A. Shane
B. High Noon
C. The Searchers
D. Vera Cruz

Question 5: Ennio Morricone’s score with eerie female vocals and ocarina sounds accompanies which first Dollars Trilogy film?

A. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
B. For a Few Dollars More
C. A Fistful of Dollars
D. Death Rides a Horse

Question 6: Recognised by its chiming pocket watch motif, Ennio Morricone scored which 1965 sequel?

A. A Fistful of Dollars
B. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
C. Django
D. For a Few Dollars More

Question 7: Burt Bacharach’s score, featuring the hit song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”, is from which 1969 buddy Western?

A. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
B. The Wild Bunch
C. True Grit
D. The Ballad of Cable Hogue

Question 8: John Barry’s sweeping, Oscar-winning score with native flutes enhances which 1990 Kevin Costner epic?

A. Dances with Wolves
B. The Last of the Mohicans
C. Legends of the Fall
D. Far and Away

Question 9: Jerome Moross’s majestic horn fanfare underscores which 1958 Gregory Peck Western?

A. The Big Country
B. The Bravados
C. The Proud Rebel
D. Yellow Sky

Question 10: Dimitri Tiomkin’s score includes the Dean Martin-sung “My Rifle, My Pony and Me” in which John Wayne film?

A. El Dorado
B. Rio Bravo
C. Hatfields & McCoys
D. The Sons of Katie Elder

Question 11: Victor Young’s poignant theme “The Call of the Far-Away Hills” plays in which 1953 Alan Ladd classic?

A. Shane
B. 3:10 to Yuma
C. The Gunfighter
D. Bend of the River

Question 12: Max Steiner’s adventurous orchestral score accompanies John Ford’s 1956 John Wayne landmark?

A. Fort Apache
B. Rio Grande
C. The Horse Soldiers
D. The Searchers

Question 13: Jerry Goldsmith’s tense, percussion-heavy score heightens the violence in which 1969 Sam Peckinpah film?

A. The Wild Bunch
B. Straw Dogs
C. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
D. Junior Bonner

Question 14: Lennie Niehaus’s melancholic jazz-inflected score is for which 1992 Clint Eastwood Oscar-winner?

A. Mystic River
B. Unforgiven
C. Million Dollar Baby
D. Gran Torino

Question 15: Elmer Bernstein revisited Western grandeur for John Wayne’s 1969 Oscar-winning role in which film?

A. The Shootist
B. True Grit
C. Rooster Cogburn
D. Big Jake

Question 16: Jerry Fielding’s brooding score fits Clint Eastwood’s vengeful anti-hero in which 1976 sequel?

A. Two Mules for Sister Sara
B. High Plains Drifter
C. The Outlaw Josey Wales
D. Every Which Way but Loose

Question 17: Dimitri Tiomkin’s score for Howard Hawks’s 1948 John Wayne cattle-drive saga is which film?

A. Red River
B. Hatari!
C. El Dorado
D. The Crow

Question 18: Richard Hageman’s score features the folk song “I Ride an Old Paint” in John Ford’s breakthrough 1939 Western?

A. My Darling Clementine
B. Wagon Master
C. Stagecoach
D. The Quiet Man

Question 19: Alfred Newman’s grand Cinerama score spans multiple generations in which 1962 all-star epic?

A. How the West Was Won
B. The Longest Day
C. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
D. The Greatest Story Ever Told

Question 20: Bruce Broughton’s Oscar-nominated, heroic brass score revitalises the genre in which 1985 ensemble Western?

A. Silverado
B. Young Guns
C. Tremors
D. Appaloosa

Answers

  1. C. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) – Ennio Morricone’s score includes the soaring “The Ecstasy of Gold” with choir and orchestra; A, B, and D are other Leone/Morricone Westerns with different signature cues.
  2. A. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) – Morricone’s theme starts with Franco De Gemini’s lonely harmonica; the others have Morricone scores but electric guitar, whistling, or mariachi elements.
  3. D. The Magnificent Seven (1960) – Bernstein’s iconic march with brass and percussion became a cultural staple; the others have different composers like Tiomkin or Goldsmith.
  4. B. High Noon (1952) – Tiomkin’s ballad won Oscars for Best Score and Song, sung repeatedly; others lack this sung narrative device.
  5. C. A Fistful of Dollars (1964) – Morricone’s debut Dollars score uses wailing vocals by Aleida Nieto and ocarina; later sequels evolved the style.
  6. D. For a Few Dollars More (1965) – Morricone’s motif mimics a pocket watch chime amid bells and vocals; distinct from the trilogy’s other entries.
  7. A. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) – Bacharach’s pop-jazz score includes B.J. Thomas’s hit; others are traditional orchestral Westerns.
  8. A. Dances with Wolves (1990) – Barry’s emotive themes with flutes won Best Score Oscar; others blend period drama with different styles.
  9. A. The Big Country (1958) – Moross’s bold overture with horns is highly influential; others have subtler scores.
  10. B. Rio Bravo (1959) – Tiomkin’s score features the Ricky Nelson/Dean Martin duet; sequels/prequels have similar but distinct tunes.
  11. A. Shane (1953) – Young’s theme evokes pioneer longing; others use more action-oriented motifs.
  12. D. The Searchers (1956) – Steiner’s score matches Ford’s epic scope; earlier Ford films have Hageman or others.
  13. A. The Wild Bunch (1969) – Goldsmith’s score uses innovative percussion for brutality; Peckinpah’s later works vary composers.
  14. B. Unforgiven (1992) – Niehaus’s sparse, moody score suits Eastwood’s direction; his other Eastwood films like Mystic River are non-Western.
  15. B. True Grit (1969) – Bernstein’s robust score supports Wayne’s Oscar-winning role; later remake uses Carter Burwell.
  16. C. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) – Fielding’s dark themes fit the revenge tale; other Eastwood Westerns use Niehaus.
  17. A. Red River (1948) – Tiomkin’s score captures trail tension; Hawks’s other Westerns like Rio Bravo reuse elements differently.
  18. C. Stagecoach (1939) – Hageman’s score integrates folk songs like “I Ride an Old Paint”; later Ford films expand orchestrally.
  19. A. How the West Was Won (1962) – Newman’s multi-segment score suits the Cinerama format; his other epics are non-Western.
  20. A. Silverado (1985) – Broughton’s upbeat, throwback score earned an Oscar nod; others like Young Guns use rock-infused sounds.

How many did you lasso correctly, pardner? Drop your score in the comments and challenge your posse to this soundtrack showdown!