Can You Score 20/20? Ultimate Sheriff and Outlaw Films Trivia Quiz

Answers Below – No Peeking!

Think you know your Western sheriffs and outlaws? Test your cinematic knowledge with this 20-question trivia quiz spanning classic showdowns, gang epics, and frontier justice. Questions range from easy warm-ups to fiendishly tough challenges – good luck!

20 Trivia Questions on Sheriff and Outlaw Films

Question 1: Which 1952 film features Marshal Will Kane facing outlaws alone on his wedding day?

A. Rio Bravo
B. High Noon
C. Destry Rides Again
D. The Gunfighter

Question 2: Who directed the violent outlaw tale The Wild Bunch?

A. John Ford
B. Sam Peckinpah
C. Howard Hawks
D. Sergio Leone

Question 3: In Tombstone (1993), Wyatt Earp is portrayed by?

A. Kevin Costner
B. Kurt Russell
C. Val Kilmer
D. Bill Paxton

Question 4: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was released in which year?

A. 1967
B. 1969
C. 1970
D. 1972

Question 5: John Wayne won his only Oscar for playing which character in True Grit (1969)?

A. Rooster Cogburn
B. Tom Doniphon
C. Hondo Lane
D. Ethan Edwards

Question 6: Clint Eastwood both directed and starred in which 1992 Western about a retired gunslinger?

A. Pale Rider
B. Unforgiven
C. The Outlaw Josey Wales
D. Hang ‘Em High

Question 7: In Rio Bravo (1959), the town sheriff is played by?

A. John Wayne
B. James Stewart
C. Randolph Scott
D. Joel McCrea

Question 8: In the 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp is played by?

A. Burt Lancaster
B. Kirk Douglas
C. Rhonda Fleming
D. Jo Van Fleet

Question 9: Who plays Pat Garrett in the 1973 film opposite Kris Kristofferson’s Billy the Kid?

A. James Coburn
B. Bob Dylan
C. Slim Pickens
D. Richard Jaeckel

Question 10: In the original 3:10 to Yuma (1957), the outlaw Ben Wade is portrayed by?

A. Glenn Ford
B. Van Heflin
C. Henry Fonda
D. Anthony Quinn

Question 11: Alan Ladd plays a mysterious gunslinger in which 1953 classic?

A. High Noon
B. Shane
C. The Searchers
D. Red River

Question 12: Who directed and stars as the vengeful outlaw in The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)?

A. Clint Eastwood
B. Gene Hackman
C. Warren Beatty
D. Robert Duvall

Question 13: In The Magnificent Seven (1960), the bandit leader attacking the village is played by?

A. Eli Wallach
B. Steve McQueen
C. Charles Bronson
D. James Coburn

Question 14: In The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), Jesse James is played by?

A. Brad Pitt
B. Casey Affleck
C. Sam Rockwell
D. Sam Shepard

Question 15: Henry Fonda portrays Wyatt Earp in John Ford’s?

A. Fort Apache
B. My Darling Clementine
C. Wagon Master
D. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

Question 16: The Long Riders (1980) features actual brothers playing which gang?

A. Dalton Gang
B. James-Younger Gang
C. Butch Cassidy Gang
D. Billy the Kid Gang

Question 17: In Appaloosa (2008), which actor co-wrote, directed, and stars as marshal Virgil Cole?

A. Viggo Mortensen
B. Ed Harris
C. Jeremy Irons
D. Renee Zellweger

Question 18: In Hell or High Water (2016), the pursuing lawman is played by?

A. Chris Pine
B. Ben Foster
C. Jeff Bridges
D. Gil Birmingham

Question 19: Which 1985 Western features brothers reuniting amid sheriff and outlaw conflicts?

A. Silverado
B. Young Guns
C. Pale Rider
D. Legends of the Fall

Question 20: Henry Fonda plays the villainous gunslinger Frank in which Sergio Leone epic?

A. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
B. Once Upon a Time in the West
C. A Fistful of Dollars
D. Duck, You Sucker

Answers

  1. B. High Noon – Gary Cooper stars as Sheriff Will Kane standing alone against the Miller gang; Rio Bravo features John Wayne, while the others have different plots and leads.
  2. B. Sam Peckinpah – He directed the 1969 film known for its graphic violence depicting the decline of an outlaw gang; Ford, Hawks, and Leone directed other Western classics.
  3. B. Kurt Russell – Russell plays Earp battling the Cowboys; Costner starred in Wyatt Earp, Kilmer as Doc Holliday, Paxton as Morgan Earp.
  4. B. 1969 – Paul Newman and Robert Redford star as the outlaws in George Roy Hill’s Oscar-winning film; the other years are close but incorrect.
  5. A. Rooster Cogburn – Wayne earned Best Actor for the grizzled marshal hunting killers; the others are roles from different Wayne films.
  6. B. Unforgiven – Eastwood plays William Munny seeking revenge, winning Best Director and Picture Oscars; the others are his earlier starring roles.
  7. A. John Wayne – Wayne’s Sheriff John T. Chance defends jail against outlaws; the others played sheriffs in separate Westerns like Destry or Winchester ’73.
  8. A. Burt Lancaster – Lancaster’s Earp teams with Doc Holliday (Douglas) against the Clantons; Douglas plays Holliday, not Earp.
  9. A. James Coburn – Coburn hunts Kristofferson’s Billy across New Mexico; Dylan appears as Alias, not Garrett.
  10. A. Glenn Ford – Ford’s charismatic Ben Wade is escorted to Yuma by rancher Heflin; Fonda and Quinn in other Westerns.
  11. B. Shane – Ladd’s drifter helps homesteaders against Ryker’s men; High Noon stars Cooper as sheriff.
  12. A. Clint Eastwood – Eastwood directs and plays Josey avenging his family post-Civil War; others not involved.
  13. A. Eli Wallach – Wallach’s Calvera leads bandits raiding the village; the others play the hired gunslingers.
  14. A. Brad Pitt – Pitt’s Jesse leads his gang until betrayed; Affleck plays the assassin Robert Ford.
  15. B. My Darling Clementine – Fonda’s Earp seeks justice for his brother’s murder at O.K. Corral; other Ford films lack Earp.
  16. B. James-Younger Gang – Real brothers (Keaches, Carradines, Quaids) portray Frank/Jesse James and the Youngers; others different gangs.
  17. B. Ed Harris – Harris’ Cole enforces law with deputy Mortensen; Irons plays villainous Bragg.
  18. C. Jeff Bridges – Bridges’ grizzled Texas Ranger tracks bank-robbing brothers; Pine and Foster play the robbers.
  19. A. Silverado – Scott Glenn and Kevin Costner reunite as brothers facing corruption; Young Guns focuses on Billy the Kid.
  20. B. Once Upon a Time in the West – Fonda’s cold-blooded Frank murders for land; he plays a hero in Leone’s Good, the Bad.

How did you score? Drop your results in the comments and challenge friends to this sheriff-outlaw showdown!