Movies Like The Empire Builders

If you liked The Empire Builders (1924), a western and adventure movie directed by Duke Worne, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Jane Got a Gun (2015)
★ 5.9/10Also western and drama
After her outlaw husband returns home shot with eight bullets and barely alive, Jane reluctantly reaches out to an ex-lover who she hasn't seen in over ten years to help her defend her farm when the time comes that her…
2
True Grit (1969)
★ 7.3/10Also western and drama
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of…
3
The Way West (1967)
★ 6.1/10Also adventure and drama
In the mid-19th century, Senator William J. Tadlock leads a group of settlers overland in a quest to start a new settlement in the Western US. Tadlock is a highly principled and demanding taskmaster who is as hard on…
4
The Mountain Men (1980)
★ 5.9/10Also adventure and western
The story concerns two grizzled mountain men -- Bill Tyler and Henry Frapp -- during the dying days of the fur-trapping era. The plot begins when Running Moon runs away from her abusive husband Heavy Eagle and comes…
5
The Quick and the Dead (1987)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and western
In 1876 Wyoming, the gun is the only law. And for Duncan and Suzanna McKaskel, newly arrived settlers beset by outlaws, rugged frontiersman Con Vallian is the only hope.
6
Vera Cruz (1954)
★ 6.7/10Also western and adventure
After the American Civil War, mercenaries travel to Mexico to fight in their revolution for money. The former soldier and gentleman Benjamin Trane meets the gunman and killer Joe Erin and his men, and together they are…
7
Deadwood: The Movie (2019)
★ 6.7/10Also western and drama
Follow the 10-year reunion of the Deadwood camp to celebrate South Dakota's statehood. Former rivalries are reignited, alliances are tested and old wounds are reopened, as all are left to navigate the inevitable…
8
Union Pacific (1939)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and western
One of the last bills signed by President Lincoln authorizes pushing the Union Pacific Railroad across the wilderness to California. But financial opportunist Asa Barrows hopes to profit from obstructing it. Chief…
9
News of the World (2020)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and western
A Texan traveling across the wild West bringing the news of the world to local townspeople, agrees to help rescue a young girl who was kidnapped.
10
Rust (2024)
★ 6.8/10Also western and drama
Infamous outlaw Harland Rust breaks his estranged grandson Lucas out of prison, after Lucas is convicted to hang for an accidental murder. The two must outrun legendary U.S Marshal Wood Helm and bounty hunter Fenton…
11
The Unholy Trinity (2025)
★ 6.3/10Also western and adventure
Set against the turbulent backdrop of 1870s Montana, in the moments before the execution of Isaac Broadway, he gives his estranged son, Henry, an impossible task: murder the man who framed him for a crime he didn’t…
12
Frontera (2014)
★ 6.5/10Also western and drama
After crossing the border illegally for work, Miguel, a hard-working father and devoted husband, finds himself wrongfully accused of murdering a former sheriff’s wife. After learning of his imprisonment, Miguel’s…
13
The Call of the Wild (1972)
★ 6.1/10Also adventure and drama
John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles…
14
Surrounded (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also western and drama
After her stagecoach is ambushed, a woman is tasked with holding a dangerous outlaw captive and must survive the day when the bandit’s gang tries to free him.
15
Broke (2025)
★ 7/10Also western and drama
A bronc rider in denial about his fading rodeo career battles against brain injury and a sudden blizzard while reflecting on how it became so difficult to achieve his dreams.
16
Last Shoot Out (2021)
★ 6.4/10Also western and drama
Soon after a newlywed learns that her husband had her father shot down, she flees from the Callahan ranch in fear. She's rescued by a gunman who safeguards her at a remote outpost as he staves off her husband's…
17
Mackenna's Gold (1969)
★ 6.6/10Also adventure and western
A bandit kidnaps a Marshal who has seen a map showing a gold vein on Indian lands, but other groups are looking for it too, while the Apache try to keep the secret location undisturbed.
18
Butcher's Crossing (2023)
★ 5.9/10Also adventure and drama
In the 1870s, a young Harvard dropout seeks his destiny out West by tying his fate to a team of buffalo hunters led by a man named Miller. Together, they embark on a harrowing journey risking life and sanity.
19
The White Buffalo (1977)
★ 6/10Also western and adventure
In this strange western version of Moby Dick, Wild Bill Hickok hunts a white buffalo he has seen in a dream. Hickok moves through a variety of uniquely authentic western locations - dim, filthy, makeshift taverns…
20
Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure (1995)
★ 6.2/10Also adventure and western
A young boy draws on the inspiration of legendary western characters to find the strength to fight an evil land baron in the old west who wants to steal his family's farm and destroy their idyllic community. When…