John Wayne was one of the greatest actors during Hollywood's Golden Age and gained universal recognition for his no-nonsense, tough-guy roles in Western and war films such as True Grit, The Longest Day, and Red River. Born in Winterset, Iowa, Wayne, also known as the Duke, never intended to become an actor, but after an injury lost him his football scholarship at the University of Southern California, he landed a job working as a prop boy for several John Ford productions. In 1939, Wayne delivered his breakthrough role in Ford's iconic Western, Stagecoach, as Ringo the Kid and went on to become one of cinema's most beloved leading men.

Decades later, Wayne continues to be a favorite among classic film fanatics for his riveting performances in dozens of notable classics, including Rio Bravo, The Shootist, and The Searchers, but out of the Duke's extensive list of filmography, there are several underrated titles that deserve just as much praise. From the adventure film Reap the Wild Wind to the Western The Sons of Katie Elder, these are the 10 most underrated John Wayne films, ranked.

13 'The Comancheros' (1961)

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Wayne takes on an archetypical role in the Western genre—the aging ranger forced to pull off a daring task— in the 1961 film The Comancheros. The plot centers on Jake Cutter, who must catch gambler Paul Regret and take him back to Louisiana to face execution. However, their journey gets complicated when they encounter the Comancheros, a band of outlaws providing guns and alcohol to the Comanches.

The Comancheros is as charming as a Western can get, featuring one of Wayne's most old-fashioned and archetypical performances.

Stuart Whitman joins Wayne in this underappreciated Western. The plot is very much of its time, but then again, so are most of John Wayne's best-known efforts. Wayne's camaraderie with Whitman is quite good, and Regret's character arc is among the film's most engaging aspects. Similarly, Wayne does a brilliant job playing Cutter's moral dilemma, struggling between his duty to fulfill the task he received and his desire to spare Regret of a needlessly harsh punishment, especially after getting to know him better. The Comancheros is as charming as a Western can get, featuring one of Wayne's most old-fashioned and archetypical performances in service of a straightforward yet compelling story.

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12 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon' (1949)

Directed by John Ford

The second entry in the so-called "Cavalry Trilogy," 1949's She Wore a Yellow Ribbon sees Wayne playing another aging hero doing one last job before retiring. Cavalry Captain Nathan Brittles must escort the wife and niece of his commanding office to a safe location while attempting to de-escalate tensions between a group of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. When his tasks go awry, Brittle must use his skills to prevent a violent conflict.

Of the many collaborations between Wayne and Ford, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon often goes unnoticed. However, the film is more than worthy of a re-evaluation, featuring a typically commanding performance from the Duke, perfectly matched by Ford's assured hand behind the camera. It sometimes threatens to become overly preachy, but Wayne and Ford find the perfect wife to keep it engaging and effective without overdoing it. In less capable hands, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon might be too sentimental; thankfully, Wayne and Ford save it from itself.

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11 'Chisum' (1970)

Directed by Andrew McLaglen

Chisum features one of Wayne's most paternal performances. He plays the kind-hearted John Chisum, who owns a prosperous ranch in 1870's New Mexico. When ambitious and ruthless land developer Lawrence Murphy sets his eye on Chisum's ranch, the resilient man must rally every ally he can find to fight the cunning Murphy and his corrupt sheriff.

Chisum soars on the strength of a solid lead performance, a truly detestable antagonist, and a feel-good, if overly righteous, tone.

A classic tale of good-versus-evil, Chisum works because of Wayne's committed performance. In one of the best efforts from his late career, Wayne is both sympathetic and striking as the noble yet decisive Chisum, embodying the archetype of the honorable hero to a tee. Like many of Wayne's other movies, Chisum is a tad sentimental, especially in its themes of tradition and heritage versus modernity and extreme change. However, the narrative soars on the strength of a solid lead performance, a truly detestable antagonist, and a feel-good, if overly righteous, tone that will surely leave audiences with a smile of satisfaction.

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10 'Reap the Wild Wind' (1942)

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille's second Technicolor film, Reap the Wild Wind, tells the story of Loxi Claiborne (Paulette Goddard), who has taken over her father's marine salvage business and when a ship's captain, Jack Stuart (John Wayne) is injured in a planned shipwreck, she nurses him back to health. Soon, Claiborne begins to fall in love with Stuart, but their romance is tested when another suitor, an attorney, Steve Tolliver (Ray Milland), also seeks to earn Claiborne's affection.

Wayne's role in Reap the Wild Wind is one of few that has a sinister, dark side and a willingness to break the law for his own personal gain, proving he's more than capable of playing just the dashing hero. The film was released shortly after the United States entered World War II and was a major hit with audiences and the box office. Critics praised Wayne's performance and the film's impressive special effects featured in the underwater scenes. Reap the Wild Wind earned three Academy Award nominations, including Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction, winning for Best Visual Effects.

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9 'Dark Command' (1940)

Directed by Raoul Walsh

Set during the Civil War, Mary McCloud (Claire Trevor) believes she's married a wholesome school teacher, William Cantrell (Walter Pidgeon), only to discover that he attacks both the Union and Confederate sides for his own financial gain. When a Union supporter and former suitor of McCloud's, Bob Seton (John Wayne), is captured by Cantrell, McCloud and her brother (Roy Rogers) help him escape and race to a nearby town before Cantrell and his men can execute a devastating attack on the helpless residents.

Raoul Walsh's Western crime film, Dark Command, is based on the events surrounding the 1863 attack in Lawrence, Kansas, known as the Lawrence Massacre, which claimed the lives of over one hundred unarmed men and boys. Wayne delivers a knock-out performance as the heroic Seton who embodies the cost of unwavering loyalty and self-sacrifice. The movie marked the second collaboration between Wayne and Walsh, who first worked together on the 1930 film, The Big Trail, which is credited as Wayne's first leading role. Dark Command earned two Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Score and Best Art Direction.

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8 'The Long Voyage Home' (1940)

Directed by John Ford

Set during the early days of World War II, the crew of an English cargo ship, S.S. Glencairn, are sailing from the West Indies to Baltimore, Maryland. Once they arrive, the crew discovers that their new cargo is a load of dynamite, causing them to feel uneasy about traveling with such high, unpredictable explosives. To make matters worse, they begin to suspect that someone among them is secretly a Nazi spy.

John Ford's The Long Voyage Home is essentially a modern-day Odyssey, following the crew as they wander the open seas and are soon faced with a series of obstacles that ultimately test their patience, determination, and faith in each other. Even though it isn't regarded as one of Ford's best pictures, The Long Voyage Home is a beautiful picture skillfully directed and distinctly portrayed by an overall exceptional cast, specifically, Wayne's performance, which is considered to be one of the actor's most underrated.

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7 'Rooster Cogburn' (1975)

Directed by Stuart Millar

Wayne reprises his Oscar-winning role as U.S. Marshal, Rooster Cogburn in the 1975 sequel, Rooster Cogburn, who is trying to earn back his badge by tracking down a group of bandits who have stolen a shipment of explosives. What was intended to be a solo mission soon turns into Cogburn taking along the daughter of one of the bandit's unfortunate victims, Eula Goodnight (Katharine Hepburn), who insists on accompanying Cogburn on his journey.

Rooster Cogburn might not stand up to the triumph of True Grit, but it does stand on its own as a pretty solid sequel, which pairs Wayne alongside fellow Hollywood icon and Oscar-winning actress, Katharine Hepburn. While the film earned mixed reviews from critics, Rooster Cogburn did receive positive chatter regarding Wayne and Hepburn's excellent performances, and even though they don't have electrifying chemistry, both still complement each other's characters with a dynamic similar to Hepburn's and Humphrey Bogart's in The African Queen.

Rooster Cogburn can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.

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6 'El Dorado' (1966)

Directed by Howard Hawks

When a wealthy businessman, Bart Jason (Edward Asner), hires a group of men to force a family off their property for him to claim it, the town's sheriff, J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum), has become an alcoholic and is unable to help the poor family. A gunfighter and friend of Harrah's, Cole Thorton (John Wayne), learns about the incident and Harrah's current state and travels to the town of El Dorado to help his friend dry out and prepare to run Jason's men out.

El Dorado is one of three Westerns Wayne starred in directed by Howard Hawks and also co-stars a young James Caan who is best known for his role as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. Despite having a similar plot to the two other Hawks Westerns, El Dorado received positive reviews which noted the film as a tough, but also an amusing Western carried by two of Hollywood's greatest stars. Film critic, Roger Ebert, gave El Dorado three out of four stars, calling it, "a tightly directed, humorous, altogether successful Western."

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5 'The Cowboys' (1972)

Directed by Mark Rydell

Wayne stars in one of his best Westerns, The Cowboys as a gruff rancher, Will Anderson, who is about to set out on a large cattle drive when his crew abruptly quits to join the gold rush. With no other option, Anderson trains a group of willing schoolboys to become cowboys and soon Anderson and his new ranch hands embark on their long journey, but unbeknownst to them, they're being watched by a ruthless bandit (Bruce Dern) who is planning to steal Anderson's herd.

Throughout his career, Wayne took on several father-like roles and in The Cowboys he taps into this familiar formula with thoughtful tact as he initiates a group of boys into adulthood, preparing them for the harsh reality of the real world. Wayne's performance features a perfect portion of tough love and blunt banter and while his character embodies the traditional masculine male, he still expresses a glimmer of affection and nurturing empathy rarely seen in Westerns, making The Cowboys one of Wayne's most underrated movies.

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4 'The Alamo' (1960)

Directed by John Wayne

As the Mexican army invades the state of Texas, General Sam Houston (Richard Boone) plans to try and create a diversion by ordering three of his colonels, William B. Travis (Laurence Harvey), Jim Bowie (Richard Widmark), and Davy Crockett (John Wayne) to lead a group of soldiers to defend the Alamo. Despite being outnumbered by the massive Mexican troops, the men still fought the good fight to the bitter end, defending the post at all costs.

Wayne stars and directs the epic historical film, The Alamo, which depicts the legendary Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. Wayne gives a harrowing performance heightened by his own personal patriotism and successfully balances his dual role as performer and director. The Alamo earned mixed reviews from critics, ranging from being a flat display of a film to a top-notch war drama, but despite the reviews, the film earned seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, winning for Best Sound.

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3 'Donovan's Reef' (1963)

Directed by John Ford