One of John Wayne’s most memorable Westerns is now free to stream ‣ Diverse Daily

Whenever I think of a good Western movie, it’s hard not to think of one of John Wayne’s classics. Over his five-decade career, Wayne helped define and popularize the Western genre with films like Stagecoach, Red River, The Searchers, Hondo, and True Grit, the latter of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1970.

Wayne played all kinds of roles in Westerns, from larger-than-life heroes and gunslingers to lawmen, but if I had to choose the one that hit me the hardest emotionally, it would undoubtedly be his portrayal of J.B. Books in The Shootist. It also became Wayne’s final film role before his death in 1979.

Released in 1976 and directed by Don Siegel, The Shootist takes place in 1901 and follows aging gunslinger J.B. Books (John Wayne) after he learns he has terminal cancer. He travels to Carson City, Nevada, hoping to spend his final days in peace at a local boarding house, but when his past starts catching up with him, Books has to decide how he wants to face the end of his life. And he isn’t going down without a fight.

In addition to John Wayne in the leading role, The Shootist also has an extraordinary supporting cast, including Lauren Bacall as Bond Rogers, James Stewart as Dr. Hostetler, Ron Howard as Gillom Rogers, and Richard Boone as Mike Sweeney.

Fortunately, if you want to watch The Shootist, now’s the perfect time, as it’s currently available on this popular free streaming service.

The Shootist is now available on YouTube

Stream John Wayne’s final Western for free

Like Tubi, Plex, Pluto TV, and The Roku Channel, YouTube is also home to hundreds of on-demand movies you can watch for free through the platform’s official Movies & TV Channel. One of those films available for free right now is The Shootist.

This means you can watch The Shootist in its entirety for free on YouTube, with the only catch being that you’ll have to watch a few ads during it, since YouTube is a free, ad-supported streaming platform.

However, if you’d rather not be interrupted by ads during the movie, you can subscribe to YouTube Premium to watch it ad-free. The Shootist is also available ad-free on Paramount+ with a Premium subscription.

If you’re a fan of physical media, you can also get The Shootist on Blu-ray from Amazon.

notable shows: Kitchen Nightmares, Merlin
notable movies: Clueless, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, How to Train Your Dragon, Mean Girls, Star Trek
Premium Subscription: Yes, $13.99 per month
Originals: No

More great movies to stream for free

YouTube and Tubi both offer a lot

Beyond The Shootist, there are plenty of great Western movies currently available to stream for free. One is Stagecoach, the 1939 Western that helped propel John Wayne’s career and the genre itself, which is also available to stream for free on YouTube.

On Tubi, several Western movies are available to stream for free right now, including Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, No Man’s Land, Wyatt Earp, Heads or Tails?, and Bone Tomahawk. But beyond Westerns, Tubi also has many other classics available to stream for free right now, such as The Mummy, Air Force One, Rambo, and The Italian Job (1969).