John Wayne Starred In A Bizarre Western With Sci-Fi Elements

Ethan Edwards standing in front of some sand-colored rocks in The Searchers

Warner Bros.

From “The Searchers” to “Rio Bravo,” John Wayne is known for starring in some of the greatest Westerns of all time. Along with Clint Eastwood, he’s probably the actor who is most synonymous with the genre, and his filmography is littered with gems that have stood the test of time. That said, The Duke starred in a lot of flicks during his lengthy career, so it’s only natural that some of them flew under the radar. This brings us to “Thunder Riders of the Golden West,” a neo-Western with sci-fi elements.

“Thunder Riders of the Golden West,” which was directed by Wayne’s long-time friend Dave Burleson, was released in the 1980s — years after The Duke’s death in 1979. It tells the story of a group of truckers who go searching for gold on a site where some atomic bomb tests are taking place, with the explosions presumably inciting whatever sci-fi shenanigans go down. Calling “Thunder Riders of the Golden West” one of Wayne’s most underrated movies is an understatement, as it’s so difficult to track down that it’s impossible to rate. According to its director, it was the Duke’s final on-screen role, although it wasn’t the last film he shot. As such, filming must have taken place before Wayne’s official cinematic swan song in 1976’s “The Shootist.”

As of this writing, Burleson’s film doesn’t even have its own IMDb or Wikipedia page, let alone a home media release (although it was slated to come out on DVD back in 2009). With that in mind, is there any chance of “Thunder Riders of the Golden West” ever seeing the light of day?

Thunder Riders of the Golden West appears to be lost

Paramount Pictures

“Thunder Riders of the Golden West” has yet to receive the home media release that was first reported back in 2009. According to an article published that same year by Gizmodo, Dave Burleson planned on distributing the DVD by himself at the time of his announcement. However, no details on where one could purchase it were ever provided.

If there are copies of “Thunder Riders of the Golden West” floating around, they are very well hidden. As it stands, the sci-fi Western appears to have been lost to the sands of time, destined to remain a cult curiosity until it’s uncovered and given an official release.

Wayne didn’t star in any other sci-fi movies during his storied career (although he was part of an early horror Western called “Phantom Gold”), which makes this seemingly lost project even more interesting. If nothing else, “Thunder Riders of the Golden West” would be intriguing to watch just to see Wayne operating outside of his usual wheelhouse — even his role was nothing more than a cameo, which it probably was due to the independent nature of the project. Hopefully, the movie sees the light of day at some point, but for now, we will just have to be patient.