10 Best Movies Set In Arizona, Ranked

Depending on who you ask, Arizona is known as The Grand Canyon State and The Copper State. But if you ask us, it should also be called The Grand Cinema State or The Celluloid State, based on its proud filmmaking history. Given its proximity to Hollywood and stunning scenery that stretches for miles in every direction, Arizona has been the filming location for westerns, science fiction films, and pretty much every genre under the desert sun. In fact, Old Tucson Studios is known as the “Hollywood In The Desert,” and was the site of movies and TV shows like “The Bells of St. Mary’s, “Rio Bravo,” “Gunsmoke,” “Little House on the Prairie,” and “Three Amigos!”

You’re probably thinking, “Wait a minute, wasn’t ‘Three Amigos!’ set in Mexico, ‘Rio Bravo’ in Texas, ‘Bells of St. Mary’s in the inner city?” Yep, you’re right on all counts. From “Planet of the Apes,” to “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” countless movies have been filmed in Arizona, but here, we’re only ranking movies that were set there. So sadly, that means we didn’t include movies like “Three Kings” or “The Searchers” (though the latter did make our best movies set in Texas list). 

Even with these parameters, this was still a really hard list to compile and is sure to inspire debate within The Grand Canyon State — and everywhere else for that matter. Which films made the list? Here’s our ranking of the best movies set in Arizona!

Despite The Dude being in some pretty spectacular movies, Jeff Bridges had a case of the “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” syndrome for most of his career. Bridges was nominated multiple Academy Awards before he finally took home the gold dude for his fifth nomination 2010’s “Crazy Heart.” We’d argue he definitely deserved more love for earlier roles, including one of his best, as the titular “Starman” in John Carpenter’s 1984 film. Bridges plays an alien whose attempt at peaceful first contact with humanity gets met with an American missile. With his spaceship grounded in Wisconsin, Starman takes over the body of a local man who recently died. No big deal, right? Wrong. 

Turns out the man’s widow (Karen Allen) is still around, so Starman kidnaps her and goes on a roughly 1,600-mile journey to Arizona, where he’s scheduled to be reunited with a vessel from his home planet in the desert. So basically it’s a dash of the “fish-out-of-water” and road trip genres. However you classify it, we admit that the setup sounds like it’s straight out of a Disney Channel original movie. What saves it is Carpenter’s ever-deft direction, and the performances of its leads, especially Bridges. Dude could have phoned it in or gone over the top, but found the perfect balance, imbuing Starman with a disarming, childlike wonder about the world. 

We knew that “3:10 To Yuma” had to be on our list somewhere, it was just a matter of where — and also a matter of “which one?” Well, we couldn’t decide whether we preferred the 1957 original or 2007 remake, so we included both. Don’t hate us. If you have seen them both (and you absolutely should), then you know it’s virtually impossible to say which is better. 

Both tell the story of family man Dan Evans, who suffering from the plight of raising a family and working a farm on his drought-stricken Arizona ranch, takes on the thankless and potentially fatal job of transporting a stagecoach robber and murderer named Ben Wade to a small town, where Wade is set to board the 3:10 train to Yuma, Arizona for his trial. 

Columbia Pictures

Van Heflin plays Evans in the original, with Glenn Ford as Wade (seen above). Both stars are excellent, but Delmer Daves’ direction makes this a classic, as he’s able to make the expansive Arizona desert claustrophobic.James Mangold takes over the director’s chair in the fifty years later remake, with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale playing Wade and Evans, respectively (seen above in color). 

While the original was Daves’ tour de force, the remake belongs to Crowe and Bale, who give the characters extra pathos, raising the stakes for all involved. Okay, we may like the original just a little bit better, but both movies absolutely belong on this list.

The only entry also on our best Christmas movie list is the ribald, raunchy, and ridiculous “Bad Santa.” Though it’s quite NSFW, “Bad Santa” is one of the most quotable comedies ever, with an all-star cast each bringing their A-games, though a special shoutout goes to John Ritter in his final role. But the 2003 movie belongs to Billy Bob Thornton as Willie T. Soke. Despite being one of his career-defining roles (alongside Karl Childers in “Sling Blade”), Thornton was not the first, second, or even third choice. The filmmakers actually courted James Gandolfini, Bill Murray, and Jack Nicholson before landing on Thornton (turns out casting that movie was an uphill battle for everyone). While we would have loved to see any of those greats in the role, there’s no denying Billy Bob was born to play “Bad Santa.”

What makes him bad? How much time do you have? Stoke is a hard-drinking, skirt-chasing, crass, cynical, and mean-spirited man who only pretends to be jolly ‘ol St. Nick, so he and his evil elf partner (Tony Cox) can rob malls on Christmas Eve. Their scheme to rob a mall in Phoenix, Arizona hits a snag when Soke starts to have a change of heart (well, kinda) after meeting a bullied boy named Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly) and a Santa groupie named Sue (Lauren Graham). “Bad Santa” belongs on anybody’s list for best Christmas movies and best Arizona movies.

Released in 1936, “The Petrified Forest” is one of those movie where one star is at the peak of their cinematic powers, while another is positioning themselves as a major movie star in the making. The established A-lister was Bette Davis, who by that point had already been nominated for two Academy Awards (she won on her third try, for 1939’s “Jezebel,” and was nominated 11 times total). The budding superstar-to-be was Humphrey Bogart, five years away from “The Maltese Falcon” and seven before “Casablanca,” who wasn’t even featured on the poster. But even if moviegoers didn’t know Bogart’s name before this movie, they definitely did afterward.

Based on Robert E. Sherwood’s play, Davis plays Gabrielle, a waitress at a diner outside the Petrified Forest region of Arizona, whose dreams of studying art are dashed when notorious gangster Duke Mantee (Bogart) takes the customers hostage. “The Petrified Forest” was directed by studio system stalwart and journeyman filmmaker Archie Mayo, who was smart enough to cast Davis and Bogart, and stay out of the way. Normally this scenario sees the established star being overshadowed by the scene-stealing newcomer. Not here. Davis and Bogie are the irresistible force meeting the immovable object (or vice-versa) in their third of six collaborations, and arguably their best. The only thing better than watching one great artist work is watching two, and “The Petrified Forest” delivers.

Tom Cruise had a pretty good year in 1996. In the summer, he starred in the third-highest grossing movie of the year,”Mission: Impossible,” then in December he headlined one of his best movies ever, and got nominated for an Academy Award as well, as the title character in Cameron Crowe’s “Jerry Maguire.” Alas, the former kickstarted the second phase of his career , transforming him into an action star. Don’t get us wrong, we really love the “Mission: Impossible” movies (well, most of them anyway) and admire Cruise’s willingness to risk life and limb for our amusement. But we still miss the old Tom Cruise who was a magnificent, old-school leading man in movies like “Jerry Maguire.”

Cruise plays recovering slick, slimeball sports agent Jerry Maguire, whose crisis of conscience gets him canned, so he starts a new firm with a single mother (Zellweger) as his only employee, and a wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr. in an Oscar-winning role), his sole client. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you no doubt know the lines, like Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. shouting, “Show me the money!” or Renée Zellweger saying, “You had me at ‘hello’.” But if you only know the lines, you’re missing out on what is undoubtedly one of Cameron Crowe’s best movies. “Jerry Maguire” is a “grownup movie” that we wish Hollywood made more of, and any state would be proud to be a featured part of this film.

The Coen Brother’s filmography went down two distinct pathways starting with their inaugural films: 1984’s “Blood Simple” and 1987’s “Raising Arizona.” There are the gritty crime thrillers that follow “Blood Simple,” like “Miller’s Crossing,” “Fargo,” and “No Country For Old Men.” Then, there are the ludicrous, laugh-out-loud comedies like “The Big Lebowski,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” and “Hail, Caesar!” So it would be no exaggeration to say that “Raising Arizona” ran so that “The Big Lebowski” could fly (or get high). If comedy is more your jam, then it all began with the story of H.I. “Hi” McDunnough (Nicolas Cage) and Edwina “Ed” McDunnough (Holly Hunter).

Hi is an ex-convict and the textbook definition of “recidivist,” and during one of his prison stints, he falls in love with police officer and mugshot photographer Ed. Hi pledges to follow the straight and narrow after wedding Ed, but the McDunnoughs hit a snag when Ed can’t conceive, and the couple can’t adopt because of Hi’s criminal background. So the McDunnoughs do what anyone in a similar situation would (in a Coen Brother’s movie, at least) and kidnap one of five children born to regional furniture powerhouse, Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson) and his wife. 

It’s a lot, and that’s just the first 15 minutes. If you have never seen “Raising Arizona,” do yourself a favor and check out one of the Coen Brother’s best movies. If you have seen it, well, watch it again.

John Ford is arguably the greatest movie director of all time. Don’t take our word for it: The dude won more Academy Awards than any other film director. Or consult the mastermind behind “Citizen Kane,” Orson Welles (okay, he’s dead so you can’t, but still), who once said, “I prefer the old masters, by which I mean John Ford, John Ford and John Ford. With Ford at his best you get a sense of what the earth is made of.” But honestly, almost every filmmaker who ever picked up a camera owes their passion for motion pictures to John Ford, whether they realize it or not. 

What made Ford so great? That’s a separate article (or a dozen). But one key reason was his ability to make movie stars. Nowhere is that more apartment than 1939’s “Stagecoach.” Across 14 films, John Ford helped transform a former USC football player turned B-movie cowboy actor into an American cinematic monument. That man was John Wayne. It started with “Stagecoach.” It wasn’t easy or even admirable, as Ford’s directorial approach with Wayne was basically bullying. That said, it worked. Wayne gives a star-making performance as “The Ringo Kid,” an escaped outlaw who defends the titular stagecoach and its merry band of misfit passengers across the perilous Arizona territory to New Mexico. “Stagecoach” is essential-viewing for any lover of westerns, and one of the many reasons 1939 is considered one of the greatest years in movie history.

Appropriately, there are three types of film trilogies. The traditional three films that follow characters across different times (“The Godfather,” “The Dark Knight”) Next, three films that tell a single, self-contained story, but spliced into three parts, (“The Lord of the Rings,” “The Hobbit”). Finally, there are the far rarer “unofficial thematic trilogies” that do not follow the same characters, but are instead a filmmaker exploring similar themes and settings. This list is much smaller, but includes films like John Carpenter’s “Apocalypse Trilogy”, and John Ford’s “Calvary Trilogy” (“Fort Apache,” “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon,” “Rio Grande”). While all three “Calvary” movies were filmed in Arizona (in John Ford’s beloved Monument Valley), only the first two were set in Arizona.

RKO Pictures

Despite “Stagecoach” making John Wayne a star in 1939, his career was struggling until Ford arguably saved it nearly ten years later with “Fort Apache” in 1946 (seen above). Wayne plays a calm, cool, and collected Captain who butts heads with his brash Commanding Officer (another Ford stalwart, Henry Fonda), who arrives in deadly Apache Territory in Arizona with his daughter (Shirley Temple). 

Released the next year, “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon” (pictured in color above) stars Wayne as a Calvary Captain nearing retirement who must prevent an impending war. While “Fort Apache” is wild and raucous, “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon” is quiet and considered. Both belong on this list, but you should complete the “Calvary Trilogy” with “Rio Grande” (1950), even though it’s set in Texas.

Alfred Hitchcock created one of the most iconic scenes of his career (and film history, period) in less than one minute. Of course, we’re referring to the infamous “shower scene” in “Psycho.” Unless you live under a rock the size of Monument Valley, you have seen the scene, even if you haven’t seen “Psycho.” But really, you owe it to yourself to watch the entire movie. Before hitting the one-hour mark, we have followed Phoenix secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) through the backroads of Arizona after stealing a hefty sum from her boss to fund her runaway with her boyfriend. She stops for the night at the Bates Motel, where she meets the sweet, strange, but seemingly harmless proprietor Norman Bates.

Crane takes a shower and in 45-seconds of filmic fury of 78 setups and 52 cuts is stabbed to death by what appears to be an old woman. What?! Can you imagine what this must have been like for moviegoers in the 1960s? It still shocks us today, but this did not happen in movies back then. Janet Leigh was a huge, A-list star and there she is, dead as a doornail, lying in a pool of water and blood circling the drain, after being our protagonist up to that point. Moments like this are what movies are made for, and why Alfred Hitchcock was more than “The Master of Suspense;” he was one of the best to ever do it.

In just 30 seconds, a ballet of bullets and blood between nine men saw three shuffling off this mortal coil, while each etched their place in immortality. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory has inspired storytellers of all stripes since 1861. There’s less-than-stellar films, like 1994’s “Wyatt Earp” starring Kevin Costner, as well as darn-fine movies, like 1957’s “Gunfight At The O.K. Corral,” starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. But it has inspired two certifiable Western masterpieces – 1946’s “My Darling Clementine” (below) and 1993’s “Tombstone” (above).

20th Century Fox

“My Darling Clementine” was directed by … who else? … John Ford, with frequent collaborator Henry Fonda as Earp. “My Darling Clementine” was the fourth of their seven films, and may be their best (that, or the best movie set in Oklahoma, “The Grapes of Wrath”). The movie mixes filmmaking with myth-making, establishing the essential cinematic legend of the gunfight. “Tombstone” is different. 

Released nearly 50 years later, “Tombstone” is a raw, rugged, and real revisionist western that slaps you across the face and doesn’t care if it hurts your feelings. While credited to director George P. Cosmatos, Kurt Russel was critical to the film’s success, and not just for his definitive portrayal of Wyatt Earp. But the movie belongs to Val Kilmer, whose scene-stealing, quotable performance as “Doc” Holiday is his career best. Not even a shootout would settle which film was better, so we’ll say they are both the best movies set in Arizona.