I spent a brief amount of time "refining" a list of "noir westerns" from a 2017 set of posts featuring Mike, Colin, Dan H. and several others in a first cut effort to determine a level of "noirness" for these films.

This is a very rough attempt to create some gradations between a list that numbers close to 150 films. It is not using any portion of the "noir-o-meter." It relies on a series of identifications/categorizations made by multiple specialists who've demonstrated knowledge and affinity for both films noirs and westerns.

The results here are crude, but I'm hoping that several of those whose lists were used in the "mix and match" for this will look specifically at the "break points" that the method produced to locate the flaws and anomalies in the results in order to help produce a more "graduated" list of westerns according their perceived level of "noirness."

Notations below show how films were shifted per Colin's suggestions. Relocated films are shown in italics, and their original placement is retained for reference via being shown in small type in the locations where it initially appeared.

Imogen Smith's "Western Noir" series titles from last summer are denoted with an asterisk (*).

Here we go, then. Here is Group 1--westerns that the method suggests are clearly "noir westerns"--a total of 35 films:

Bend of the River
The Walking Hills*
-------------------
No Name on the Bullet
The Man from Laramie
-------------------
A Man Alone
Blood on the Moon*
Colorado Territory
Day of the Outlaw*
Decision at Sundown
Devil's Doorway *
Forty Guns
Gunman’s Walk
High Noon
I Shot Jesse James*
Johnny Guitar
Lust for Gold*
Pursued
Ramrod
Rancho Notorious*
Rawhide
Rimfire
Roughshod
Run of the Arrow
Silver Lode
Station West*
Terror in a Texas Town
The Bounty Hunter
The Far Country
The Fiend Who Walked the West
The Furies
The Halliday Brand
The Last Wagon
The Lawless Breed
The Man from Colorado
The Searchers
The Secret of Convict Lake
Track of the Cat
Winchester ‘73

As noted, this is crude. There is certainly more gradation in the 31 films in the third tier of films here, and it would be very helpful if people would examine those 31 and try to create some separation among them. It would also be quite useful if people would also question any of the films in terms of their position as "definitely noir westerns."

The next group (Group 2) are films that the method suggests are "on the cusp" of noirness. There are about 40 films in this group--here they are:

7 Men from Now
A Lawless Street
Backlash
Black Patch
Border G-Man
Comanche Station
Duel in the Sun
Face of a Fugitive
Garden of Evil
Hills of Utah
Jubal
Last of the Comanches
Last Train from Gun Hill
Lightning Strikes Twice
Man in the Shadow
Man With the Gun
My Darling Clementine
One-Eyed Jacks
One Foot in Hell
Pursued
Red River
Ride Clear of Diablo
Ride Lonesome
Run of the Arrow
Sergeant Rutledge
The Badlanders
The Big Country
The Bravados
The Hanging Tree
The Indian Fighter
The Last Wagon
The Left Handed Gun
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Naked Spur*
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
The Ox-Bow Incident
The River's Edge
The Tall T
The Violent Men*
Three Hours to Kill
Tribute to a Bad Man
Valerie

Again, it would be great if people could help create some separation or gradation in this group, thus helping us to determine which of these really belong in the "definitely" group.

The next group (Group 3), numbering roughly 25 films, is one where the method shows a slight tendency toward "noirness." Here are those films:

Branded
Buchanan Rides Alone
California
Canyon Passage
Coroner Creek
Hangman's Knot
Jack Slade
Johnny Reno
Little Big Horn
Man with the Gun
Massacre River
Relentless
Reprisal!
Ride A Violent Mile
Stagecoach
Stranger on Horseback
The Doolins of Oklahoma
The Fastest Gun Alive
The Hanging Tree
The Lusty Men
The Return of Frank James
Trail Guide
Welcome to Hard Times
Whispering Smith
Without Honor
---------------
Showdown

Many of these films are ones that Mike added from a list by a western aficionado named Kaspar. Mike noted at the time that the list included many Randoph Scott westerns that were not perceived as "noir" by any other analyst.

Finally, here is a list of films (Group 4) that the method suggests are not "noir westerns" but just "regular old westerns. Several of these seem clearly misplaced, which is probably due to a glitch in the data and/or in my calculations using this (very crude) method. Please be sure to advocate for any films in this group that you feel should be upgraded upward...

3:10 to Yuma
A Bullet Is Waiting
A Time for Killing
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Canyon Crossroads
Colorado Territory*
Dark Command
Edge of Eternity
Fort Apache
Great Day in the Morning
Hombre
Hud
Inside Straight
Johnny Concho
Lawman
Lonely Are The Brave
Mackenna's Gold
Man of the West
Nevada Smith
Once Upon a Time in the West
Ramrod*
Rebel in Town
Ride Beyond Vengeance
Riding Shotgun
Saddle the Wind
Thunderhoof
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
The Appaloosa
The Broken Star
The Capture
The Great Silence
The Gunfighter
The Last Hunt
The Last Posse
The Law and Jake Wade
The Outlaw
The Showdown
The Tall Texan
Wagonmaster
Yellow Sky

I removed a few titles that are beyond the classic noir timeframe, such as HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER. I've also indicated at least a couple of films here that my gut tells me should move upward on this list.

Looking forward to input and commentary on this...