If the art of the American Western as film culture is seen as the wonderful quantity of pragmatic morality it mostly represents, then its international social function and potential could be more fully realized and appreciated. However, the morally instructive values of those classic Hollywood Westerns made between the late 1930s and mid 60s may not be recognized if they are lumped as part of whatever condemnation is usually implied against ‘America’,  its State, or its messianic religions, etc. The American Western, despite its occasional references to such areas, has little really to do with any of that, and is at its highest level a work of art made by individual artists and technicians concerned only with their artistic style and viewpoint, not with representing or propagating any non-artistic or officially decided policy.
Of course a proposal of freedom of expression in the American Constitution  guaranteed such creative freedom, as long as it was not suspected or seen as becoming the representative of the ideology of ‘Communism’, as was thought during the hysterical McCarthy prosecutions against suspected ‘Communist’  employees of Hollywood during the 1940s and 50s.
The suspicion of such sentiments, by the way, would apply to  an enormous amount of the best Hollywood directors, script-writers, actors and actresses  now regarded as the best of Hollywood’s cinematic tradition, and who helped to establish both the creative honesty and vigor, as well as the economic success of the classic American film industry world-wide up to the end of the 1960s. Incidentally, later detailed studies of the McCarthy-era trials, revealed no real clandestine plan or intention by Hollywood film studios or its professionals, despite the existence of open left-wing professionals in Hollywood, to turn America communist, but rather there was a huge natural, or ordinary professional desire to make films with sensitivity towards the ‘underdog’, against racial and class biases and bigotry, mob rule, despotic individualism; and in favor of collective rights, just individualism, etc.
This is what was misinterpreted as a ‘left-wing’ ideology within countless Hollywood films of those superb decades. The art of the classic Western mostly defended such values, and any intelligent viewer of such films can see an exemplary self-critical approach to American society’s ills, which is lacking in many other nations and cultures that are often quick to condemn American culture as ‘decadent’, ‘bigoted’, ‘unjust’, etc.  The real identity of so-called ‘American Culture’ ,however, is upheld by its classic films, its creative literature, modern painting, theatre, and superb styles of instrumental and vocal music, at least from the 1980s back.
The major key to unlocking the Western’s uniqueness as a genre, despite those often predictable moments, like saloon brawls, the arrival of the Eastern tenderfoot, the showdown, the ominous native Indians on mountain-tops , chasing stagecoaches, etc, is in the style and attitude of the actors who specialized to a significant degree in starring in Westerns. If we are really serious about the Western’s unique social and cultural good points, we have to see beyond the stereotype of stars whose roles exemplified the tough, uncompromising, self-righteous, bullying hero.
One of the stars who apparently came to popularly represent this type of Western hero (or anti-hero), was John Wayne; and for some reason when many film buffs think of the Western, they think of John Wayne. Yet Wayne’s Western roles, except for a handful of exceptional ones, such as ‘ANGEL AND THE BAD MAN’ 1947, ‘SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON’ 1948, ‘HONDO’ 1953, ‘RIO BRAVO’ 1959, ‘NORTH TO ALASKA’ 1960, and his last great Western, ‘THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE’ 1962, are somewhat morally distasteful despite their exciting heroics. On the other hand, strong moral and social values are consistently seen in most Westerns with Joel McCrea, Alan Ladd, Audie Murphy, Randolph Scott, James Stewart, Gregory Peck and Gary Cooper. When we look at the characterizations of these unforgettable Hollywood stars in their Westerns, there is no escaping the powerful moral examples of cause and effect they conveyed via a personal attitudinal style of acting. Most of Wayne’s roles seem to display a sort of acted out predetermined opinion reflecting the tough reality of a lawless wilderness, rather than the position of an individual temperament resistant to the definition of the West as naturally lawless, or uncivilized.
A prevalent actor of the Western, like Joel McCrea, on the other hand, usually acted out a sort of poor drifter, homesteader,  incorruptible lawman, or cavalry man. His Western roles possess this quiet decency that could be a good social inspiration in any society. Alan Ladd’s Western roles often characterized a man who has become an outcast, as in ‘SHANE’, sometimes led astray as in ‘BRANDED’,  a first-class Western and a stunning visual work of cinematic art through-out -, but a man still with a sense of self-pride , conscience, and much sympathy for others needing help.
CAPTION:  John Wayne
Saved in graphics as ‘wayne’
Audie Murphy began his film career with a series of memorable zesty Westerns, in which his youthful character brought a fresh, instinctual innocence to the role, an appealing boyish sense of humor, and an attractive sense of fashion. Murphy, born in the West, was one of those true Westerners who in his roles was usually wrongfully accused of something and had to clear his name; another of his strong qualities in his early Westerns was his authentic appearance, always acting with the same sweat-stained hat, and with a sweaty, rough dusty appearance like a man who is a true outdoor worker. Randolph Scott also had this visual quality, and is truly one of the great stars of the Western. Scott sometimes played  stubborn, angry, vengeful roles which he would eventually realize was futile and self-damaging, but the main quality he brought to the Western was a stern but understanding approach, gentlemanly honor, and the ability to overcome the worst circumstances. James Stewart continually played the skillful self-reliant adventurer, always socially optimistic, building a livelihood in the wilderness against all odds, and a good judge of the character of those who resented such a hard but honest life-style. Gregory Peck’s strong point in his few but superb Westerns is his ability to see the futility of  violence, and his ability to see his mistakes and those of others because of his self-honesty. Gary Cooper’s Western roles specialized in being an abused and disgraced man, ironically, because of his firm integrity, and refusal to side with extremist behavior. Cooper sometimes seemed too old for his outdoor Western roles, but in fact this is a quality which upheld the strong mentality, perceptive and argumentative wisdom he portrayed.
The popularity of the Western, especially outside the USA, with such leading Hollywood actors, is probably due to the insight they communicated into the characters and situations they represented, people who got their clothes and bodies dirty by working hard, especially outdoors, people who relied on horses for their livelihood, and therefore came to love Westerns like ‘TUMBLEWEED’, whose real hero is a horse; people who struggled to create farms, or ranches, who raised sheep or cattle , as in ‘THE SHEEPMAN’, with Glen Ford, a delightful Western, and ‘BRANDED’ with Alan Ladd.
If  emphasizing such rustic values of labor among common working people made such classic Westerns appear ‘socialistic’, then such constructive social values are quite normal, and nothing to be paranoid or suspicious about.