It was a year of masterpieces— , and . Robert Redford achieved star status. Old-timers like John Wayne, Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum appeared in two Westerns apiece. Raquel Welch took on the mantle of . Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin tried their hand at a musical ( ). New directors like George Roy Hill reinvigorated the genre while veteran Sam Peckinpah at last found popular approval. Themes included women's rights, social anxieties about violence and changing attitudes of and towards African-Americans and Native Americans. All of the 40-plus Westerns released in the U.S. in 1969 are covered in depth, offering a new perspective on the genre.