I'm not into Western movies, per se, but if I ask a friend what their favourite movie is, and I know nothing about it, I'll give it a try.
This is actually a civil war movie, about a wholesome widower's family played by the great James Stewart, who to my knowledge led an exemplary life with very little scandal in his movie making career.
The wholesomeness is mirrored in the movie by Charlie Anderson, played by Stewart. His large family of mostly sons and two daughters, are often occupied with life on their somewhat large farm.
The civil war eventually intrudes on their lives, with pressure to co-opt the sons into the advancing Confederate army, and some tough lines are to be drawn.
A movie like this can never be made now as the 'you're either with us, or against us' mentality has pervaded all of Hollywood's output with respect to war mongering.