Searchers, he wanted to take a break from Westerns, so it was made with Randolph Scott; Wayne later expressed regret over having passed on the film. It was directed by Budd Boetticher and was the first of what became known as the "Ranown Cycle". Also for Batjac, Kennedy wrote Gun the Man Down (1956) starring James Arness, and Man in the Vault (1956), a contemporary thriller. Both were directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Kennedy also wrote The Tall T for Batjac, based on a story by Elmore Leonard. When Wayne broke up with his partner Robert Fellows, Fellows took The Tall T script and made it with Scott and Boetticher. Boetticher, Kennedy, and Scott were reteamed on Buchanan Rides Alone (1958). Warner Bros. Kennedy was put under contract by Warner Bros., for whom he wrote Fort Dobbs (1958) and Yellowstone Kelly (1959). He wrote two other scripts, including an adaptation of A Distant Trumpet that was not used. Then for Boetticher and Scott again, he wrote Ride Lonesome (1959) and Comanche Station (1960). He did some uncredited work on The Alamo (1960). Directing Kennedy made his directorial debut with the Western The Canadians (1961) with Robert Ryan, which he also wrote, but it did poorly at the box office. He began directing episodic TV, including Lawman, The Virginian, and Combat!. Kennedy often wrote the episodes he directed, and he also served as a producer on Combat. He wrote but did not direct the Audie Murphy Western Six Black Horses (1962). Kennedy returned to features as director with the Western comedy Mail Order Bride (1964) with Buddy Ebsen. He followed it with comedy Western The Rounders (1965), starring Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda, which Kennedy also wrote and produced. It was a sleeper hit and led to a TV series, for which Kennedy produced and directed some episodes. Kennedy directed a contemporary film The Money Trap (1966), starring Ford and Rita Hayworth, then returned to Westerns with Return of the Seven (1966), a sequel to The Magnificent Seven with Yul Brynner returning and Robert Fuller replacing Steve McQueen as Vin Tanner. Kennedy directed The War Wagon (1967) with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas and Welcome to Hard Times (1967) with Henry Fonda. His story formed the basis of Return of the Gunfighter (1967), though he did not direct it and he did some work on the script of Stay Away, Joe