John Wayne - A Top Five List

May 26th, 2007 in Actors, Celebs, Dvd, Top 5 List, classic

Is there anyone who doesn’t know that today would have been the 100th birthday of John Wayne? Considering the number of movies Wayne starred in, choosing five films is impossible. I could have easily restricted myself to just the best films made with his frequent director, John Ford. Just remember that John Wayne almost didn’t become a movie star. Originally groomed by legendary filmmaker Raoul Walsh, the epic western The Big Trail, Wayne’s first starring film made in 1930, was a huge flop. It took almost a decade of work in low budget westerns before Wayne finally became a star. The following list is of my choice for key films in every decade starring the former Marion Morrison.

1. Stagecoach (1939). Nine years after The Big Trail, John Ford decides that the former college football star is ready to star in another major film. The cast and crew head out to Monument Valley because of the pictorial beauty, the first time for a John Ford film. A star is re-born when the camera dollies in on Ringo Kid, standing with a rifle in his hand. Stagecoach is a commercial and critical success, competing for Oscars with Gone with the Wind. Orson Welles said that he studied Stagecoach before making Citizen Kane.

2. Red River (1948). John Wayne leads a cattle drive with his adopted son, Montgomery Clift in his first film. John Ford reputedly stated about Wayne after seeing this film, “I didn’t know the SOB could act.” This was Wayne’s first film directed by Howard Hawks, who would work with Wayne several more times. The most famous scene is of Clift and John Agar showing off their guns to each other. Hawks was quite aware of the symbolism.

3. The Searchers (1956). Citing this film is almost a cliche now, but when The Searchers was first released, it was considered simply a good film, but nothing special. John Wayne has said this is one of his favorite roles. George Lucas remade one scene in Star Wars. Martin Scorsese used a clip in Mean Streets. Ron Howard even attempted to make his own version, The Missing. Best of all was the inspiration of Buddy Holly, who used a key phrase coined by Wayne to create his first major hit, “That’ll be the Day”. John Wayne grabs his own shoulder in tribute to silent cowboy star Harry Carey. One of The Searchers co-stars is Harry Carey, Jr.

4. True Grit (1969). John Wayne was always a political conservative. It was ironic that he finally won an Academy Award during the year of Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy. Donning a black eye patch, Wayne cemented his iconic status as Rooster Cogburn. In a very small part is Easy Rider star and director Dennis Hopper. True Grit was Wayne’s final film with frequent director Henry Hathaway. In spite of his politics, Wayne came to the defense of True Grit screenwriter Marguerite Roberts, a former victim of the Hollywood blacklist of the Fifties.

5. The Shootist (1976). John Wayne was ill with cancer, making this film, about an ill gunfighter looking to die with dignity, the perfect ending to his long career. Don Siegel’s film reunited Wayne with co-stars from past films - Lauren Bacall, James Stewart and John Carradine, and also used clips from past films. At one point The Shootist was to star George C. Scott, who previously had expressed interest in True Grit.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Stumble it! / Bookmark: