The Oscar-winning Roman epic was incredibly controversial upon its release in 1960. Kirk Douglas allowed blacklisted communist screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, one of the Hollywood Ten, to pen Spartacus without having to hide his name.
Trumbo had previously been taking a clandestine approach to screenwriting following his blacklisting. Nevertheless, he still managed to win two Academy Awards under other names for Roman Holiday and The Brave One.As a result, conservative John Wayne and the right-wing National Legion of Decency condemned the movie as “Marxist propaganda”.It was only when John F Kennedy went to see Spartacus and called it “good” did this blacklisting really end.Despite this political loss, Wayne ended up working with Douglas on Cast a Giant Shadow and In Harm’s Way, before making 1967’s The War Wagon together.
John Wayne tried to BAN Kirk Douglas’ Spartacus from cinemas: ‘We never saw eye-to-eye’ (Image: GETTY) Dalton Trumbo (Image: GETTY)
The War Wagon director Burt Kennedy ended up having to give up half his salary to afford to hire Douglas, who was paid $300,000 plus 10 per cent of the gross.Just before the 12 week shoot began in Durango, Mexico, Wayne was not in good shape having had his left lung and several ribs removed in a 1964 major cancer surgery.During the flight over, he had real difficulty breathing on the plane and had to use an oxygen mask the whole way.It was only here where Douglas first realised just how fragile the 59-year-old Duke was, but that didn’t stop the old bull from getting angry with his co-star. John Wayne and Kirk Douglas in The War Wagon (Image: GETTY)
During The War Wagon’s production, Douglas was late to set as he had been shooting a commercial to endorse Edmund G Brown, a Democrat, as Governor of California.This enraged Wayne, a life-long conservative, who was late himself the next day as he’d been filming an advert to endorse the Republican candidate, fellow actor and future US President Ronald Reagan.Although the two Hollywood stars had their political differences they did eventually become friends and had a mutual respect for each other.In a 1971 interview with Dick Cavett, Douglas shut down being asked about Duke’s controversial views on the US taking Native American land. Kirk Douglas and John Wayne made sure to never talk politics (Image: GETTY)
Cavett brought up that Wayne had said it was “because a lot of people needed land and the Indians were being selfish and thought that they ought to have it.”Yet Douglas replied: “I don’t want to get involved in a conversation about John Wayne. I’ve made quite a few pictures with John Wayne and, by the way, I’ve always called him John. Everybody calls him Duke. We have never seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things.”However, he did compliment the Western star, saying he was “one of the most professional actors I’ve ever worked with.”
Douglas shared how when working on a movie together, he would only have dinner with Wayne on just one night.
He said: “We get along well, we never discuss politics. But he’s the first guy on the set, the hardest worker I’ve ever worked with, and I think he’s quite a character.”Given Duke’s towering 6 ft 4 height, Cavett joked that it was no wonder the two never saw eye-to-eye.In fact, during his first scene with Wayne, Douglas wore huge lifts so he would look in line with Wayne.
‘Black movie queen’ Maureen O’Hara – a close colleague of John Wayne passed away in front of the audience’s mourning. – My Blog
The star of the movie “Miracle on 34th Street”, a familiar co-star of actor John Wayne, has passed away due to old age and weakness. Maureen O’Hara, an Irish star, was once known as “the queen of movies. color”, died at his home in Boise, Idaho, USA, on October 24, at the age of 95.
The information was confirmed by Johnny Nicoletti, her long-time manager. “She passed away in the loving arms of her family, as well as on the soundtrack of the movie The Quiet Man that she loved so much,” one Maureen O’Hara’s relatives shared.
During her illustrious career, O’Hara had five times played the screen lover of actor John Wayne. She appeared in many classic Hollywood films, such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), How Green Was My Valley (1941), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Rio Grande (1950), The Quiet Man (1952). , Our Man in Havana (1959) and The Parent Trap (1961).
However, she never received an Oscar nomination. A year before Maureen O’Hara’s death, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to present her with an honorary Oscar for her service to Hollywood.
During the 1940s, when color film began to flourish, Maureen O’Hara appeared in a series of compelling works such as To the Shores of Tripoli (1942), The Black Swan (1942), The Spanish Main (1945). and The Quiet Man.
Possessing fair skin, red hair, as well as green eyes, she “shines like the sun on a silver screen,” as the New York Times described it. It was Dr. Herbert Kalmus, the inventor of color film, who gave Maureen O’Hara the nickname “color film queen”.
The reason why John Wayne is labeled ‘Draft Dodger’ in Wor ւ ԁ War II . – My Blog
When actor John Wayne visited American soldiers in Vietnam in the summer of 1966, he was warmly welcomed. As he spoke to groups and individuals, he was presented gifts and letters from American and South Vietnamese troops alike. This was not the case during his USO tours in 1942 and ’43.According to author Garry Wills’ 1998 book, “John Wayne’ America: the Politics of Celebrity,” the actor received a chorus of boos when he walked onto the USO stages in Australia and the Pacific Islands. Those audiences were filled with combat veterans. Wayne, in his mid-30s, was not one of them.
Around the time the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Wayne was not the big-name actor we remember him being today. He was fresh off the box-office success of the 1939 film “Stagecoach.”Being drafted or enlisting was going to have a serious impact on his rising star. Depending on how long the ԝаr lasted, Wayne reportedly worried he might be too old to be a leading man when he came home.
Other actors, both well-established and rising in fame, rushed off to do their part. Clark Gable joined the Army Air Forces and, despite the studios’ efforts to get him into a motion picture unit, served as an aerial ɡսոոеr over Europe. Jimmy Stewart was initially ineligible for the draft, given his low weight, but like some amazing version of Captain America, he drank beer until he qualified.In his 2014 book, “American Titan: Searching for John Wayne,” author Marc Eliot alleges Wayne was having an affair with actress Marlene Dietrich. He says the possibility of losing this relationship was the real reason Wayne didn’t want to go to ԝаr.
But even Dietrich would do her part, smuggling Jewish people out of Europe, entertaining troops on the front lines (she crossed into Germany alongside Gen. George S. Patton) and maybe even being an operative for the Office of Strategic Services.Wayne never enlisted and even filed for a 3-A draft deferment, which meant that if the sole provider for a family of four were drafted, it would cause his family undue hardship. The closest he would ever come to Worւԁ Wаr II service would be portraying the actions of others on the silver screen.
With his leading man competition fighting the ԝаr and out of the way, Wayne became Hollywood’s top leading man. During the ԝаr, Wayne starred in a number of western films as well as Worւԁ Wаr II movies, including 1942’s “Flying Tigers” and 1944’s “The Fighting Seabees.” According to Eliot, Wayne told friends the best thing he could do for the ԝаr was make movies to support the troops. Eventually, the government agreed.
At one point during the ԝаr, the need for more men in uniform caused the U.S. military brass to change Wayne’s draft status to 1-A, fit for duty. But Hollywood studios intervened on his behalf, arguing that the actor’s star power was a boon for ԝаrtime propaganda and the morale of the troops. He was given a special 2-A status, which back then meant he was deferred in “support of national interest.”The decision not to serve or to avoid it entirely (depending on how you look at the actor) haunted Wayne for the rest of his life. His third wife, Pilar Wayne, says he became a “super-patriot for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying at home.”