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John Wayne’s Red River Sparked A Feud Between Howard Hawks And Howard Hughes – My Blog

Howard Hughes’s deliriously ahistorical “The Outlaw” is probably best known for star Jane Russell’s brassiere, which the director painstakingly designed to accentuate her 38DD bosom. Never mind that Russell claimed she wore it all of a few minutes, loathed the fit, and padded her own bra the old-fashioned way; the undergarment is still on display in a Hollywood museum — the, er, stuff of showbiz legend.The film itself is an agreeably campy Western. Doc Holliday (Walter Huston) rides into Lincoln, New Mexico looking to recover his stolen horses. He tells his friend Pat Garrett (Thomas Mitchell) that Billy the Kid (Jack Buetel) is the thief, which sets up a not-terribly-understated homoerotic love triangle. It’s a goofy movie that should be a lot more fun than it is, but its script by Jules Furthman boasts some nifty flourishes, one of which finds the sharp-shooting Holliday trying to goad Billy into a duel by grazing him with bullets.If you’ve seen Howard Hawks’ “Red River,” this should sound familiar. It certainly did to Hughes, who’d either fired Hawks from directing “The Outlaw” or frustrated the filmmaker so thoroughly that he quit. Either way, when Hughes caught wind that Hawks had concluded his then-unreleased Western with a scene wherein John Wayne fires a series of shots at Montgomery Clift in an attempt to drive his charge-turned-rival to violence, he threatened to sue if the sequence wasn’t removed from the final cut. With the release of “Red River” less than a month away, a compromise needed to be reached in short order.Hawks v. Hughes

United ArtistsHughes’ attorney Lloyd Wright contacted Edward Small, a major investor in “Red River,” to arrange a screening of the disputed footage for the eccentric industrialist. Sure enough, Hughes dug in on his objections, and threatened an injunction that would delay the film’s planned September 1, 1948 release indefinitely.Small, who’d worked with Hughes before, knew the businessman wouldn’t back down until he got his way, so he arranged a showdown of sorts between the contentious parties. Hughes and Hawks met at one of the former’s aircraft plants in Inglewood, California. According to Scott Eyman’s “John Wayne: The Life and Legend,” the two fought bitterly over a potential remedy. This forced Small to play to Hughes’ vanity:“‘Both men were tall and lean, and I felt like the referee between two animated redwood trees,’ remembered Small. Finally, Small suggested that Hughes edit the sequence to suggest what Hawks, Feldman, and Small should do. Hughes made a few cuts, eliminating about twenty-four seconds, including a shot where Dunson’s bullet creases Matt’s cheek. Also removed were nine words of Wayne’s dialogue: ‘Draw. Go on, draw. Well, then, I’ll make you.’ As Small realized, ‘If I had made the same infinitesimal alterations, he probably wouldn’t have accepted them.’”A quick fix to an enduring classicUnited ArtistsIn 2022, these fixes could be implemented in-house overnight, with new DCPs rushed to multiplexes within days. In 1948, editing teams had to fly to the Southwest (where Wayne’s movies tended to premiere) and splice the recut footage into the already struck prints. They got the job done, and “Red River” debuted on time. The film went on to triple its budget at the U.S. box office, and earn Academy Award nominations for Best Motion Picture Story and Best Editing.74 years after its release, “Red River” is recognized as one of the finest Westerns ever made. John Wayne gives one of his very best performances as the conflicted Dunson; upon seeing his longtime collaborator in the film, John Ford exclaimed, “I never knew the big son of a bi*** could act!” Wayne is every bit as unsympathetic here as we would be years later in Ford’s “The Searchers,” but Hawks and Furthman state the case for his character’s bigoted obsolescence more plainly. He operates outside the law to maintain his empire. He is a murderer. Westward expansion might be a fait accompli, but the country will collapse if men of his tyrannical ilk seize the reins of these new territories.Like Hughes and Hawks, America struck a tenuous compromise, one that has been renegotiated for well over a century. It is disconcerting to see Dunson’s type rise again. 

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John Wayne or Jeff Bridges, who plays the role of Rooster Cogburn well? – My Blog

Two movies made 50 years apart, both based on a novel by the same name. Two different iconic actors took turns playing the rough-and-tumble marshal Rooster Cogburn in their respective versions of “True Grit.” John Wayne played him in the 1969 version, Jeff Bridges in 2010. Both were celebrated critically. Now, Duke’s official Instagram account is comparing the performances to see which one did it better.Of course, the question was posed by the John Wayne account. So it’s safe to say the people who responded in the comments were at least slightly biased toward the 1969 version.


Then again, both Rooster Cogburn actors were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances. So it’s really anybody’s game.“John Wayne & Jeff Bridges were both nominated for Oscars for their performance as Rooster Cogburn. Which version of the movie is your favorite, 1969 or 2010?” the Instagram caption read.

In the world of remakes, few movies do as much justice to their original counterparts as the 2010 version of “True Grit” from the Coen Brothers. There was no consensus among fans whatsoever. But some of the most popular sentiments seemed to be that the 1969 “True Grit” with John Wayne as Cogburn featured the more iconic performance. Though, many fans thought the 2010 movie was closer to the source text than the original.

“I have to fall on the side of the Duke. BUT, that’s the BEST remake of a film, I’ve ever seen! Loved them both,” a fan replied to the Instagram post.“2010 Much richer film and truer to the book’s feel. Wayne was robbed of an Oscar for the Searchers and this was a lifetime achievement award,” another added.Two Versions of ‘True Grit,’ Two Very Different Approaches to Character . One of the biggest complaints John Wayne fans had of Jeff Bridges’ approach to Rooster Cogburn was how disheveled he appeared.

“Jeff Bridges was horrible had marbles in house mouth and portrait Roster as a slob,” another fan replied to the post from John Wayne’s estate.But a different fan pointed out that, indeed, the portrayal of Rooster Cogburn in the novel by Charles Portis was one of a slobbish man.This isn’t to say that the Bridges performance is better for accuracy. It’s just that Henry Hathaway, the director of the 1969 “True Grit,” and the Coen brothers took different approaches to their movies. As a result, the actors contrasted greatly in their portrayals of Rooster Cogburn.

At the end of the day, however, the win may have to go to John Wayne on this one. After all, we’re still waiting on Jeff Bridges to reprise the role in a sequel. Duke did it in the 1975 film “Rooster Cogburn.”

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John Wayne’s ”expensive” sayings made the fans ”nod”’. – My Blog

John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979) was an American movie Actor, director, and producer, known in movies like Stagecoach, Angel and the Bad Man, Red River, and The Shootist.They say that life is a good teacher and through them who lived this life we can learn a lot, especially from great people like John Wayne a.k.a Duke.Today I am going to share with you Wayne’s 5 rules you should be remembering in your daily life:


1. Money cannot buy happiness but its more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.
This is a long debate everywhere, rich people say that “those who say money can buy happiness are the ones who don’t have” and broke people reply that “you don’t know how miserable we are just because we don’t have coins in our pocket”.John Wayne made it clearer that though money cannot buy happiness but when unhappy moments arrive money can make someone comfortable.


2. Forgive your enemy but remember the bastard’s name.
Forgiving your enemy is in your favor, most of the time carrying such burden in your heart is more painful while the bastard doesn’t even know.Just to be careful, put their names somewhere in your mind. Once a soldier always a commando and once enemy, I don’t know.

3. Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you when they’re in trouble again.
Do what is right, help people but never expect something in return.According to John Wayne, the only thing you can expect from people is that if you have helped them in the hard times, they will remember you when they’re in trouble again.

4. Many people are alive only because it’s illegal to shoot them.
Everyone has enemies and some people do harm to us to the level we even wish to kill them. Not only our enemies would be killed if to kill was not illegal but also some innocents and powerless people.About this rule, something you have to learn is that we’re surrounded by people that don’t kill us only because it’s illegal.
5. Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk.
Haha this rule is somehow funny but it is true on the other hand. You will find people telling you stop drinking alot it will solve nothing but at least you’ll have that sedative moment.Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk.

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Interesting things happen at the “Duketober” celebration at the John Wayne museum . – My Blog

The enduring legacy of actor John Wayne, America’s ultimate cowboy, was celebrated last month, fittingly enough, by the Cowboy Channel in association with the John Wayne: An American Experience museum in Fort Worth, Texas.


The “Duketober” celebration is a month-long airing of classic John Wayne movies via broadcast and streaming. It will culminate with a 50th anniversary live panel discussion on Nov. 3 in remembrance of Big Jake, the 1971 movie that bought Wayne together with sons Ethan and Patrick, who will participate in a discussion about his films and career.Wayne’s legacy has taken a few hits in the last couple of years.

A 50-year-old Playboy magazine interview outlining some of his controversial views on race surfaced, sparking his USC alma mater to remove an exhibit on him. There’s also a movement to remove his name from the Orange County airport. So far, that action has failed to gain ground . But Wayne’s cinematic legacy, particularly his western movies, continue to rank among the finest ever produced by Hollywood. Such films as The Searchers, True Grit, Stagecoach and Rio Bravo are considered classics of the genre.

“The John Wayne: An American Experience (JWAAE) museum in the Fort Worth Stockyards has created a perfect synergy for the Cowboy Channel to highlight this incredible western film legend and showcase many of his classic films for our audience,” said Cowboy Channel CEO Raquel Koehler Gottsch.

“Our fans absolutely adore John Wayne, and we couldn’t be happier to have a great relationship with his family and be able to share his movies with our audience and dedicate an entire month to such a western star legend.”“He would be thrilled to learn that so many people still cherish his films after all these years and I know he’s smiling somewhere,” said son Ethan Wayne.

The Cowboy Channel will also feature a Halloween movie marathon of Wayne films, and fans can tune-in to such classics such as Rio Grande, Sand of Iwo Jima, and The Shootist.

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